“Okay,” Kakashi said warily.

Katsuko jerked her chin at a clone, which vanished and reappeared a half-second later, helping Raidou lug in three gas-powered burners. They were talking softly, but Kakashi definitely caught the word ‘Iebara’, then ‘blood jutsu’.

Genma peeled the covers back. Cold air spilled across Kakashi’s skin, because he was down to a bandage-mask and underwear and the lieutenant was trying to kill him. He yelped rasping protest, hurting his own throat; Katsuko rolled against his side and threw an IV-strung arm across his bare chest, radiating concentrated heat.

Maybe he could wear her like a blanket.

Genma worked fast, swiping a stinging alcohol wipe across key points of Kakashi’s meridian lines, and setting needles into place. They were painless, at least, but slab-heaviness followed in their wake, like Genma was nailing what remained of Kakashi’s chakra down. Katsuko tucked her face against the side of Kakashi’s throat, looking away.

Not a needle fan, right.

After the tenth senbon went in, a glimmer of heat pulled through Kakashi’s veins. Ryouma’s fire-chakra had finally found something to catch against. Kakashi forced weighted hands up, feeling vaguely like they’d been detached at the wrist, and curled his fingers beneath Katsuko’s arm, trying to catch more warmth.

“Stay still, you big baby,” she said, exhaling a stream of raw heat against his bandaged neck as she spoke. The temperature ticked up another notch.

Kakashi shivered all over. “Do that ‘gain,” he slurred.

“Demanding,” Katsuko grumbled, and spread further across him like a cat seeking a sunbeam, managing to avoid every one of Genma’s needles. Her weight pressed against his welter of cuts, sparking a constellation of dull, distant pains beneath the morphine, but Kakashi didn’t care. Especially when she did that dragon breath trick again.

Genma smiled faintly. “Thanks, Ueno.” He continued setting needles, stopping when he had a miniature forest of twenty or so. They were short, t-bar shaped needles, inserted deeply enough that only a faint gleam marked their placement. Genma shifted position uncomfortably, re-balancing on his bad leg, and settled one warm hand against Kakashi’s ribs, trickling chakra carefully under the skin. “Better,” he pronounced. “How’s it feel?”

“Mmnrgh,” Kakashi said, afloat on a sea of narcotics and foreign, humming energy.

“You are so high right now,” Katsuko told him gleefully. “Ryouma better finish his shower quick. He needs to see this.”

“Mmm,” Kakashi agreed, because Ryouma did need to come back. He got into trouble unattended.

Genma touched Katsuko’s arm for a moment. “Ueno, try not to push your own temperature up. You don’t need to fry your kidneys like I did on the last mission.”

“No fried kidneys, yessir,” Katsuko said. The heat dropped a fraction, but there was still sweat shining on her skin. Effort or normal reaction, Kakashi couldn’t tell. He wasn’t sweating, but his hair was steaming gently.

It made pretty swirling patterns against the yellow lights, like Katsuko really was breathing smoke.

Genma peeled away Kakashi’s hasty field-applied bandages, reassessing the motley collection of scabbed needle slices Iebara had left. He laid better healing into the deeper ones, focusing on Kakashi’s scalp, hands, joints, and after some negotiation, face.

Kakashi made that easier by going somewhere else in his head for a while.