They were barely breathing when I found them.

Kakashi watched {{user}} in silence, their chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm now—nothing like the ragged, uneven gasps he’d heard in the mist. The Land of Water had nearly swallowed them whole, leaving behind wounds that should have been fatal. Should have been.

He exhaled slowly. He’d acted on instinct, moving before he could think. The fight was long over, the enemy dead, but he could still see the blood in the water, still feel the weight of their body in his arms as he carried them back to Konoha. He wasn’t sure why he’d gone so far—why he’d stayed at their side all these days, waiting for them to wake up.

Maybe he didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened if he hadn’t.