#board c

He swiped a hand through the blood on his chest and summoned the ninken.  

"What d'ya need, boss?" Pakkun asked in an all-business tone, perched above Rin's other former ninken.  It had been tricky for the dogs to become accustomed to Kakashi.  Now, though, it was with experience that Kakashi commanded them.  He directed them to find the Mist nins that he has marked with his scent.  They did so immediately, hounding them as Kakashi put his tracking skills to use.  

"Good work," Kakashi huffed, having cleared his objective.  He wondered if he was slipping; that should have been a quick, bloodless encounter.  

"You know, there's a better way to mark your opponents," Pakkun drawled, eyeing at the long line of blood across Kakashi's body.  "Have you tried peeing on them?"

"I confess, I have not." Kakashi whipped out some cloth to bind his wounds.  "Wait, where's Bull?"

"Aroo~"  The pack took up a howl, leading Kakashi to the clearly wounded dog.  "Oh, Bull," Kakashi knelt next to the big bulldog.  "Are you alright?"

Bull keened long and low, unable to form a response.  Kakashi bundled the dog up in his flak jacket and rushed Bull back to Konoha, heading straight for the vet clinic.  Unfortunately, it was the middle of the night and the clinic was closed.  Kakashi cursed then swept a hand through the blood of a reopened wound.  He wove the signs for the Summoning Jutsu again, this time only summoning Pakkun.  "Can you track the veteranarian's scent to his home?"

Pakkun took off with a yip and led Kakashi to a small apartment not too far away.  He rapped on the door, calling through the wood, "Please, I'm sorry to bother you but my ninken-"

The door opened to reveal a young Inuzuka.  A girl.  

Rin, his traitorous mind whispered.  For a second he could see his teammate's face overlaying that of the girl in front of him.  He shook himself.  No, of course not.  This is Inuzuka Hana.

Her eyes were sharp, though edged with sleep dust.  They quickly took in his appearance and that of the dog's cradled in his arms.  "Come in," she ordered.  

She directed him to lay the dog on her table and she disappeared into another room.  She returned quickly with supplies and set about stitching Bull up and calming the nervous animal in her foyer.  Kakashi, that is.  

"He'll be fine," she assured him, after caring for the dog.  She had bandaged him up and swaddled him on blankets on her table, and she now petted him softly.  "I've sewn up the wound, and it'll heal in matter of days.  You, however," she turned a critical eye on the injured human.  He moved cautiously, trying not to bleed all over her floor.  "You definitely need a hospital."

"No." The argument left his lips before he could even think about it.  

"I didn't say want; I said need," she said with the patience of working with dogs for patients.  "And you need to be sewn up."

"I don't do hospitals."

She sighed, "Well, do you know any medical ninja who are willing to stitch you up in the middle of the night?"

"Well, I-" but he stopped, because Sakura's out on a mission.  

"Mhmm," she nodded.  "Go to the hospital."

"No."

"This dog will not calm down until he knows that you've been cared for, too.  It is important for their emotional health," she crossed her arms.  

"Then why don't you do it?" He asked petulantly.  "You're a medic."

Her mouth dropped.  "I'm an animal medic.  The medicine I practice isn't the same as for humans."

"Well, it's good enough for me," he answered decisively.  "Please?"

Hana sighed again, but she consented to take a look at the long gash before it bled into her carpet.  She cleaned it up and bandaged him as quickly as she was able to.  She repeatedly told him to get himself to that medic nin he knows for a better suture.  

He didn't.  

It wasn't two months later, that he showed up at her door again with another downed dog.  After a while, he just bypassed the clinic altogether and went directly to her apartment.  She stitched up his dogs, sometimes him, and always bugged him to go to "a real medic."

"Don't sell yourself short, Hana," he protested one day.  "You're a miracle worker for these dogs."  She blushed and stammered a half-hearted response but didn't bring it up again.  

It wasn't until one day, returning home from a mission, that he realized the depth of his attachment.  His feet led him to her door even though he was distinctly dogless and woundless.  He stopped himself before he raised a hand to knock and berated himself on his abnormal behavior.  

It's just because she reminds me of Rin, he told himself even though that was far from true.  He had stopped comparing her to Rin after the first visit.  

The light clicked on and he just barely had enough time to get out of sight before the door opened.  A dark figure stepped out of the door, but it wasn't Hana.  It was that scar-nosed chunin that felt so protectively of Naruto.  He bowed and went on his way, oblivious to their observer.  

Kakashi watched Hana watch Iruka disappear into the night.  He waited her to disappear into her apartment so he could leave.  But to his surprise Hana also stepped out of her apartment and looked straight at him.  "I can smell you," she announced.  

Oh.  When he had reflexively suppressed his presence, he didn't account for the splattered enemy blood.  

"Just you, this time?" She asked, noting the absence of dogs.  She began to go back inside for her needle and thread, but he stopped her.  

"No, it's not my blood.  I was just in the neighborhood," he lied.  "I was just leaving actually.  Hope you had a nice night."

"Oh," she blinked.  "Thanks.  I did."  She blushed slightly and looked away.  In the direction Iruka had left, Kakashi noted.  

"Well, I'll let you sleep then," he said roughly.  "Sorry to disturb you."

He turned on his heel and sped away, springing over the rooftops, he berated himself.  He had never thought he would ever feel that way again ... And he was surprised by who he felt for.  Well, no matter, he sighed forlornly.  She's got someone better.  He deserves her.  He remembered all the times the Chunin had stood up for Naruto, even when no one else would.  Yes, he deserves her, he thought wretchedly, pledging to think no more about it.  

"I guess I've actually got something to talk to you about this time, Obito."