Spoiler:

He didn't have anything to replace himself with anymore,the flower having been torn apart by the bamboo shoots back outside, and he couldn't even dodge properly at this speed. He had no defense, he had no protection, he had nothing, right now he was literally just going to have to take it. And take it he did. The first one ripped through his coat and dug into his flesh, and then the other ones hit him, impaling into his arm, each one breaking down into smaller shuriken, slicing through his flesh until there wasn't a single part of his chest or arms that wasn't covered in paper, and it felt like a million papercuts all over his body. He was just amazed that it hadn't dug far enough inside his body for it to cut any major arteries, but every second that they stayed inside him they hurt like hell, every other second new pain flaring up inside him, almost making him want to scream. Instead, he forced himself to stay on his feet, beginning to dribble blood from his mouth as he spoke.
"That all you got? 'tis but a scratch!"

---

He had barely managed to get back to Konoha hospital in time, his body collapsing in on itself as he got through the doors, his consciousness slipping as he fell onto the floor of the hospital. This was not the first time that he was here this month, albeit this was a lot more serious than the first time. The first time he'd been punctured through the lung, that wasn't exactly something minor but it was not quite on the same level as this. The nurse seemed to recoil in horror as she saw the body of a shinobi, his face hidden behind a mask and hat and showing no clear identification of the village that he belonged to. What she was more horrified by was the state of his body. His chest was covered in hundreds upon hundreds of tiny knives, they were clogging up every part of the skin on his front, and by falling down he had impaled them even deeper into himself. It was barely even worth doing anything for this guy at this point, but out of a courtesy to the work that she did for the village, she decided to take his pulse any way. It was there, a little slower and weaker than normal, but there was a very clear pulse there. He might still have a chance after all, she thought

"Someone get a stretcher and prepare an emergency bed! We've got a new patient!" She yelled, before people milled through the hall, preparing the body for it's preparation and taking it out to an actual bed. As they finally got it into bed, the nurse who had found him took off the hat and mask for the first time and saw.... an Uchiha. Oshiki, to be precise. It wasn't that he was that well known, only being a Tokujo, but his last tenure in this hospital was pretty well known among the staff. He had, after all, run into the hospital with his chest bleeding profusely, his sharingan accidentally activated and scaring the nurse. As such, when she noticed who it was, she almost smiled. Of course he would end up getting into another situation like this, he was an Uchiha after all! they always seemed to run into danger like a little lost puppy. If she only did work on the Uchiha clan, she could probably retire within a year from the amount of injuries they ended up needing healed.

---

It had been several hours later, but they still hadn't managed to wake him up. He showed no signs of being in a coma  or anything, after all it was only natural that someone would be unconscious for this long an amount of time with an injury like his. Thankfully his lung wasn't damaged this time so they didn't have to put him on a life support machine, instead just covering his entire torso and arms with bandages to keep the wounds from reopening. They could do some more operations on him when he finally woke up, if he woke up at all. There was a chance that this large an amount of shock would put him into a coma, and the fact that he was found with such abnormal brain activity was not a good sign either. His heart had been racing a mile a minute, and when they had checked if there was anything abnormal with his brain they had found results that would suggest that he was on drugs. This was not a good sign, the supervising nurse thought as she looked sadly upon the beaten and bloody body that lay under the covers of the bed.

Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat.

The sound was comforting to Sarutobi, Mitsuo as he sat at his desk in his compound, pen in hand, working on a small amount of paperwork that he had to take care of. He was Konohagakure no Kato’s Captain of the ANBU Black Ops, and that meant he was responsible for overseeing training and allocation of missions to different agents, a task which he didn’t overly mind as it gave him a nice break from the hectic mess that was his regular life. The rain on the rooftop was becoming louder and he realised there was a storm coming. He looked down at the list in front of him and sighed slightly.

Potential Recruits
Ilothane, Aiza
Senju, Chimure
Hatake, Takeshi
Uchiha, Oshiki…

His eyes read over the last name several times. This was the one who he could never get out of his head. He had been his rival in the academy all those years ago and Mitsuo had always assumed that the two of them would always be rivals, but such wouldn’t be the case. Oshiki had dropped off of the face of the earth, or at least to Mitsuo he did. He had heard that Oshiki was taking care of his family, which was noble enough. Mitsuo knew something about taking care of family now that he was the head of his clan, though he didn’t know much of taking care of immediate family. It had saddened him to see the young Uchiha, who had been so promising in the academy, have to give up his career as a Shinobi. He actually hadn’t seen him until a few years back, when he was in a deep slump. Mitsuo barely recognised him, the normally handsome young boy had turned rugged and the stress was showing. He had confronted him about his current path, telling him to smarten up and that if he couldn’t get back on track he didn’t deserve to be Mitsuo’s rival, and that he didn’t deserve the life that he had been gifted. Mitsuo knew this last part was a little rough, but he was still upset about the loss of his brother and people who didn’ want to live, in his opinion, should give up and make room for those who do.

Border Patrol duties will go to agents Kitsune and Hepa, all other agents are to report into me for their assignment, I expect this to be completed post haste. 16:00 on the dot, no exceptions. We are ANBU, we are proud, we are the shadows in the night. You have your orders.

Chita, Sasori.

He finished the quick letter to his agents, putting his head into his hand and sighing slightly, his fingers running through his long hair. He had been through a lot himself recently and he had been thinking of the young Uchiha more and more, finding it difficult to just let go of the past and let it be. Of the students from their class in the Academy, the two of them and Senju Ukiyo had shown the most promise, all proving to be prodigies in their respective areas of expertise. He wasn’t entirely sure why he had been so worried about Oshiki, especially with his new found distrust for the Uchiha after what Tatsumaru had done to the village, but he had the information sects out trying to gather intel in him so that Mitsuo could be put at ease. When he received the information that was far from the case…

-------------------------------------------------

Sarutobi, Mitsuo.

We have completed our search and gathered what we could on the recent activities of Uchiha, Oshiki. It would seem that he was engaged in a battle in which he met a paper release user. He suffered many injuries during the fight, none of which should be permanent. He has been in the Konoha hospital for hours now recovering and is rumoured not to have awoken just yet.

We are sorry but this is all we have for you at this time, you will find him in room seventeen b if you wish to check in on him yourself.

Reguards,
Hyuuga, Daisuke, Konoha Information Department.

---------------------------------------------------

Damnit, what did he do now? Mitsuo stood up after reading the letter that had been delivered to him and slammed his fist on his desk, almost knocking over his ink pot, which he caught before it was able to fall. He scribbled out a quick thank you to send back to Daisuke and grabbed a coat and cloak, hiding his ANBU mask inside of a secret drawer in his desk and making his way towards the hospital. Once he had left the compound he realised just how rainy it was outside, the downpour soaking through his cloak and making it heavy with absorbed water, though fortunately not passing through his coat. He ran as quickly as he safely could in the current weather and made his way towards the hospital, pulling the doors opened and rushing towards room seventeen b. The receptionist tried to stop him but he wasn’t listening, making his way to the room and quickly moving through the closed door. He wasn’t entirely sure why he had come to this place, but his worries had been correct and he saw the young Uchiha laying in the bed in front of him. He was met by an angry receptionist spinning him around and reaching out her hand with a cross look on her face, taking the soaking cloak and coat from him.

“We don’t want to risk the young man catching a cold, master Sarutobi. You must be more careful, really. Had you asked we would have brought you here ourselves. Perhaps having company will help to revive him from his slumber.” With those words she left the room, closing the door behind her as Mitsuo walked up to the side of the bed. He tried not to be visibly upset at seeing his old rival and friend laying in the bed in front of him, but he spoke softly anyway.

“You know, Oshiki, I always knew you’d end up in a hospital bed with me sitting here beside you. Kind of reminds me of back then… When… well, you know…” He sighed slightly and put his forehead into his palm again. “You need to wake up man. What will your family do without you? What will I do…” He shook his head and sat in the chair beside the bed, waiting for his old friend to awaken.

His unconscious mind was a gigantic cluster-fuck of activity. Every piston was firing, but none of it was actually constructive. His mind seemed to be firing memories off at an explosive rate, all sorts of things firing through his thoughts. The Academy, losing his family, Mitsuo, Ukiyo, Aki, every last person within the village that he had met and helped. Every mission that he had gone through in the last few months. They all seemed to relive in his mind, every moment of ecstasy, pain, misery, anger, everything just seemed to go on one after another after another. It was during this time that things began to happen within his room. A new presence that he had not been expecting to come into his room came into his room, the same one that had come back into his life little more than a year ago. This man... this man was Sarutobi Mitsuo. He owed a lot to him, from his power to his life. They had been rivals during the academy, the reason that he always pressed to be better despite everything that had been going on in his social life. Then, when everything had gone to hell around him, when he was in the worst time of his life and he didn't know where to turn, he had been given a bit of encouragement at the right moment from this man.

Without that, oshi didn't know where he'd be. He might have been one of those pathetic alcoholic bums that you see loitering around the worse districts of the city. More likely, he would have drunk himself to death and he would have been buried alongside him. So, it was this very reason that he owed him so much. Even now he saw him as his target to beat, the only way that he would be able to become Hokage would be by beating him. The moment that he gained the strength required to beat him would be the moment that he could finally surpass all others within the village. the moment that he fought was the moment that he could overcome Takeshi. When he finally passed on, whether through natural means or the field of battle, Oshi would be able to take his place and build the utopia that he had dreamed about - The utopia that he had promised his family, that he had promised Mitsuo, that he had promised himself. From here, he would become Sannin, and then he would take over the village one day.

“We don’t want to risk the young man catching a cold, master Sarutobi. You must be more careful, really. Had you asked we would have brought you here ourselves. Perhaps having company will help to revive him from his slumber.” “You know, Oshiki, I always knew you’d end up in a hospital bed with me sitting here beside you. Kind of reminds me of back then… When… well, you know…” These words... they seemed to be piercing a veil in the unconscious recesses of his mind. Of course, he had been slowly awakening before this began anyway, but those words seemed to make him even more eager to snap out of it. Something was happening... he KNEW that voice! That voice, it was Mitsuo! But his eyes seemed so heavy and sleep seemed so delightful... it was like his eyes were made of lead or something. It was taking all his considerable strength to force them open, and when he did he really wished he hadn't. He could feel a strong light bearing down on him, making his vision blurry, he wasn't even able to see more than two shapes in the room. One was sitting on something and the other was standing up. He assumed that the one who was sitting down was Mitsuo, and knew that if he was here he was going to need something witty, charming, something that made up for their time of absence.

"You know....  When I imagined you and me in a room with a bed, I wasn't imagining it like this~" he teased playfully, giving a weak smile before... coughing up more blood. It was warm and sticky and mucous-ridden. It was quite frankly disgusting, and even he felt a little reviled by it. That joke probably didn't get the audience he had desired, and looked up weakly at the nurse who seemed a little shocked at that. He gave her a raised eyebrow.
"Oh come on, it was a joke!" he said, mock defensively, putting up his still blood covered hands in defense before addding
"I have higher standards than Mittens, anyway~" With that, he collapsed back on the bed, his eyes drifting up to the ceiling. So much had happened, so much he wanted to say but the only real thought that went into his mind was that someone really needed to clean this place, there were spider webs in the corners.

"You know....  When I imagined you and me in a room with a bed, I wasn't imagining it like this~” Mitsuo blushed at the comment. One of the things he had forgotten about this particular Uchiha was he was attractive, and he was into guys, which was a rare enough thing. Mitsuo had always found him attractive and maybe he even liked him, the only reason that he hadn’t ever really pursued anything with the young man earlier on was the fact that he had become a drunk and Mitsuo didn’t want to waste his time. But now here he was again, at the side of the man who he once cared so deeply for. He imagined he never really stopped caring, but he still wasn’t too sure what to think. When he saw Oshiki cough up blood he quickly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe it away, realising the extent of the young Uchiha’s injuries more now as he saw his entire body was covered in lacerations and he was a bloody mess. "I have higher standards than Mittens, anyway~"

“Sorry hun,” Mitsuo chuckled as he called the young Uchiha that, the word slipping through his lips so easily as he looked to the horrified nurse who clearly didn’t understand what was happening. “In the state you’re in right now I wouldn’t even dream of getting into bed with you, and besides, my boyfriend tells me I’m quite a catch…” He had almost forgotten about Kimaru, the Hyuuga slipping back into his mind suddenly as he realised that no matter his feelings, he was a committed man. He smiled down at the young Uchiha and looked back to the nurse. “Is he going to be alright, nurse? Can I stay for a while or do you need me to leave?” The nurse smiled at him and explained that Oshiki would need to be brought into surgery shortly, but that Mitsuo could have a few more minutes with him before he had to go in, which Mitsuo thanked her for as he watched her leave the room. He leaned in closer to Oshiki and stroked his hair gently and carefully, making sure not to hurt him.

“You know Oshiki, you really worried me there.. When I heard what happened I feared for your life. I don’t know why, but I still care for you man. I want to see you do well...” He chuckled softly to himself, maybe realising that he really did still care for Oshiki more than he thought he did. He decided against touching him too much though, and instead looked to the window. He could still hear the pat pat pat of the raindrops hitting the planes of glass, though it looked as though the sun was trying to peek out through the black and grey clouds, giving the sky a most beautiful appearance as he turned back to look towards the man lying in front of him.

And god said, "let there be light... but only specifically on the cheeks of one boy, currently lying covered in bandages." And so there was. Oshi's cheeks lit up like a christmas tree when his mouth was dabbed by Mitsuo's handkerchief, removing the blood from his face. That was a really intimate thing, it was natural that he was blushing. They were just friends, blushing didn't mean anything! That was his line and he was sticking to it. Although, the fact that he was so intimate made him feel a little bad about saying that he was out of Mitten's league. Should he take it back, should he be apologetic and say that he didn't mean that? As much as he would have liked to, he refused. He couldn't do that, and it was not just because of his own dignity. At this point, his dignity meant little to nothing to him. What mattered to him was that there was no way of being nice about this situation without having to make it sound like he wanted them to be more than friends, and he knew for a fact that Mitsuo was already taken by that Hyuuga boy.

The Hyuuga... he was not one of those people who seemed to pointlessly fanboy over "the heroes of Konoha" as every single Uchiha that he had met so far had done nothing but cause problems for him. However, this lover of Mitsuo's was a good boy, he was a little too self confident and he had an annoying habit of underestimating people that he didn't personally like, which he had always thought put him at risk of being killed in battle. If he was his teacher, he would have beaten that out of him a long time ago, but he wasn't. He was barely even the same rank, that man  was (if rumors were correct) another member of the village's security forces. They were an ANBU couple. Yep, nothing was possibly more romantic than brutally assassinating people who spoke out against the village together, apart from possibly kissing when eating the same noddle as so many books made people think.

Of course, when his boyfriend was actually mentioned, Oshi couldn't help but laugh out loud. It was not a mocking laugh, that was important, it was a gentle laugh, the one that someone might give when they had just heard a good joke for the first time. However, when he laughed he was sure he could feel some of the wounds on his chest opening up. That was almost definitely not a good sign, he thought, although he didn't say anything. If he was right, the fresh blood would show through his bandages and the nurse would be able to deal with it. If he was wrong, he wouldn't have to get embarrassed and worry people over nothing. So, instead, he juts spoke normally.

"Well, that's because nobody in their right mind is going to tell the leader of an organization that goes around in clay masks and kills people for a living that he's not sexy. Not saying you're not sexy, but really - You could be fat, thin, tall, small, or even a transgender prostitute with seven eyes, three nipples and a fetish for spotlights and I'm pretty sure people would still tell you you're a "catch", hun~" He teased, sticking his tongue out of his mouth playfully as he said so. It was not said to be cruel, it was said because it had to be said. People assumed that because they weren't insulted that meant they were fine. Of course, if he was being brutally honest, Mitsuo was pretty sexy. If he had guessed him right, he would be an uke, but that was just idle thought.

Unfortunately, that was when the topic turned serious. He tried to keep a happy face on, but he had to note that this was not a good situation for him to be in right now. His chest currently had about as many holes in it as a golf course, and so being all dramatic and serious was not a good thing for his mental state right now. Not that he was going to make that an open declaration, he didn't want to look weak. After all, he had sworn to beat this guy, they were going to have to keep pushing each other until they were at their peaks, at their zenith, and to look like he had been defeated already would just give him more ammunition. So, moving his hand out and gently ruffling through his hair, he said in a voice that sounded much stronger than he actually was.

"Oh don't worry about me so much, Mittens. You know damned well that I'm going to be Hokage some day, I can't let something this minor stop me or I'm not going to be able to protect the village. Now, get that sad look off of your face, because it doesn't suit you. Besides, you're draining the life out of me, I barely have the energy to flirt when you're like this~"