There was always a reason to him self medicating instead of checking into the hospital after important missions.
As always the hospital was full of people, their chattering and whispers mixing together into a dull roar.
Kakashi slipped in and out of people's way towards the other side of the lobby, a occasional "excuse me" or "sorry" coming from his masked mouth.
With a light nod to the receptionists, he walked toward a long hallway that lead to the well-lit stairway.
There was no need for him to ask where Rin's room was located. He had visited so much that the room number 317 had been ingrained into his head, even after all these years.
Even after he stopped visiting when her chances grew slimmer and slimmer before his eyes. He couldn't stand to see her there, not being able to help or protect her as he promised. He couldn't bear the torture, so he cut it out his life completely.
Thoughts of Rin only resurfaced while he visited Minato and Obito's graves. But even then, he kept those memories to a minimum.
"I wonder if she even noticed that I stopped visiting her," he mumbled to himself before letting out a deep sigh.
He nimbly walked passed several doorways that lead down other hallways and to the individual hospital rooms. He passed by several benches and people who sat outside the rooms waiting for their loved one to get better.
With his hands in his pockets, he inched closer and closer to the staircase till he finally found himself stepping onto the first step.
He could've sworn that he felt a light push in the small of his back. But when he looked over his shoulder, no one was there.
Having finally made it to the third floor of the hospital, Kakashi leaned onto the wall beside the swinging door that lead into the hallway.
He knew that room 317 was just through the door, the second room on the right, but he couldn't bring himself to go in just yet.
Kakashi wasn't one to let his fears get to him, but all of the possible scenarios that played through his head made him unable to lift his foot not even an inch.
What will happen if she doesn't accept his visit well? What if she somehow knew that he hadn't been visiting? What if the coma caused her to lose all of her memory?
What if she doesn't even remember him?
All the questions that ran in his head made the pit of his stomach knot up, but somehow made his feet move on their own accord.
Hesitation and nervousness pushed aside, he needed those questions to be answered and that would only happen in one way.
He pushed the swinging door forward slowly till it was wide enough for him to slip through. The quietness of the third floor calmed him slightly as he continued stepping forward to the second room on the right.
Once he found himself standing in the doorway of room 317, all of his questions and worst-case-scenarios completely left him.
"Does this hurt any?" Shizune asked a frail looking woman and she slowly bent her right arm behind her head.
"Not at all."
That voice. The moment Kakashi heard it, ringing occurred in his ear. He thought he would've forgotten that voice by now, but instead it's the most familiar thing that he remembers.
"What about this?"
Long brown hair rippled in waves from side to side as Rin nodded her head no in response. "That doesn't hurt either."
It was only then when Kakashi prepared to propel himself forward into the hospital room until Lady Tsunade appeared before him.
"Kakashi," she greeted as she continued forward, forcing him to back out of the room "It's about time you decided to come by."
Kakashi remained silent as he kept his eyes trained on Rin's backside.
She had become extremely pale, which didn't surprise him. Her hair grew down almost to the small of her back due to the lack of occasional care. It was evident that she had become slightly underweight, the indentations of her ribs could be seen almost perfectly, even from Kakashi's distance.
"Almost everything about you has changed, Rin," Kakashi thought to himself as he brought his gaze towards the ground.
As he was going to catch another glimpse, Tsunade had already shut the door behind her.
"Kakashi," Tsunade called slightly agitated from not being responded to.
Kakashi gaze quickly switched back to Tsunade, his aloof facade in tact. He rose his single visible eyebrow at her in question.
Tsunade took in a deep breath while her honey eyes slid shut. "Are you alright, Kakashi?"
"Of course, Lady Tsunade," he answered almost too quickly.
Tsunade opened her mouth to respond, but Kakashi had already beaten her to it.
"How is she?" he asked, in a voice that almost seemed too quiet for the hospital.
Tsunade took a moment before she responded. "She's alright to say the least," she paused "But I've decided that it would be unwise for her to return home without us knowing if she's stable enough to handle things on her own. Who knows what could happen."
Kakashi nodded his in agreement. "It would be best for her to remain at the hospital, then."
Tsunade sucked in another sigh and let it out slowly. "I think it would be best if she left the hospital, and was under the care of someone else."
"Who did you have in mind, Lady Tsunade?" Kakashi asked, knowing full well what the answer will most likely be.
"You."
"I-"
"How do you expect her to heal fully if she's stuck in the same place for such a long time?" she asked in a urgent whisper.
Kakashi remained silent. He knew she was right, but he couldn't be given that duty. Not again.
"Yes, but there has to be someone else though. Someone who's actually trained to do this sort of thing."
"That's all who've been taking care of her from the start, Kakashi," she replied sadly "That method works for only so long."
His eyebrow furrowed slightly.
"I've already failed at protecting her once, Tsunade. How would it be a good idea to do it again?"
"Wouldn't you like a second chance?" Tsunade responded in a soft voice. "I'm sure she's more than willing to give you a second chance."
"You don't seem to understand-"
"I understand that both of you need healing, and only you two can help each other."
Kakashi grew silent again, his gaze and facial expression relaxing fully beneath his navy mask.
He understood why Rin needed time and aid in healing, but why would he? He was probably the last person in the entire hospital that needed any form of healing.
"Go ahead and see her," Tsunade whispered as she twisted the door knob open, "Try for at least a day, and if you can't bare it I'll find someone else."
Kakashi studied Tsunade carefully. Something about her expression gave off the feeling that she knew Kakashi would never give a responsibility like that up, especially if it's concerning someone so close to him.
If only he had that confidence in himself.
The silver headed man walked forward, past Tsunade and pushed the door open slowly first poking his head through before walking through it.
Just as he was walking through, Shizune had just finished with helping Rin pull on the clothes that the hospital have lent to her.
Noticing him, Shizune shot Kakashi a small smile before whispering something to Rin and hurrying out the hospital room.
As the door slowly squeaked shut, Kakashi carefully stepped closer to Rin.
She peaked over her shoulder before turning around to face him completely, the loose beige hospital gown fluttering behind her sudden movement.
The pair stood there in silence, just a few feet apart.
They wanted to be sure that it was really who they thought it was, that they weren't just having another hopeless dream.
Light brown eyes scanned slowly and carefully over a masked face, over the covered neck and down to the clothed torso leading onto the legs and the blue shinobi sandals that covered his feet.
A single silvery, gray eye studied two purple rectangles that marked each cheek which were being gently tickled by the long brown hair that framed her face, a thin neck that connected her head to the rest of her frail body, all the way down to her feet.
A small smile cracked onto her tattooed face.
"Kakashi," she choked out, "do I at least get a hug?" she whispered as she walked closer to him.
His arms reluctantly rose to accommodate her as she walked into his chest, her arms wrapping around his torso as much as they could.
They stood there in silent for moments unnumbered.
She desired the warmth that has been absent from her for years, and he was more than willing to make up for lost time.
"Rin," he finally whispered cautiously as if it were a name to never to uttered.
She took in a deep breath of his scent, holding onto it before letting it out slowly.
"I remember seeing you only yesterday, but it feels like its been so long," she muttered into his chest.
Kakashi took a moment before responding "It has," he paused, increasing the grip his arms had on her "It has been too long."