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“Easy, Neji.” A voice hummed in his ear, and his eyelids fluttered open for just a second, before the blinding light of the sun sent sharp stabs of pain through his eyes, and he closed them again. There were warm hands on his arms, lifting him, and Neji opened his mouth to protest, but only a gurgle of pain came out as his right side screamed in protest, sending cold spikes of pain radiating outwards across his ribs and back.
Neji was suddenly wide awake, and he forced his body to cooperate, because whoever was touching him could be an enemy. He opened his eyes, squinting as his vision remained blurry and unfocused, and came face to face with Kakashi-sensei. Neji almost relaxed, but it could have been a transformation jutsu… His Byakugan flared to life, and though it was far weaker than Neji would have liked, it was enough for him to know it truly was Kakashi. He let out a sigh of relief, and looked down to where Kakashi’s hands were pressed against his side.
He blinked, watching as Kakashi had to adjust his grip when his hands, slick with Neji’s blood, started to slide. Adreneline, Neji thought, is really something.
“Kakashi-sensei,” Neji said, but his mouth felt clumsy around the words, his tongue dead weight in his mouth. At least it was enough to get the shinobi’s attention. Kakashi looked at him, as calm as he always looked, and Neji privately felt relieved. Kakashi wasn’t panicking, so why should Neji. “Where’s my team?” Neji tried to ask, blinking slowly as a wave of dizziness crashed over him, sending the world spinning.
“Guy has Lee and Tenten, they’re on their way back to the village. They have only minor injuries.” Neji nodded, and his eyes fell half closed as he tried to recall what had happened. Obviously they’d gotten into trouble, but how?
Neji heard Kakashi make a quiet sound, and looked back towards him, then down to his side. It looked like the wound had stopped gushing blood, now only weeping the occasional rivulet. Kakashi sensei pulled out gauze and bandages from his pack, and Neji let his eyes close. He did not think about the fact that his team had left him behind, because there was almost certainly a logical reason for it.
Most likely, Neji had ended up separated from Lee and Tenten, and Kakashi-sensei had used his dogs to find Neji. Yes, that made perfect sense. The cottony gauze caught on the wound and Neji bit back a hiss, clamping down his jaw hard enough to hurt his teeth. He involuntarily flinched away from the touch, and where Guy-sensei might have said something reassuring, pausing to comfort Neji, but Kakashi just kept moving, wrapping the bandages tight around Neji’s middle.
Kakashi tied it off easily, and tugged Neji’s shirt back into place. It was stiff, and now stained an ugly reddish-brown, but Neji didn’t care. It was better than having to enter Konoha with bandages on full display, drawing attention to his failure.
Kakashi-sensei packed away his things, and helped Neji onto his back. He was warm, and Neji couldn’t help but hold on a little tighter than he needed to, pressing as much as his body could into the warmth. He was cold, most likely from the blood loss, which he was going to use to excuse this behaviour if it was ever brought up. Not that he thought Kakashi-sensei would but, it never hurts to be prepared.
Kakashi-sensei was quick, moving through the trees effortlessly, and surprisingly smoothly, with the extra weight on his back. Neji let his thoughts drift as they raced through the forest, and he was half asleep by the time they reached the entrance to Konoha. Thankfully, the shinobi there didn’t give them any trouble, and then they were racing through the city, across the rooftops, to the hospital.
Kakashi dumped Neji into a chair, and Neji almost immediately missed the warmth, but he stayed put when very firmly told, “Don’t move.” by Kakashi. Neji grumbled a little under his breath, and he could almost swear he heard Kakashi-sensei huff a laugh, before the man disappeared. Neji crossed his arm as he sat there, waiting. He didn’t dare close his eyes again, not in a space as public as the hospital. Thankfully, Neji did not have to wait long, as Kakashi soon returned with a nurse.
Neji was admitted, which was annoying but not unexpected. What was unexpected, was that he was told under no circumstances was he allowed to check himself out, or leave before being cleared. Neji protested this, with what little energy he had, because that was unfair! He was a shinobi, they were allowed to check out against medical advice, it happened all the time!
He argued until he was simply too tired and out of breath to continue, glaring at the chuckling medical-nin as she shared a look with Kakashi and left the room. Kakashi-sensei was giving him an amused look too, as Neji leaned against the pillows on his bed.
They had stitched the wound while Neji remained aware, asking him questions about the injury that he still couldn’t answer. Afterwards, they had given him enough pain medication to leave his thoughts sluggish, and he had been told to avoid using his Byakugan because he was suffering from overuse of it.
“Guy kept telling me that one of his students reminded him so much of me, but I never really saw it until now.” Kakashi told him, and Neji blinked, a warm sensation rushing across his face as he blushed. What an honour… to be compared to not only The Copycat Ninja, a prodigy, a master of 1000 jutsu, but also Guy-sensei’s best friend.
Neji looked away, willing himself to stop acting like a child, so easily embarrassed and flustered by some silly words.
“Kakashi-sensei, thank you.” Neji told him, staring down at the blanket for a long moment before dragging his eyes back to meet Kakashi’s singular one. “For rescuing me.”
“Mmah,” Kakashi waved him off. “Get some rest, Neji.” He told him, and then left Neji alone. Neji contemplated leaving, but he didn’t really want to test that medical-nin, underneath her laughter had been something more sinister… Neji shivered. He might as well follow that sort-of-order Kakashi-sensei had given him, and get some rest.
—
Kakashi found Guy waiting outside the hospital room when he returned from speaking with the medical-nin again, and he could already tell from the look on his face that he had been worrying. “He’s sleeping,” Kakashi told him, and Guy relaxed slightly. “They’ve stitched the wound, and he’s been given something for the pain. He’ll be alright.”
Guy nodded, though he still looked troubled. “I told you he reminded me of you, did you finally see it today?” Guy asked, giving his rival a curious look.
“I never really saw it before today.” Kakashi replied, leaning against the wall.
“Oh, it is there,” Guy assured him. “Not in the way you might think. Neji is very talented, yes, and he can be rather stubborn, but that isn’t what I mean. It’s the way he handles being hurt. He never asks for help, even when he needs it.” Guy sighed, his smile dimming slightly, “You were very much the same.”
Kakashi was quiet for a moment. When he found Neji in the forest, barely conscious and soaked in his own blood, the first thing the boy had done when he woke was check whether his teammates were alright. “I suppose I see it now,” he admitted.
“He looks up to you, you know.” Guy told him, giving Kakashi a smirk.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “I gathered that.” Kakashi's eye crinkled, as he added, “I think he was more impressed by the comparison than you would expect.”
Guy laughed again. “Of course he was.”
“He also spent a considerable amount of time arguing with the medical-nin about being kept here.” Kakashi hummed, knowing he was opening himself up for teasing.
Guy stared at him for a moment before a small smile tugged at his mouth. “That also sounds like Neji.”
“He tried to convince her that shinobi are allowed to discharge themselves against medical advice.”
“Then perhaps he really is like you.” Guy chuckled, and Kakashi gave him a look. “You once tried to leave the hospital with three broken ribs.” Guy said defensively, and Kakashi deflated a little.
“That was different.” He insisted, crossing his arms,
“You were threatened with being tied to the bed.” Guy recalled fondly, resting a hand on his cheek.
“I was fourteen."
“And Neji is thirteen.”
Kakashi sighed, but when Guy started laughing, he did too. Kids…