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Chapter Text

“Can you just stop already!”

—splash—

One Icha Icha in the nearby pond, and—

One absolutely mortified Kakashi Sensei—

One young woman, Sakura, recognized as the woman recently rescued and—

Sakura watched, confusion setting in.

“Kakashi, wait.”

Only Kakashi sensei was gone.

Chapter Text

Everything started on their return from the Land of Waves.

Kakashi slouched, eye narrowed as he read his copy of Icha Icha , not caring who , in fact, saw him. He still felt the burn of Chakra exhaustion, the heaviness of his reserves still trying to return to some level of normalcy after having spent so much first in his fight with Zabuza, and next on the bridge.

Which—

“Goodness knows I’d already been on a mission only a few days before that used up a lot of my Chakra reserves, so had they known…”

None of them, even himself, would have gone on the mission had the mission appropriately been ranked, to which he wondered how different things might have turned out, though right now Kakashi would be letting the Hokage know that the Land of Waves would likely be repaying the favor later on down the line.

“That’s how things are. It’s not ever a verbally agreed-upon thing, and certainly something that clients like the Land of Waves can decide not to repay the favor later on. Still, it’s just a matter of principle, of doing the right thing and paying it forward, and” Kakashi thought they would.

The elders knew better than to demand a promise, excluding, of course, one Shimura Danzo, a man who claimed he did what he did for the protection of the village. In reality, he was power-hungry and the type of person who would use that power to control others.

Which—

Kakashi sighed.

“Not what I want to think about right now.”

“Kakashi Sensei?”

Kakashi watched Sakura turn to him as they arrived at Konoha ’s front gate, having not complained about being too sweaty or some of the things Kakashi knew girls her age who were chasing boys were prone to do, which—

“Earth to Kakashi Sensei?”

“Sorry, Sakura!” Kakashi said, grinning at his kawaii Gennin, although Naruto sulked at the fact that the Land of Waves decided not to name a bridge after him, and Sasuke just glared, hands in pockets. “I kind of…”

“What’s she staring at?”

Kakashi turned his head to see what Naruto was—

He stiffened, feeling as if his heart were caught in his throat, as a familiar set of warm brown eyes stared at him. Her mouth was pressed together, and she held her hands delicately behind her back, looking right at him. He felt a slight heat rise in his cheeks, noting—

Kakashi brushed it aside, while Naruto—

“You wouldn’t be embarrassed, Kaka Sensei, if you didn’t read porn in public.”

Kakashi let out a half-hearted laugh, eyes closed shut, knowing she and the team she was with were close enough to hear what Naruto said. The part of him that wanted to tell him Icha Icha wasn ’t porn lost out to the part of him that acknowledged maybe, just maybe he was a little bit embarrassed at her finding out, but it couldn ’t be…

“Catch you guys at the Hokage Tower to file our report!” he saluted, leaving them in their dust as he headed straight there, which resulted in complaints from his three students while the group who brought her in—

Kakashi tried to ignore that, waiting at the entrance for his Gennin team, hoping not to run into the team that had brought her in.

Which—

His Gennin thankfully showed up first, all three glaring at him, and they went in to file their report, which—

“This is a fun experience,” Kakashi thought sarcastically as he stood there slouching, the same look of apathy on his face as when he read Icha Icha, only he wasn’t reading this time and shoved his hands into his pockets. In contrast, Sakura handed in the mission reports, and they received quite a few questions Naruto wasn’t happy about having to answer.

And there was a bit of an issue with Naruto ’s teammates disliking the fact Naruto tried taking credit for why everything turned out to be a success while neglecting the myrid of ways he caused problems for the mission, such as bullying the clients grandson about crying, to showing up in a very un-ninja way ruining the element of surprise, to even getting right into the center of Haku’s ice abilities.

“You’re lucky things turned out as well as they did,” Kakashi said, wanting to say, yet that would draw even more attention to how messy this mission was and—

He felt—

Mentally, he couldn ’t place how he felt in that moment, not with the fact he’d seen her, when he shouldn’t have been able to see her, and Iruka sensei, as he helped operate the desk, called him out on this not once, but twice, that he wasn’t really paying attention, the second time—

“Stop looking so worried,” Kakashi thought to himself, knowing how the younger shinobi had somehow managed to enter into his circle of friends who worried their heads off about his well-being. “Of course, what’s he going to think when—does he even know about her like the others do? Surely not.”

And then they were allowed to leave, which is around the same time the other team, minus her, came into the mission room and—

He ’d thought he could avoid it, but he heard that she’d been taken to T&I, so the young woman they rescued could have her identity verified, but—

A shiver ran down his spine from the look given to him by the Jonen of that particular team, though he couldn ’t tell if it was one of pity or disgust as he didn’t know that specific Jonen well enough; he really didn’t know anybody outside of his friend group, and perhaps that would be for the best at the end of the day.

Nobody said her name, so perhaps—

Perhaps it wasn ’t her. Maybe it wasn’t, and yet—

That didn ’t stop the mental turmoil in his head as he told his Gennin to go home, rest for a couple of days. He jumped into the shower, letting all the sweat wash away before collapsing into his bed, hoping .

Chapter Text

“Miss.”

Rin ’s mouth twisted slightly as she heard a young person call out to her, mentally wanting to just—

“Hey, miss.”

Someone poked her in the cheek, and she sat up straight, feeling—

Rin looked down at her fingers, opening and closing them in confusion, remembering—

She tried remembering, but the last thing she remembered was—

Her right hand shot up to where a hole in her chest should be, her heart beat frantically under her palm as she placed it there, her eyes closing, completely confused as to—

“I should be dead.”

“Hey, miss?” the same person said.

“Stop poking her!”

Rin ’s eyes fluttered open, her arms wrapping around herself as her mouth twisted into a deep frown, confusion setting in as her last memory was of—

“Jumping in front of Kakashi’s Chiddori.”

“What’s your name?”

“Nohara Rin.”

To which she felt a shift in the air, as if the tension had become thicker. Opening her eyes, it wasn ’t the three Gennin standing there, enthusiastic about the person they’d just rescued, but instead from their Jonin sensei, who very much looked at her as if he knew she should be dead.

But from their babble, “ Some kind of experiment? ”

“We should be going,” their Jonin sensei said.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” one of the kids asked.

“Leave that to T&I.”

Oh, she wasn ’t going to look forward to that, but she went along with it, standing rather shakily, taking in the yukata she wore, a rather plain one. Still, the Jonin sensei, who knew she shouldn ’t be alive, carried her to the nearest village, where they bought her footwear, which was something.

Yet in the back of her head, no matter how much she smiled at the man ’s Gennin, she did not look forward to the T&I, because at the end of the day, she didn’t have any answers for them, but—

The Yamanaka were a part of T&I, so while she might not have answers for them, one of the Yamanaka might help her with answers. Slowly, they headed back to the village, everything feeling too calm, including her chakra, which was a pleasant sensation compared to having a tailed beast sealed within oneself.

And—

Two familiar faces were there at the front gate, Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu, who proceeded into asking a lot of questions, to which her mind wandered, and her head twisted, having—

Konoha looked different. It looked different for some reason she couldn ’t place, and it bothered her, although she didn’t let it show. She understood the whole rule about emotions better than Kakashi ever had, the rule meaning not to throw away one’s feelings, but to keep them in check and not show how you were really feeling.

Which—

The corner of her mouth twisted slightly, remembering that one of the reasons he wore the mask all the time was because Kakashi struggled with keeping his emotions in check. “ That is, when he wasn ’t being emotionally constipated because he thought he had to shut off all emotions. ”

Her eyes blinked.

Because there—

Her mouth opened, hands tucked behind her back, wishing she had one of her medical nin aprons rather than just a yukta, but—

She saw Kakashi approaching with what looked like a team of Genin, rather young ones, his nose buried in a book.

Rin couldn ’t help but stare, because—

She didn ’t couldn’t place the girl, but she could tell one of the boys was a Uchiha as he wore the Uchiha crest and the other—

“Sensei and Kushina’s child,” she thought to herself, feeling a strange pull towards the child, thinking at that moment the fact that the boy shared his father’s hair and eyes, while having Kushina’s face shape, was what made her feel a connection.

But what she really stared at—

Kakashi had grown out of being a skinny teenager waiting for a growth spurt to a well-built young man that—

Mentally, she chided herself for—

“No. There’s no reason for me to be embarrassed at imagining what’s under the uniform, wanting to know.” Rin thought to herself, “What may I look forward to if he’s finally come to his senses?”

Kakashi didn ’t see her, which—

“Strange, as he’s normally aware of those around him,” Rin thought to herself, but—

The pink-haired girl, the one that Rin couldn ’t recognize any clan affiliation to, she called out. “Kakashi Sensei?”

“Apparently, I’m not the only one who’s noticed,” Rin thought as the two boys continued scowling. “I hope there’s not a stupid rivalry between those two like there was between Kakashi and Obito.”

“Earth to Kakashi Sensei?”

“Sorry, Sakura!”

And then—

Rin felt her heart skip, watching Kakashi look fondly at his three students, looking as if he ’d healed a great deal since she last saw him.

“But if he sees me?”

“I kind of…”

“What’s she starting at?”

Kakashi stiffened, having heard the child Rin identified as being the child of their sensei, and looked up, and—

Rin enjoyed the way his cheeks dusted pink at the edges of his mask as it always did when things got a bit awkward between the two of them, and—

For some reason, the moment between them had to be ruined by their sensei ’s child, who looked right at Kakashi and caught the change in expression on his face.

“You wouldn’t be embarrassed, Kaka Sensei, if you didn’t read porn in public.”

To which the dusty pink sharpened, reddened, resulting in Kakashi letting out a half-laugh before saying, “Catch you guys at the Hokage Tower to file our report!”

From there, Rin heard the children grumble about their sensei, their sensei ’s child saying, “I bet he doesn’t show up at all.”

“Naruto!” the girl complained.

“And sensei let Kushina name their child after a ramen topping. Lovely,” Rin thought to herself, finding it amusing.

“He’s right, you know,” the other boy said.

“I’m sure Kakashi sensei will be there, Sasuke,” Sakura said, pressing her fingers together, then sighing. “Well, maybe not? But after what happened on the mission?”

The boy stiffened, looking rather upset. Rin frowned. “ Wait. What happened on the mission? ”

“We should really worry about turning our report in,” Sakura chided.

Rin watched, remembering how neither of the boys liked turning in reports, or more of Obito hated writing them, and Kakashi liked watching Rin write them, for some reason, always fascinated by her penmanship of all things.

“Hey,” the Jonin sensei said. “My team is heading to the tower now, and these two will wait here with you until T&I comes. But regarding the Uzumaki boy…”

“Not…”

“T&I will fill you in, if they see fit, if you are who you really say you are.”

Rin frowned, hands still behind her back.

Chapter Text

The man who came to fetch her —

Rin ’s head tilted, her mouth pressed into a smile as she tried figuring out in her head why the scarred man looked so familiar to her, and—

“You’re the head of T&I?” Rin blurted out, still trying to put together why the man looked so familiar, why he seemed so intimidating, yet she didn’t feel at all intimidated by him.

He looked at her, gauging her reaction, not saying anything as he tried to continue to look intimidating, but—

“You’re just a big old teddy bear, Ibiki!” she said, finally clicking in her head who was standing in front of her, which resulted in Izumo and Kotetsu chuckling to themselves, only to receive a glare from Ibiki.

“I am right! You are Morino Ibiki.”

“We honestly didn’t say anything,” Kotetsu chuckled.

“Honest!” Izumo held up his hands. “It would make your job a lot harder, right?”

Rin tilted her head, thinking it over, then clasped her hands to her mouth. “Oh. Whoops.”

“We’ll be meeting with the head of the Yamanaka clan,” Ibiki said.

“I’d hoped so!” Rin said.

“You hoped so?” Ibiki gave her a blank look.

“I’ve some gaps,” Rin said, being completely honest, as Kotetsu and Izumo continued chuckling. “And I want answers too!”

Ibiki sighed. “Come along.”

He led her through the streets, not bothering to handcuff her or restrain her, but then—

She ’d come willingly, didn’t put up a fight. She followed them through the back streets, hands behind her back, aching to see Kakashi more than anybody else, though seeing teddy bear Ibiki was a good start. “Head of T&I, huh.”

“Things have changed,” Ibiki said. “This isn’t me saying you are who you say you are, but more of if you are, then it is only fair to forewarn you.”

“The Jonin sensei,” Rin hummed. “He said something about you needing to fill me in. Like, why is he a Uzimaki and not a Namikaze?”

Ibiki glanced back.

“I mean that boy I saw on Kakashi’s team,” Rin said.

“You saw Kakashi?”

“His little Gennin was coming through when we got here,” Rin said, becoming excited. “One of them is definitely Sensei’s child!”

He didn ’t correct her, but the two with him glanced at each other, one saying, “We don’t speak of that publicly.”

“Why?” Rin said.

“Well, the questions you’re asking certainly do sound like questions Nohara Rin would ask, having returned to the village after all this time,” Ibiki said. “Which is why I’m fine with leaving your interrogation to the Yamanaka.”

“Well, it is hard to imagine you being, uh,” Rin pressed her fingers together, her head tilting. “Things change?”

“I started with tickle torture, you know.”

This startled his two companions, and Rin let out a laugh. “I remember that! Never worked on Kakashi!”

“Nothing really works on him,” Ibiki said.

“Hey? You didn’t get into torture stuff just to get, you know, a word out of him,” Rin pouted. “I know he can be a bit, well, closed off with his emotions, but…”

“Hillarious, but no,” Ibiki said. “Any other questions regarding what you’re seeing?”

“Where are the Uchiha?” Rin asked. “I mean, I did see Kakashi’s little Gennin. They’re so adorable, and I can’t wait to squish their adorable cheeks.”

“Wouldn’t he love that?” Ibiki said, letting out a chuckle. “Might Guy also has a Gennin team for you to troll!”

“Yay!” Rin said.

“Captain,” the two with Ibiki muttered.

“It’s fine. The Yamanaka is likely just a formality,” Ibiki said.

“You can’t be sure of that.”

Ibiki looked back. “How many people these days do you see not be intimidated by my presence?”

“Hatake?” both groaned.

“Other than bloody Hatake?”

They glanced over at her. Ibiki looked back. “That is the look of someone who remembers me from childhood, whose childhood memory overrides anything and everything she sees about me because she always looked for the best in people.”

“Oh. Thank you!” Rin said, tilting her head.

“Is that a compliment?”

“She’s not doing this out of foolish naivety,” Ibiki said, “But because she’s a genuinely warm heart. It’s why she trained as a medical ninja even before she trained at the academy.”

“Oh!” Rin said. “That’s another way of proving I’m who I am! Medical ninjitsu!”

The two commrades muttered, asking how she could be a shinobi, as she was on the surface kind, docile, and—

“Looks can be deceiving,” Ibiki said. “But there was a reason she was hailed as a likely candidate to be the next Tsunade.”

“Yeah, well, that never happened,” Rin said. “I kind of…” and then she held up her arm, flexing it. “You know!”

“I know,” Ibiki said. “You can still work on that.”

“I plan on it!” Rin said. “You think Might Guy…”

“Might Guy’s training might not be the best place to start, Nohara,” Ibiki said as they finally arrived, and she was brought in.

They—

They decided to place her in the room they used for interrogating children, regardless of whether they were a threat or not, or witnesses to things that may have left them traumatized, though she didn ’t think she fit this.

The Yamanaka head came in, and—

She was excited to see him, telling him she was worried about the additional frown lines on his face, to which he smiled at her before diving into her head, confirming it was her, which—

A part of her wished he ’d confirmed she wasn’t Rin, because she knew she was supposed to be dead, didn ’t have an explanation for why she was alive for them, but—

Inoichi didn ’t have an answer either regarding that, though he did have other answers. “Having confirmed you are Rin, I’ll start with the bad news.”

Rin braced herself, thinking it would be something happening to her family, but that turned out to be her family moving away after the nine-tailed fox incident, while some of the other Nohara stayed behind for the simple fact—

The Nohara were a prominent clan, and the major clans weren ’t allowed to take in the new jinchuriki for the nine tails because of political reasons. Still, Naruto was an orphan, an orphan who didn’t know who his parents were out of fear someone might target him because of who they were.

Yet—

“How can nobody guess he’s the child of the fourth?”

“Yes, well,” Inoichi said. “Given the way he’s spoiled and allowed to get away with things other kids his age weren’t able to?” He paused, then, “And it probably prevented the reaction to his being the jinchuriki from being as horrible as it could be, of similar nature to what I’ve heard them be treated like in other villages, but then, unlike others, this was the first time we’ve had an issue outside when it was sealed within the Lady First all those years ago.”

“Which people aren’t supposed to know,” Ibiki said. “But there is a leak somewhere, resulting in a few adults finding out, and the boy makes an easy scapegoat for them.”

Rin frowned. “I’m aware just how adults can be the worst bullies,” thinking of Kakashi’s experience within the village walls. “But even if it is only a few, I can also see a child that age thinking it’s many,” she thought, thinking about how Obito reacted. “ It wasn ’t the entire Uchiha clan, but a couple of cousins who had the Sharingan and disliked the way he always boasted about getting better once he got it.”

“Also, regarding Kakashi.”

Rin ’s head shot up.

“You may find him a bit…”

“Unapproachable?” Ibiki offered up.

“He seems to be doing better, though,” Rin said.

“Oh, he is,” Inoichi said. “He is, but he’s also not completely dealt with all the loss in his life, so he may try avoiding you, Rin, particularly given…”

“The way I died?” Rin frowned. And then, “You’re not having me try medical ninjitsu?”

“No,” Ibiki said. “The medical nin who will be checking you over will not be pleased if we do, given…”

“We’re not quite sure what’s going on with this body of yours,” Inoichi said. “What’s been done to you, just as you don’t know what’s been done to you, we don’t know either, so it’s the hospital next.”

“Understood.” Her mouth twisted. “If people aren’t supposed to know, why are you telling me?”

The two looked at each other, then Inouchi turned to look at her. “Because you almost asked a question you shouldn’t have, didn’t you?”

Rin took a deep breath, looking at her hands that were placed in her lap. “I did. The jonen of the team found my interruption and interrupted me before I could voice my question, of why he’s going by his mother’s last name instead of sensei’s.” She looked up. “Also. Something else is bothering me.”

Inouchi nodded his head. “Icha ICha is an adult romance series my wife enjoys. All the wives of Ino-Shika-Cho like the series. But that’s not your question, is it?”

Rin took a deep breath. “The only Uchiha I’ve seen…”

“Is the only one left alive.”

At least, alive in the village, as little Itachi apparently killed everyone but his younger brother. Rin frowned, not liking what she heard.

Chapter Text

“My eternal rival!”

A feeling of dread—

“Have you heard the good news?”

Kakashi took a deep sigh, feeling Guy had picked the worst time to show himself at the front door of his apartment, and for a moment, he thought of fleeing out the window of his apartment, yet knew better as not only would Guy bust down the door, which he ’d have to yet again explain to his landlord, but Guy would proceed to chase him all across Konoha.

So he opened the door to G u y, extolling with his usual fervor, “Your precious Rin is alive!”

“Okay.” Kakashi thought to himself, looking at Guy’s students, who gazed on in confusion. The female student, Tenten, looked apologetic, or perhaps she didn’t want the two to do something that would end up embarrassing her, so she pretended not to know her sensei. “Bad idea.”

He tried closing the door, only for Guy to stick his foot in the door jam, beaming sunshine all over he place.

“She’s not my…”

“Of course she is!” Guy said, reaching in to pull Kakashi out of his own apartment, slapping him on the back and nearly knocking him off his feet, yet at the end of the day—

What he hoped for when he crashed into his bed after the mission turned out not to be.

Which—

A part of him—

“Isn’t this always what you hoped for?” Guy chirped, to which—

Kakashi gave him a look and started to step away, wanting to run, because there had always existed the wish Rin hadn ’t died, of what could have been. Yet, he purposefully chose not to think of such things in order to prevent himself from spiraling into thoughts of self-blame.

“Rival?” Guy’s smile faultered, a sign that always indicated something confused his rival.

“Nope!” Kakashi said, quickly moving away, knowing he needed to put distance between himself and Guy, landing on the roof across the way.

“Rival. You aren’t…” Guy continued frowning.

“No, nope,” Kakashi said, backing away, overseeing Guy’s movement.

“He’s running away from the challenge,” Guy’s student Lee said, his mouth turning into a frown, not that Kakasshi cared if Lee was happy or not, because he simply wanted away from Guy and away from this topic so the spiraling would stop.

“This is not about the challenge!” Guy pronounced to the world.

“Shit, shit!” Kakashi said, taking off in a run across the rooftop, eyes wide as Guy barreled after him. “No, no, no!”

“Why don’t you want to see Rin!” Guy yelled at him, powering after him.

Kakashi kept muttering under his breath, catching sight of Guy ’s students following along on the nearby rooftops as he tried to escape his rival, the anxiety growing, his mind racing as—

Usually, Guy kept him from spiraling, but now he was what was setting him off, because—

“Read,” Kakashi muttered. “The,” he said as he moved to another roof. “Room.”

Only to find himself tackled around the waist and knocked off the roof onto the street below, resulting in people shouting as Kakashi came crashing down as—

Perhaps Guy kicked him rather than tackled him, as his side really hurt, as did his wrist and elbow of his right arm.

And before he could move, he felt Guy grab him, turn him, and begin to shake him like a ragdoll, sobbing and making a scene, “Why!”

And as Guy shook him, Kakashi found himself looking up at Asuma and Kurenaai, looking on in confusion, but he didn ’t have any energy to ask for help, let alone give them a look begging for help as he hung there.

“What…” Asuma said, looking down at the two and their antics in confusion as Kurenai’s mouth pressed together.

“Interrupted a date, did we?” Kakashi thought to himself.

“Why aren’t you visiting Rin at the hospital!” Guy sobbed.

Kakashi flopped around like a limp rag. Asuma ’s eyes blinked, and Kurenai now looked concerned.

“She’s the love of your life!” Guy said, continuing to shake him, sobbing away, drawing looks from everyone, but then—

“Better these looks than the friend killer looks,” Kakashi thought to himself.

“Sensei?”

Kakashi turned his head slightly in the direction of the voice, recognizing who spoke before he even did, and saw Sakura out with her mother.

Guy pointed, sniffing as he did so. “You don’t want to be a disappointment to your students, rival?”

The shaking had stopped, Sakura ’s mother looking not at all amused and—

“He already is?” Sakura said, frowning.

“Why?” Guy started shaking Kakashi again.

“Sakura!” her mother blurted out.

“Why, Kakashi?” Snot came from Guy’s nose.

“But he is,” Sakura protested.

“Why?” Guy—Kakashi was a rag doll again, flopping around, when—

Kakashi heard the sound of ninja tools being thrown, felt Guy topple onto him while letting out a loud—

“Gack!”

—right before he heard the ninja tools bury themselves into the ground, as well as heard the sound of the back of his head cracking on the ground, as Guy no longer had a grip on him.

“Tenten!” Guy said, looking up at the roof, giving his female student a pout, his sleeve purposefully pinned to the ground so he’d stop flopping Kakashi around like a rag doll.

“Sorry!” Tenten said, a grin on her face.

“She’s so not sorry,” Kakashi thought to himself, adding yet another pain to his list of injuries. He sat up, his head swimming.

“My sensei will prevail against his rival in all things, including matters of the heart!” Lee suddenly said, appearing next to Tenten.

“We should leave,” Sakura muttered, trying to drag her mother away.

“No, no!” Guy said. “You’ve got the wrong idea, Lee!”

Lee jumped off the roof, doing a flip and revealing a frown on his face. “I do?”

Guy leaned over, whispering in a way that everyone could hear. “I’m not trying to scare my rival away from his love interest! I’m trying to encourage him towards her!”

Kakashi felt his eye twitch, but saw Sakura ’s did as well.

“Right!” Lee said, salluting, Kakashi’s head still spinning as Tenten landed nearby, plucking her ninja tools out of the ground, releasing her over exuberant sensei as—

Lee saw Sakura, then—

Kakashi watched as the boy turned around, standing rigid. “I will not get distracted by the pretty girl as I help the sensei ’s rival in matters of love!”

“Idiots,” Sakura said.

“Saskura!” her mother sighed.

Sakura stomped over, standing in front of Kakashi, leaning over with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “Sensei?”

“Sakura, really!”

“My advice?” Sakura said firmly.

“You’re giving me advice?” Kakashi asked, looking at her dumb founded.

“Sakura,” her mother said, letting out a sigh of frustration.

“Yeah. Drop the porn.”

Kakashi stared, rubbing his wrist, his head swimming. “ Concussion. Joy. Hospital? Yuck. ”

“Sakura!”

“Oh, is your mother…”

“And I don’t just mean reading porn in public,” Sakura said firmly.

“Wait. What?”

Kakashi closed his eyes, the change to a shrill tone by Sakura ’s mother making his head hurt worse .

“Icha Icha isn’t porn,” Kurenai sighed.

Kakashi ’s head tilted, feeling tipsy. “ Oh. Forgot you two were here. ”

“But still, maybe lay off reading it in public?” Asuma said, hands on hips.

“Oh. Hi.”

“Oh, hi?” Kurenai asked. “Did you really forget we were here?”

‘Yup!” Kakashi chirped.

Sakura ’s mother was frowning, but—

“Sakura.”

“What?” Sakura said.

“You owe your sensei an apology.”

“Eh?” Kakashi’s head spun. “Why?”

“What for?”

“Yeah. What for?” Kakashi wondered.

“I read Icha Icha, young lady.”

“Mom!”

Kakashi sighed, waving his hand. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine,” she said.

“Fine! Sorry!”

“That’s not,” her mother said, then started to drag Sakura away. “You. You will apologize appropriately to your sensei at your next training or mission session. Do you understand me?”

“But…”

“Awkward,” Asuma sighed.

“But why!”

And Guy was back to grabbing him, shaking him like a ragdoll, which stopped Sakura ’s mother in her tracks, and—

Guy got a knee to the chin, and Kakashi was scurrying away again.

“Rival!” Guy said. “You won’t….”

Kakashi puked into a side alleyway where nobody could see his face when he pulled the mask down.

“I think you gave him a concussion, Tenten,” the Hyuga student of Guy’s said.

“Rival?” Guy asked as Kakashi pulled up the mask, and then—

Kakashi felt his arm being grabbed.

“Looks like we have to go to the hospital after all!” Guy chirped. “And…”

“No hospital!” Kakashi croaked out, fingers grabbing onto the corner of the building, only to find himself unable to hold on as he had managed to mess up his wrist and elbow on the one arm in the fall.

He found himself thrown over Guy ’s shoulders.

“Guy! No!”

Kakashi found himself spun around three hundred eighty degrees as Guy turned first to the hospital, screeched to a stop, and then turned to Asuma and Kurenai, both holding up their hands.

“He’s not ready to see Rin yet!”

“Yeah. Stop trying to force it.”

“But she’s the love of his life,” Guy said. “And she’s alive.”

Kakashi felt as if he were going to hurl again. A hand was placed over his mouth, wondering if he shouldn ’t just pull down his mask and throw up his hand to avoid his face being seen.

“And how was she almost not alive?” Kurenai said firmly, arms crossing her chest.

“That!” Guy chirped, then came the sad, “Oh.”

He let Kakashi down, letting Kakashi sway on his feet, and—

“I’m so sorry! I should have thought of that!”

To which Guy ended up with a palm to the chin so Kakashi could throw up in the alleyway again. He let out a deep breath, finishing—

“You don’t look so good, sensei.”

Kakashi stiffened, turning to see Sakura standing there, his eye widening, his mask almost pulled back to his nose. “Did you…”

“Didn’t see your face,” Sakura said. “But you’ve a concussion, right?”

“Likely?”

“You should…”

“No hospital,” Kakashi muttered.

“Alright then.”

“Mom?”

Kakashi ’s eyes blinked, turning to see—

Sakura ’s mom grabbed his arm. “Then I guess you’ll just have to come with us, sensei?”

“Wait,” Kakashi frowned. “I don’t think…”

“I’m not taking a no for an answer!”

“Mom!” Sakura protested.

Chapter Text

“Boring.”

Rin found herself moved from T&I to a very comfortable hospital room where the entire staff fussed over hr and ran any test they could think of as if they were only doing it because they could.

“I think I get how Kakashi feels, maybe just a little,” she thought to herself, and yet in reality, what she really wanted was to see Kakashi.

He was—

Her mind wandered back to when she came in, as the sun slowly set over Konoha, to the way his masks twisted, how it never kept her from his smiles, a definitely rare thing as they’d grown older. He tried shutting himself down completely, only ever slipping for herself or Minato, something Rin thought he’d never really realized.

There were other emotions, but—

“He really, really enjoys being a Jonen sensei,” Rin chuckled to herself, hand lifting as her own mouth twisted into a smile, having caught sight of the look under the mask as he looked upon his three students with absolute adoration and fondness.

Yet—

Her stomach twisted, remembering how Kakashi reacted to seeing her, but also how Sakura, the girl with the pink hair, had said something regarding the mission, as if something had gone wrong.

She still had no information regarding Kakashi, beyond a warning that he might be unapproachable.

“What is our relationship going to be like now?” Rin wondered. “Has he moved on? I imagine that would make things even more awkward than just…” Her hands clenched the sheets, and her mouth tightened. “As if what I did isn’t going to make things awkward between us. I tried to get him to kill me. It might have been for the right reasons, but still.”

“Rin?”

Rin’s eyes blinked.

“Rin-chan!”

She turned her head, smiling. “Kurenai?” She noticed the young man beside her. “That must be Asuma with you, right?”

Because who else would follow Kurenai around as if he were their significant other, reminding Rin of how Kurenai would joke with her that Kakashi and she were practically there themselves, though—

“Were we?” She turned to look out the window.

“Came to check on you for Kakashi,” Kurenai said, slipping in.

Which only proved Ibiki right.

She felt Kurenai sit on the edge of the bed. “He’s not ready.”

Rin felt her throat tighten, then she let out a sigh.

“He will be! Eventually,” Kureni insisted, trying to sound cheery.

“Guy tried rushing it,” Asuma said.

Rin’s eyes blinked, then she turned his head. “Guy did?”

“Kakashi may have at least a concussion,” Asuma said.

“Then he’s in the hospital?” Rin said, her voice straining. “Tell me he is!” The looks on their faces—

Asuma looked away sheepishly while Kurenai looked at the ground.

“He isn’t, is he?” Rin turned her body, twisting around to swing her feet out of the bed, her mouth pressing into a thin line. “I’ve got to. I’ve got to go to him!”

“Rin!” Kurenai said, reaching out across the bed, only to not grab her in time.

Asuma stepped in front of her, gently placing her hands on her shoulders. “Hey, hey. It’s okay. Do you think,” he said, “We’d leave Kakashi uncared for?”

Rin stiffened, her eyes going to the ground, her throat tightening, her hands clenching at her side.

She felt numb, not noticing Asuma guide her back to the bed.

Kakashi—

“You shouldn’t be out of bed,” Kurenai said.

Rin stiffened, drawn out of her thoughts of how Kakashi, in the past, always came to her, always relying on her medical ninjitsu. Her voice stammered. “What?”

“I mean, they’re concerned about something, right?”

“Screw the tests!” Rin said, becoming frustrated. “I’m perfectly fine.” She felt her throat tighten as she closed her eyes to hold back the tears. “I want Kakashi!”

“Hey, hey,” Asuma said. “You’ve waited ten years, so what’s a little bit more time?”

“What?” Rin’s body stiffened, her throat tightening. “What did you say?”

“Kakashi’s not going anywhere,” Asuma said.

“No,” Rin’s Kurenai pulled her back into the bed. “Not that.” Rin thought back to hr last memory. “How old? How old are Kakashi and I?”

“What?” Kurenai tilted her head, looking confused.

Asuma squeezed her shoulders, looking up at the ceiling. “Calculating off my age?” There came a pause, then, “Twenty-six with your twenty-seventh birthdays being this fall. We’re currently at the end of Spring right now,” Asuma said. “The last month.”

Rin felt the corner of her mouth twist slightly, the full realization dawning on her. “I’ve lost thirteen years.”

“What?” Kurenai leaned over, reaching out and brushing back a lock of brown hair.

“I’ve no memories,” Rin said. “No memories of…” She swallowed, hugging herself. “My last memory, before being found.”

“No,” Kurenai said, continuing to brush a lock of Rin’s hair away. “Don’t think of that memory.”

“I can’t blame him if he hates me.”

“Oh, not you as well.”

“Asuma!” Kurenai said, pulling her into a hug.

“He blames himself,” Asuma said. “That’s why Kakashi is avoiding you.

Rin stared at her hands, her entire body stiff. “I thought the hospital staff were tiptoeing around me because they’re worried I’m not well, but they’re doing it because it’s been thirteen years. I’ve lost thirteen years of memories. Memories that…”

A hand went up to her forehead, her mouth twisting into a frown.

“Rin?”

“I feel like I’m forgetting something,” she muttered.

“Oh?” Kurenai rubbed her back.

“Sorry. It’s just…”

“You’re alive,” Asuma said. “And whatever the tests come back as, how about we deal with that when the time comes.”

To which Kurenai threw Rin’s pillow at him. “You’re acting like they’ll come back with issues!”

“Well…” Asuma said, having dodged to the side, shinobi reflexes kicking in.

“I’m going to assume the positive like Rin here,” Kurenai said. “Nothing is wrong with her.”

“Beyond the loss of thirteen years,” Rin said, then, “Kakashi? He, uh.”

“If he weren’t still single,” Asuma said, walking over with her pillow and plopping it behind her back. “Guy wouldn’t be trying to shake some sense in him.” There came a pause. “Like, literally shake some sense in him.”

“With a concussion!” Rin said, letting out a groan.

“Don’t worry. Guy isn’t the one who is taking care of him,” Kurenai said.

“But who is?” Rin asked, looking between the two of them. “You two are here. Sensei and Kushina are gone, so…”

“One of his students,” Asuma said. “One of his students was there, and wasn’t about to let him walk off on his own the moment we suspected there was a concussion.”

“Ah.” Rin frowned. Although the students’ mother was single, she decided to push aside the notion as silly, only to remember how delighted Kakashi was with his students. She clapped her hands together. “Which one?”

“What?” Kurenai asked.

“I saw them! When I was being brought in!” Rin said. “His Genin are adorable?”

“Adorable, huh?” Kurenai said, tilting her head.

“What? No,” Asuma said, sighing. “He managed to land the trouble kids this year.”

“Asuma.”

“Well, he did!” Asuma said. “I’m surprised they even passed the bell test, given…”

“He’s doing the bell test!” Rin said.

“Err…” Asuma rubbed his neck.

“What is the bell test?” Kurenai asked.

“It’s a test our sensei did with us, and his sensei before him, and all the way to Lord Third!” Rin said. “It’s about teamwork.”

“Yeah. And this is the first team he’s passed and not sent back to the academy,” Asuma said. He then sighed. “So I guess Uchiha Sasuke can be a team player if he puts his mind to it, but that Uzumaki kid. He’s a troublemaker?”

“Meaning?” Rin asked, wanting to hear about her sensei’s child.

“Pranks?” Kurenai said. “I mean, that’s what I heard.”

“Kurenai, who do you think painted the Hokage’s faces earlier this year before all of the Genin graduated?”

Rin let out a laugh. “I don’t see what the trouble is then!”

“What?” Kurenai turned to her. “How so?”

“He’s just a Uzumaki. That’s all,” Rin said, feeling as if something hadn’t ended up not being lost in the thirteen years. She then paused. “But what about the third? The girl?”

“Oh. Sakura,” Kurenai said. “She’s the one whose mother dragged Kakashi back to their house.”

“I…” Asuma frowned. “Honestly, I don’t know. I do know that for their team, they put the two with the best and worst grades together to balance things out.”

“Sounds a lot like our team,” Rin said. “Wonder if Sakura might like to learn medical ninjutsu?”

“You should…”

Rin frowned, placing her fingers together as Kurenai cut herself off. “Asking Kakashi if I could teach her, if she wanted to? I think that might be a bit difficult. He’s avoiding me.” She closed her eyes, smiling. “And don’t pretend he’s not, because we’ve already seen each other. How else would I know about his adorable Genin?”

Chapter Text

“How did your first mission away from the village go?” asked her mother, unfortunately, when Saakura got back from the mission, because that was the last thing she wanted her parents to know about, if it meant her mother questioning her yet again regarding the direction she’d chosen for her shinobi career path. She could already hear, “There are far simpler, less dangerous routes, Sakura.”

“Eh. It went,” Sakura said.

“It went?” her mother asked, looking at her as if she saw right through Sakua, yet didn’t push the matter. She instead requested Sakura to go with her to buy some things at the market, likely an attempt to spend some friendly mother-daughter time together and put pressure on Sakura to speak more, only—

On the way back—

Her sensei had to make a scene.

Why another Jonin was kicking him off a roof, interupting the obvious date of two other Jonin who looked on in disbelief, wasn’t apparent until the other Jonin started flopping Sakura’s sensei around like a ragdoll, saying something about this Rin person being the love of her sensei’s life, and—

“Sensei?”

Sakura watched as Kakashi turned his head slightly, giving her and her mother one of the most apathetic looks she’d ever seen as the other Jonin continued prattling at him about how, “You don’t want to be a disappointment to your students, rival?”

“He already is?” Sakura said, frowning, wondering what her sensei’s potential love interest even had to do with her in the first place, only for her mother to be far from pleased with how she’d spoken to her sensei, which in turn led to—

“Sorry!” said a very not sorry kunoichi from the rooftop where she’d thrown her throwing weapons to pin the strange man’s sleeves to the ground, stopping him from shaking Sakua’s sensei onto the ground, which resulted in—

Sakura winced, having heard the back of her sensei’s head hit the ground as the other man was forced to let go, only for another weird bushy brow person to show up, who unfortunately also took a shine to her, both he and his sensei insisting on helping his sensei’s rival, aka, her sensei, in matters of love, which—

At the end of the day, that felt like a disaster waiting to happen, and her sensei was enough of a walking disaster as it was, so she stepped in and—

She told her sensei to knock off with the reading of porn, particularly in public, because that seemed like the most logical step, but the look on Kakashi sensei’s face—

“Wait? This Rin person wouldn’t be the young woman we saw at the gates, the one Naruto blurted out…”

Only to be informed by the female Jonin with Asuma that what her sensei read wasn’t porn.

“So, what is it then?” Sakura wondered.

“Oh. Hi,” her sensei said, looking at the two, looking—

“Oh, hi? Did you really forget we were here?” the female Jonin on a date said, placing her hands on her hips, giving Sakura’s sensei a very stern look.

“Yup!”

“Way too cheerful a response there, sensei,” Sakura thought to herself, only for her mother to insist that she apologize to Kakashi, and also learn that her mother read what her sensei read publicly, much to her mortification.

Only for her mother not to believe her apology, and her sensei—

Her sensei didn’t hesitate to make a scene again, sending a knee into the chin of bushy brow sensei before—

Kakashi sensei wasn’t okay.

And buhy brow sensei seemed overly enthusiastic about making Kakashi Sensei spew the contents of his stomach again, which he did once he was let go. At the same time, there was something about this Rin person being alive, yet almost not alive that Sakura couldn’t place her finger on, yet if it was the person Sakua thought—

She was very much alive.

And apparently, Kakashi sensei was very much coming home with them, because Kakashi sensei very much had a concussion and very much didn’t want to go to the hospital.

Which—

Sakura found herself perplexed by the thought process going on because she knew all too well how her mother and father fussed over her for the tiniest scrape, and she tried to avoid anything that would result in them wanting to take her to the hospital.

Yet there Kakashi sensei was, being guided by her mother who held onto his arm, leading him back home and—

Ami saw.

While that girl thankfully wasn’t with her friends—

“So is that who your real dad is?” Ami sneered, speaking in a low voice so that nobody could hear. “Billboard brow.”

“I’m her Jonin sensei.”

Somehow, Kakashi sensei managed not only to hear Ami but also to correct her as Ami looked at the two, startled. Sakura’s mother smiled. “Why, hello, Ami.”

Sakura looked nervously at the ground, knowing full well Ami was two-faced around the adults, though she’d not been able to pull one over on Kakashi.

“Nice to see you, Mrs. Haruno,” Ami said, her voice lilting, before turning to Sakura and very fake like saying, “See you later!” as if she’d not just retorted to the childish nicknames.

“Let’s get you inside,” Sakura’s mother said, guiding him in, nudging slippers in his direction before moving him over to the kitchen table to sit. She headed over to the freezer and grabbed an ice pack. “This will have to do until Kizashi gets home,” and then, “Don’t fall asleep, shinobi-san.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kakashi said, letting out a sigh. His one normal eye closed as he kept his hand on the ice pack held to the back of his head.”

“I said not to fall asleep,” Sakura’s mother said, and Kakashi’s eyes snapped open. “And I know full well you likely can sleep sitting up, shinobi-san, so do keep the eye open, or else I’ll be forced to keep you talking. Icha Icha is off limits, and…”

“What is Icha Icha?” Sakura asked.

“You can find out when you turn eighteen,” her mother said. “You’ll be an adult then, and I have no say.”

Sakura frowned, then, “I guess I keep assuming it’s porn.”

“Sakura,” her mother protested while Kakashi focused an amused eye on Sakura.

“And I keep being mortified that my mother happens to read porn.”

Her mother let out a clicking sound, then said, “It’s simply an adult romance novel series.”

Sakura frowned, then turned her head to look at her sensei. “You read adult romance novels?”

“I read Icha Icha,” Kakashi said, waving his hand nonchalantly.

Sakura’s face screwed up. “You read it for the smut, don’t you, sensei?”

“I do not,” Kakashi protested. “I read it…” He then paused, looking at her, then his eyes narrowed as he let out a deep breath, pointing a finger at her. “Nope. Not telling you anything about it. Your mother says you need to wait until you’re eighteen to read it.”

Sakura frowned. “You say that as if you weren’t eighteen yet.”

“I’d like to give any bookseller willing to sell someone under eighteen adult content a good thrashing,” Sakura’s mother said.

“I might not have had to buy my copies,” Kakashi said.

“What?” Sakura’s mother frowned at him. “How?”

“I may have gotten signed first edition copies from the writer himself?” Kakashi’s voice strained.

“You…” Sakura’s mother stared. “You’ve met the writer?”

“Yss?” Kakashi frowned.

“You’ve met one of the legendary Sannin?” her mother asked.

“You say that as if it’s a big deal?”

“Sensei,” Sakura frowned. “Meeting any of the legendary Sanin is a big deal.”

“Why?”

Sakura glared at her sensei, who remained nonchalant about the whole thing. “Of course you wouldn’t take this seriously. You read smut in public.”

“I can think of worse vices than reading adult romance novels publicly that a shinobi could have as a coping mechanism.”

“Coping mechanism?” Sakura frowned, thinking that just made her sensei seem even battier. “And what positive can come from reading it publicly?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Kakashi said, still keeping the ice pack to the back of his head while looking at the ceiling. “I’ve found it’s made housewives less afraid of interacting with friend-killer Kakashi.”

“Say what?” Sakura stared at him, confused.

“Sensei?” her mother said, becoming even politer than she had before, despite what Sakura heard her sensei say. “When did you see her last?”

“Who?” Kakashi asked.

“The person who’s alive but almost wasn’t?”

“Oh,” Kakashi said, looking at the table sheepishly. “Rin?”

“Yes. Her.”

“The love of your life?” Sakura added in.

“No prying into your sensei’s love life, Sakura.”

“That’s what you’re doing, ka-chan!”

“I saw her today,” Kakashi said.

“Liar,” Sakura said. “You’ve not been to the hospital.”

“You saw her as well,” Kakashi said, letting out a sigh, then waving his hand in a circle, finger pointing. “You know. At the front gate?”

“Her?” Sakura found herself skeptical. “You mean her? The one that Naruto pointed out, you wouldn’t be embarrassed if you weren’t reading porn publicly?”

“Sakura,” her mother chided.

“It’s what Naruto said,” Sakura looked at her mother, then back at Kakashi. “And you didn’t correct him. You ran and hid.” Her eyes blinked. “Wait? Why is she even in the hospital? She looked very healthy.”

Her mother let out a humming sound. “Then I’ll rephrase my question, sensei. Before today, when was the last time you saw her, sensai-san?”

Kakashi stiffened, then looked away, looking actually ashamed for once. “Thirteen. It’s been thirteen years.”

“And you were how old?”

“I…” Kakashi gave her a look, but then whithered. “Half my life. It’s been half my life, pretty much, since I’ve seen Rin.”

Sakura stared.

“And this, Sakura, is why I want you to think hard about this path you’re on,” her mother said, walking over and squeezing Kakashi’s shoulder, then patting it.

“So I don’t end up like…” Sakura said, looking away. “She’s alive, so that doesn’t mean she’s weak.”

“That,” Kakashi said. “That’s not why things…. Not after…” He paused, looking away, wincing.

“I mean, so you don’t have to go through what your sensei has,” her mother said.

Sakura swallowed. “Friend-killer? What does…” Her eyes widened, then she stood, placing her hands on her table. “I won’t let that happen! I’ll find a way to become stronger, and next time?” Her hands clenched together. “Next time I’ll be able to protect Sasuke!”

“Sakura,” her mother looked at her worriedly. “You said…”

“I’m home!”

“Papa!” Sakura said.

“I’ve brought you home a patient, dear!” her mother chirped.

“A patient Mebuki?” Kizashi said as he came into the room. “Oh! Sensei. Head injury? Shouldn’t you be…”

“Apparently, Sensei doesn’t like going to hospitals, dear.”

Sakura heard her father sigh. “Oh. One of those. Hold on.”

She watched her father come over, frowning, before pulling the ice pack away and—

Sakura watched, eyes widening. “What is…”

“You’re a medic-nin?” Kakashi asked, looking somewhat impressed for some reason, just as Sakura was finding out, but then said something that impressed her even more.. “Lady Tsunade teach you?”

“You know another Sannin?” her mother inquired.

Kakashi frowned, looking back and forth between Sakura’s mother and father before saying, “Yes?”

Sakura’s eyes widened. “That’s a big deal.”

“Not really?”

Her father cleared his voice, ignoring the look of confusion on Kakashi’s face. “Where else are you hurt, sensei?”

Kakashi sighed. “I know the drill. Don’t lie to a medical nin.” To which he covered his wrist, elbow, and opposite side.

“And his shoulder,” her mother said. “It may not be hurting now, but it felt tense, dear.”

“Got it,” her father said.

“I didn’t know you knew medical ninjitsu,” Sakura said.

“Yes, well,” her father said. “You only ever got small scrapes, thankfully.”

Sakura watched, noticing the way her sensei observed her parents, as if something was bothering him. Then, she asked, “Could I learn?”

Her father stiffened, then, “It can’t just be any teacher, Sakura. Not for my daughter.”

Kakashi frowned, then, “Ask Rin?”

“Couldn’t you ask her?” Sakura touched her fingers together hopefully.

“Your sensei’s kind of avoiding her right now,” her mother said.

“Why ever for?” Sakura asked.

“Sakura!” her mother sighed.

“Even though I’ve healed your concussion, you should stay the night,” Sakura’s father said. “Just to be safe.”

“You shouldn’t go to such trouble,” Kakashi said.

“Nonsense!” Sakura’s mother said. “I’m old enough to be your mother, young man!”

To which—

Sakura noticed Kakashi give her parents another odd look, and her fingers pressed together. “I don’t look like either of my parents, do I?”

“You look like your mother,” her father blurted out, then he cleared his voice as Kakashi looked at him, one eyebrow shooting up while Sakura’s mother gave him a look, “Well, you are pretty like your mother, no?”

Kakashi let out a humming sound, then, “Hey, Sakura?”

“Yes, sensei?”

“It shouldn’t matter whether your parents are your biological ones or not, because they are your parents and definitely love you and care for you,” Kakashi said. “Some of us orphans would do anything for that, you know.”

Sakura stared at him, letting his words sink in. “Some of us orphans? Meaning…”

“Sakura. Why don’t you go to your room and freshen up?” her mother said. “I’ll call you when dinner is ready, okay?”

“Okay,” Sakura said, and then paused, looking at Kakashi. “You didn’t have to tell me that, sensei. Sasuke already told me I’m lucky to have parents.”

Chapter Text

A few days later, Rin received a clean bill of health, with a few Nohara clan cousins fawning over her and insisting on taking her into their home until she acclimated to life in the village again. The tests did not explain why she was alive, let alone why there were traces of her having been a former Jinchuriki, while her body lacked the necessary scarring.

Upon her being released, Rin headed first to the Hokage Tower to meet with Lord Third who let the smoke from his pipe rise and linger on the ceiling, his eyes not on her as he said, “You were definitely a part of some kind of experiment, but whoever’s experiment it was, it left absolutely no records behind, just yourself in the state you were found and woken in.”

“I wish I had more to tell you. Honestly, I do,” Rin said, glancing away.

“I’m aware, Nohara-san,” Hiruzen said, his tone remaining kind as he let smoke form his pife drift to the ceiling. “However, there are some people…”

“And here comes the bad news,” Rin thought to herself.

“…who would like to keep your return a secret, possibly even after we were able to glean some kind of answers.”

Rin stiffened, her mind slipping into what keeping herself hidden might mean, particularly in regard to seeing Kakashi again.

“But it’s a bit late for that!”

She looked up, confused as to the reason the old man grinned ear to ear. “Lord Third?

“Might Guy’s been telling the entire village how the eternal love of his eternal rival is back!”

“Oh. No. Guy, why?” Rin said, covering her face, her cheeks flushing deeply. “This is worse than when everyone would drop hints that they knew would go over Kakashi’s head.”

“Who am I to keep two love birds apart?”

“Not you too!” Rin groaned, wondering just how many people would no longer hold back this time around.

“What? You don’t want to move in with Hatake-san?”

Rin spluttered, but—

She distinctly heard a sound from somewhere in the room and watched Hiruzen turn his head, frowning, then he held up his hand. “I was simply teasing the young woman, Cat.” He continued frowning, then. “Knowing Hatake, he’s likely already in flight mode without me teasing him.”

Her hands tucked behind her back, her eyes blinking, knowing that Hiruzen was speaking to an ANBU, yet she couldn’t see the person.

“Well, I might as well introduce you to ANBU Cat, Nohara-san,” Hiruzen said. “Given that certain individuals are not keen on the village already knowing, and you’re status as a former Jinchuriki, I can’t leave you unguarded, so I’m assigning an ANBU to watch over you.”

The ANBU stepped out of the shadows.

“Of course, if Cat decides it’s his prerogative to play matchmaker…”

This resulted in ANBU Cat sending off a flurry of ANBU signs at the Hokage.

“Again, I was teasing,” Hiruzen said. “Sometimes you are worse than Hatake, Cat.” Hiruzen tilted his head towards Rin as she tilted hers, her mind trying to figure out who was behind the mask, yet finding herself unable to guess, just as Kakashi had. He nodded his head at her. “If you need help finding the boy?”

“I can find Kakashi on my own!” Rin said, her mouth twisted into a frown, hands behind her back, eyes on the ANBU assigned to her, shuffling back and forth.

“You’ve my permission to assign who you will, Cat,” Hiruzen said, waving his hand. He then paused, looking at Rin and thinking before turning to the ANBU officer and letting out a hum. “You’ve not met Nohara Rin.”

Rin frowned, quite sure the young man standing before her was around her age, yet not finding herself able to place him as she had ibeki, and—

“That bothers me,” Rin said, and then, “Who exactly is watching my Lord Hokage?”

ANBU Cat flinched, then—

His body posture looked hurt. Rin’s hands clasped over her mouth. “I didn’t mean. I’m sorry. I know that ANBU identities…” She took a deep breath. “I am so sorry!”

“Well, I did tease Cat about playing matchmaker,” Hiruzen said, letting out a hum. “Since you’ll be the one handling Nohra-san’s ANBU protection, Cat, preferably without Hatake knowing and becoming alarmed…”

Cat slouched.

“You can speak in front of her.”

Rin’s eyes blinked.

“As if sempai won’t notice.”

Kakashi let out a sigh, thumbing the desk, pondering what ANBU Cat said. “You are right about that.” And then Hiruzen’s smile cracked. “Maybe you should play matchmaker to officiate?”

“Are you trying to make him run?”

“He’s already running, Cat,” Hiruzen said, letting the smoke billow up to the ceiling, then letting out a sigh. He shuffled some papers, looking at one in particular, his old fingers tightening slightly, then he looked at Nohara Rin. “You should both know something.”

Rin’s eyes blinked.

“The C-rank mission Kakashi’s team was on…”

Rin stiffened. “His kawaii Gennin team?”

“You’ve seen them?”

“They passed us at the front gate,” Rin said, placing her fingers together, taking a deep breath. She wanted to know more about his team, about the thirteen lost years.”

“Kawaii,” Hiruzen chuckled while Cat gave her a look, his body posture indicating some kind of unsaid joke, but the frown remained. “Their C-rank escalated into an A-rank.”

Rin blanched. “As in, their first C-rank?”

“You’re trying to forewarn that this will make senpai even more unapproachable?”

“Sure, you don’t want to lend a helping hand, Cat?”

Cat shook his head. “Sempai is…” Pause. “Unapproachable when he’s unapproachable.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it, I guess,” Hiruzen said. “But the actual reason I’m letting you know?” He looked right at Rin. “Kakashi ended up killing an enemy combatant with Chidori.”

“And?” Rin took a deep breath. “There’s something more to this, because Kakashi’s killed many with his Chidori, including almost…” She paused, her eyes blinking, sucking in her breath. “Professor?”

The corners of his mouth twisted up. “You’ve got the right idea. They were up against hired missing nin from the Hidden Mist.”

Rin felt a shudder run down her spine, remembering who put the tailed beast in her.

“And it was a child. Around the age of his Gennin,” Hiruzen continued.

Rin felt her stomach lurch.

“Who jumped in the way of his Chidori, Nohara?” Hiruzen said.

Rin’s eyes closed, groaning.

“So he’s not visiting you in the hospital…”

“I already wasn’t surprised at that,” Rin said, mouth twisting into a frown. “He hates the smells, the noises, the proding, everything about hospitals.”

“He blames himself,” Hiruzen said firmly.

“Well, he shouldn’t!” Rin snapped. “It was my decision. It was my decision too…”

“He understands that,” Hiruzen said, then—

Cat shuffled.

“Go ahead, Cat.”

“My understanding is, if I’m understanding who Nohara-san is,” ANBU Cat said. “The village? They…”

Then came the hesitation, and Hiruzen looked at him, not smiling, but understanding. “Ah. Yes. That. IT wouldn’t be fair not to let Nohara-san know about that because that nickname persists, and may even start rearing its ugly head again.”

“What nickname?” Rin asked, swallowing.

“It’s not true!” ANBU Cat said. “Senpai cares about his comrades, about seeing they get home alive, even if…”

And then, Hiruzen sighed. “Even if he might not care about it himself.”

Rin swallowed.

“But that should hopefully change,” Hiruzen said. “Because you’ve come home to us.”

Rin didn’t feel so confident, knowing the implication was, “I’m his reason for living,” and swallowed. “The nickname.”

“Friend killer Kakashi.”

“They what?” Rin snapped. “They called him what?” Her hands clenched into fists. “If I ever, ever…”

“You can’t attack civilians!” ANBU Cat held up his hands.

Rin frowned, thinking there were far, far better ways to deal with gossiping civilians than beating them to a pulp, but she said nothing. “Is this it?”

Hiruzen took a deep breath. “ANBU Cat. He can help you reacclimate to the village.”

“How am I supposed to do that if…” and then ANBU Cat let out a sigh. “Oh.”

Hiruzen smirked. “Good. You get it. And he’ll be less suspicious, won’t he? I mean, the layout of the village has changed since the nine-tails, among other things.”

“But!”

“Nohara Rin is likely to be dealing with individuals gawking at her because she’s alive, so it wouldn’t be out of the question to assign her someone to remind people she needs her space,” Hiruzen said. “And I don’t want to assign that job to anyone in their friend group, because they’ll want to be the friendly face.” He paused. “Not that your face isn’t friendly?”

Rin watched ANBU Cat reach up, removing his mask, frowning, and—

Her head tilted. “I really don’t know him.” She clasped her fingers together. “What is your name, ANBU-san?”

His eyes blinked, and he looked at—

What ANBU Cat said—

“What is my name for this op?”

Rin looked at him, then at Hiruzen, then—

“There’s a reason I can’t recognize him, despite the fact that he should have been at the academy while Obito and I were.” Rin straightened, looking at him, remembering. “He calls Kakashi sempai, but Kakashi has no kohai from the academy.” She clasped her hands. “I see.”

“You see?”

She moved over, hands behind her back, looking the young man over, letting out a hum, and then—

Rin moved herself to Hiruzen’s desk, a smirk on her face, pointing at poor ANBU Cat, her mind made up. “Hey? Professor? Lord Hokage?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you think?” She said, smiling. “That ANBU-san could pass for my younger brother?”

This resulted in a pleasant squawk from ANBU-san, obviously caught off guard, while Hiruzen let out a humming sound.

“In fact!” Rin clapped her hands. “You might be able to pass for Hikaru’s twin!”

ANBU Cat gave her a look of horror.

“So, I think Haruki will do!”

ANBU Cat, now called Haruki’s mouth, opened and closed. “Lord Hokage!”

“Hatake Kakashi’s not the only one with a habit of taking in strays,” Hiruzen said. “Rin’s actually more inclined towards the people kind of stray than he is.”

“You’re mean!” Haruki gasped out. “You can’t be…”

“Which means after we go and look at the old training grounds where we used to train as Gennin,” Rin said, clapping her hands together. “My new little brother can show me to his place?”

Haruki stared, jaw dropped.

“It will make your job a lot easier, ANBU-san!” Rin said. “And less conspicuous to Kakashi!”

“She’s not wrong.”

“But I am right?” Rin said. “Kakashi would be at the training grounds we used to train at.” She frowned. “Or did that get destroyed as well?”

“The old training grounds are pretty much in the same places as before,” Hiruzen said. “Though, whether he’ll stick around? That’s an entirely different matter.

Chapter Text

Sakura’s mother made a delicious curry for dinner, for which Kakashi found himself glad he no longer felt nauseous from a concussion, so he could make the food on his plate disappear while nobody was looking, much to the amusement of Sakura’s parents, but not Sakura herself.

Then, after dinner, Sakura’s father was setting pillows on the couch for their guest so he could keep an eye on Kakashi for that night—

“So,” Sakura’s mother asked. “How did your first mission away from the village go?”

Kakashi watched Sakura stiffen, looking at her mother as if she wanted to avoid the topic. He watched, then, “Avoiding the subject will just make it worse, Sakura.”

Sakura frowned, continuing to help her mother clear the table of dishes and get them washed, a task Sakura’s father would usually join in on if not for having a patient to keep an eye on. “A boy died. A little older than us, I think?”

“On a C-rank mission?”

“It escalated to an A-rank,” Sakura admitted.

“And you didn’t turn back?” Sakura’s father asked, glancing at her, then—

“Yup. Leave it to a father not to be happy with that,” Kakashi said.

“It wouldn’t have been the right thing to do,” Sakura said. “It was complicated.”

“Certainly was if a boy your age died,” her mother said.

And then, Sakura looked up at him, frowning, as if she saw something in that moment. “Sensei?”

“Something the matter?” Kakashi asked.

“I never asked how you were doing, did I?”

Kakashi stared, his mind trying to think of what she was saying. “I’m pretty much over the Chakra exhaustion.”

“Seriously,” Sakura’s father said. “You must be the troublesome patient up at the hospital.”

“I might be,” Kakashi said.

“I don’t mean that,” Sakura said. “I know that the boy was the enemy, but…”

Sakura’s mother stiffened. “This boy? This enemy?”

“Missing nin from another village,” Sakura said. “He had a kekkai genkai like Sasuke and sensei, but not the same one.” She stopped what she was doing, turning to look at Kakashi. “He got between you and that other missing nin, redirecting your attack.”

Kakashi sat there, watching and observing. Sakura’s parents looked a bit uncomfortable, which made him look away.

“But I was so concerned with Sasuke being hurt and returning home, I didn’t even stop to think about how that made you feel,” Sakura said.

“It’s okay,” Kakashi said, his tone light, not really wanting—

“But it isn’t, is it?” Sakura said, remembering the way his facial features changed when he thought they weren’t looking. “Because thinking back, you were upset. Obviously upset, and you’re not normally…”

“Change of subject!” Sakura’s father called out, heading over to the closet, moving quickly, and coming back with a box and plopping it down. “Do you like board games, sensei?”

“Dad!” Sakura stuttered.

“Sakura?” her mother said, prompting Sakura to look over, and her mother shook her head. “Why don’t you go join them for the game? We’ll talk about this later?”

And so Kakashi found himself dragged into a board game, wondering if Sakura’s parents would want her off his team, which settled in his gut like a brick, making him wonder if the curry might eventually have to come up. Still, eventually her parents sent her to bed at a decent hour.

“So, back on topic.”

Kakashi wasn’t expecting that, but there, Sakura’s father was bringing it back on topic as Kakashi helped pack up the board game. He didn’t have words to say regarding exploding all three of his students to that level of violence, and he didn’t even want to bring up Zabuza’s logic that the world they lived in had a way of stealing one’s innocence.

“How are you feeling?”

“What?” Kakashi’s eyes blinked at Sakura’s father.

“You know,” Sakura’s mother piped up, having come to sit down at the small table and helping to pack the pieces away. “About killing a child.”

“It’s not as if this is a child who hasn’t taken a life, unlike my Genin,” Kakashi said.

—silence—

“Did I say the wrong thing?”

“You’re deflecting,” Sakura’s mother said.

“Definitely.”

Kakashi let out a deep breath. “I guess it should be on my list of things to talk to my therapist about?”

“Do you actually go and see your therapist?”

“Well, that’s got me caught,” Kakashi thought to himself, not looking up.

“I thought so,” Sakuraa’s mother said. “Let me make some tea.”

And then an awkward silence fell over the room until the tea was finished and cups were placed in front of them.

“Someone? They’ve surely told you that keeping emotions bottled up isn’t a good thing?”

Kakashi frowned under his mask. “Emotions. The shinobi rules…”

“Don’t quote the rules to me. There are times…”

“The rules should be broken,” Kakashi said. “Those who don’t follow the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.” He watched the two stiffen. “The shinobi rules tell us that we should never show emotions, because our enemies can use our emotions as a weakness, but those rules never teach us how to deal with our emotions.”

“No, they don’t,” Sakura’s mother said. “Did something similar happen before?”

Kakashi’s eyes closed, taking in the scent of the tea, letting it calm him, wishing the topic hadn’t come up.

“With Rin perhaps?”

An eyebrow shot up.

“You didn’t earn that nickname of friend-killer for no reason, but I do recall them saying she’s alive, but shouldn’t be, and that was why you weren’t ready to see her.”

“Yes,” Kakashi said.

“We don’t have to talk about it,” Sakura’s father said, sitting down next to him on the couch among the blankets and pillows.

“We’re here, though, right?”

“Right,” Kakashi said, finding himself a bit perplexed with how nonchalant the two were about the whole thing, but then—

“I mean, so you don’t have to go through what your sensei has.”

“Sakura is very lucky to have parents fully aware of what she’s getting into,” Kakashi thought. “And the tone on her, it may have.”

“Get some sleep, sensei,” Sakura’s father said, patting him on the shoulder. “I’ll be nearby, just in case.”

“Just in case?” Kakashi knew it was because of the concussion. Yet, in some ways, it felt like a bit more than that, as if Sakura’s parents were looking out for his well-being, but then, many of the Jonin-level shinobi always carried some mental trauma they found themselves dealing with.

He, of course, awoke in the middle of the night, hallucinating as part of the course of having those nightmares of blood on his right arm that wouldn’t wash off, when gentle hands turned off the water and stopped him, called out to him, and drew him out of the nightmare and back into reality.

“Sorry,” Kakashi muttered.

“Is this a common occurrence, sensei?” Kizashi asked, bandaging up the places Kakashi made raw.

“No,” Kakashi mumbled. “It’s not happened in a while.”

“Because of this, Rin?”

“I killed her,” Kakashi said. “Or at least…” He thought he had. He felt a clap on his shoulder and was sent back to sleep until morning. Kizashi purposefully took up one end of the couch, making his presence more known and felt, choosing to ground Kakashi as he slept.

Morning came, and he found himself eating breakfast with the Haruno, with Sakura glaring at him a few times as he ate whenever nobody looked, but when they left, Kizashi insisted on going with him, to still keep an eye on him, and as such—

“Kaka Sensei’s actually on time?” Naruto blurted out as Kakashi waved at his two other Genin, and Sasuke stood there wide-eyed. “Wait? Why is Sakura with Kaka Sensei, and who is this other dude?”

Sakura’s mouth twitched. “This other dude is my dad, Naruto.” She worried her bottom lip, rubbing her wrists with her fingers. “Kakashi Sensei’s crazy friend decided to give him a concussion yesterday in front of my mom, so he ended up staying the night at my place so my parents could keep an eye on him.”

“Sensei has friends?” Naruto asked.

“That means,” Sasuke said rather quietly. “He’s really on time?”

“We managed to drag him away from the memorial stone,” Sakura said, frowning and looking right at him. “That’s apparently where he is every morning.”

“So, if he’s late, memorial stone,” Sasuke said, hands jammed into his pockets. “Got it.”

“Hey now,” Kakashi said, realizing his students would be interrupting his time there.

“You can’t be festering over the past, sensei!” Sakura said, hands on her hips, glaring at him. “But you need to stop running, right?”

“Now, Sakura,” Kizashi said. “What did your mother tell you this morning?”

“Not to interfere in sensei’s love life,” Sakura said.

“Oh, she’s evil. She knows what her mother said doesn’t apply to the others,” Kakashi thought to himself.

“What love life?” Naruto said. “Sensei reads porn because he has no love life.”

“Now there’s a thought,” Sakura said.

“You’re both evil,” Kakashi thought. He looked at Sasuke.

“I doubt your dates would like you showing up late, sensei.”

“And he’s now in on it as well,” Kakashi said.

“Sorry about that,” Kizashi said. “Kids can be brutal at times.”

“But seriously?” Sasuke frowned. “Who would be interested in dating you, in the sensei?”

“Sensei is apparently interested in that young woman we saw yesterday,” Sakura said.

“Hey, hey,” Kakashi said.

“Which one?” Naruto frowned.

“You know. The one you pointed out, sensei, wouldn’t be embarrassed if he didn’t read his porn in public?”

Kakashi sighed. “And this is after her mother told her it isn’t porn.”

“Yeah,” Naruto looked right at him, frowning. “Not happening, sensei. You’re just too lazy.”

“He’s right.”

“I’m well aware of the fact I’m not good enough for her,” Kakashi muttered. “I don’t need you squirts rubbing it in, kay?”

Sakura looked away, seeming somewhat guilty about teasing him, while her father sighed. Naruto frowned. “Why exactly is your dad here? Your parents aren’t upset about the mission, are they?”

Sakura’s eyes widened, sucking in her breath. “No. Not that.”

“I’m here because your sensei received a concussion yesterday,” Sakura’s father tried smiling at Kakashi’s three hellions. Still, that was why they usually were the most kawaii things in the world, along with his ninkin, who wouldn’t hesitate to rip a man to shreds if he commanded it.

Only, he was the one currently being ripped to shreds by the three Genin, so not so kawaii.

Kakashi let out a sigh.

Not only did he find himself on time the next few days as Sakura’s father kept an eye on him, his Genin were ruthless, talking about his non-existent love life because Sakura instigated, almost as if it were a form of revenge for the training he ran them through each day prior.

“Hey?” he said a couple of days later, having sensed something familiar approaching. “Sensei has something he has to go and do, so I’ll leave you three to your own training devices today!”

“Typical!” Sasuke said, glaring, while Kakashi bent over, waving at the three as he stood on the bridge railing, glad that Sakura’s father finally gave him the okay, allowing him to escape.

“And Sakura?”

“Yes?” his pink-haired hellion said, looking rather bored.

“Be sure to ask what you want, kay?”

“What…”

And he disappeared before she could show.

“Of course Rin would realize I pick the same training spot, since the sensei always trained us at,” Kakashi thought forlornly. He was definitely not ready to see her; his thoughts of how she almost died, and how Haku had died playing through his head, wouldn’t go away.

Chapter Text

“Adults are weird,” Sakura thought to herself, wondering why her father changed the subject while also wondering what was behind the way Kakashi sensei’s eyes widened when Sakura brought up Haku, a look that definitely bothered her.

Which, up in her room, preparing for bed—

“Almost as weird as Kakashi sensei and the subject of romance, period. I mean, what does that pretty Rin see in him? He’s weird, uncool, and lazy most of the time, and when he’s not,” Sakura thought back to when a flip switched as he was fighting, “he’s sweaty, stinky, and so gross!”

Questions remained unanswered in the morning as they woke early and ate breakfast, but when they left and her father came with them, Sakura found herself frustrated in how Kakashi sensei didn’t meander towards the training field but an entirely different direction, only—

She straightened up as they approached the memorial stone, her eyes widening slightly.

“Do you know what this is?” her father asked, speaking in a low, somber tone.”

“Sensei explained it on the day of the bell test,” Sakura said, keeping her voice low as well.

“Many hidden villages have something akin to this,” her father said. “But keep in mind the loss of one’s comrades can be difficult.”

“I know,” Sakura said, her fingers reaching up to latch onto her father’s sleeve. “Mama and I had this conversation yesterday. I still want to be a shinobi, Papa.”

“That’s my girl,” he said. “But if you ever need to talk, we’re there to talk.” He then let out a chuckle. “Well, as much as we can be once you get into top secret stuff, right?”

“Right,” Sakura said, frowning, watching Kakashi sensei simply standing there, a vacant look in his eyes. “Does sensei come here every day?”

Her father eventually cleared his throat, catching Kakashi’s attention. “If you don’t leave now, sensei, we’ll be late.”

“Ah. Yeah,” Kakashi said, realizing then that they were there.

“Wait? He’s always late because he visits the memorial stone every day?” Sakura wondered, then inner Sakura let out a sigh, claiming, “Sensei needs a girlfriend to keep his head on straight.” And yet, “He’s too old not to be in a relationship with someone unless there is something seriously wrong with him. Scratch that. There is. He’s been pining after that poor woman for thirteen years, no?”

To which she didn’t know if she wanted to help him, when she couldn’t see any reason that the young woman would be interested in him back, or if she should tease him for his level of incompetence when it came to the subject he seemed so keen on reading adult material for.

Her father’s response to her antics was to point out that kids could be brutal, while her mother later clicked her tongue when she found out, “What did I say about staying out of your sensei’s love life, Sakura?”

Which did add a little twinge of guilt to the guilt that was already there from when her sensei said, “I’m well aware of the fact I’m not good enough for her. I don’t need you squirts rubbing it in, kay?”

Only to not feel guilty because sensei made training hard, sweaty, and gross, almost as if on purpose, so why shouldn’t she make him sweat mentally for a bit as a form of sweet revenge.

Because the sensei ran them through laps and other grueling training, rather than letting Naruto and Sasuke spar. In contrast, the sensei went over hw to detect and break genjutsu, as well as use it, which he wasn’t teaching the boys, because when she asked why he wasn’t, he just looked up at Naruto and Sasuke arguing and said, “Well, uh? Having them spar is less of a headache?”

Only a few days later, when Sakura’s father finally released them, instead of running them through grueling paces almost as if it were some cycle of revenge on sensei’s part, Kakashi decided they could be left to their own training devices while saying to her specifically, “Be sure to ask what you wanted, kay?”

Which confused her, until moments after he disappeared, the young woman from the other day showed up, brown hair framing her face, her brown eyes as warm as her smile.

“Oh,” Sakura thought to herself, then, “Sensei booked it again, didn’t he? Ig h liks her, then why is he running from her, particularly since she’s so pretty? Or did he get rejected by her?” Her mouth twisted into a frown, remembering how Kakashi said he’d not seen her in thirteen years. “Did she reject him because of his reading choice? He did say he started reading that stuff before he turned eighteen.”

“What’s she doing here?” Naruto leaned over, whispering, while Sasuke stared for a second, then—

“I don’t know,” Sasuke said, watching the woman look around as a second person arrived, frowning as the young woman’s mouth twisted into a slight frown.

Eventually, she smiled and stepped over to speak to them. “Hi. I’m Nohar Rin. You three are Kakashi’s Gennin, right?”

“Yes!” Naruto said, raising his hand while Sasuke stiffened, hands jammed into his pockets, and looking very unsure of the stranger in front of them. “You’re very pretty, you know!”

“Naruto!” Sakura muttered, yet she couldn’t help but see Sasuke blush slightly.

“I don’t see him,” the other person said.

“Who’s he?” Sasuke asked.

“Oh!” Rin smiled. “This is my younger brother, Haruki.” She placed her fingers together. “Hatake Kakashi isn’t training you there?”

“Sensei is lazy and told us to do our own thing,” Sasuke said, mouth forming a pout while Sakura wished she could get more of the gengetsu lessons, which were her thing, when their sensei felt like actually doing something that felt like actual progress.

“Hey? What did sensei mean by being sure to ask?” Naruto asked, turning to Sakura. “I didn’t quite get that?”

“Uh,” Sakura said, fiddling with her fingers, suddenly feeling bashful in front of the older kunoichi. “So, I get why Sensei has a crush on her, because she is pretty, but isn’t he also running from her because she’s way out of his league. Or because of his reading habits. Or both?”

“Telling you to do your own thing isn’t exactly lazy,” Rin said, letting out a hum while Haruki looked as if he disagreed, but then most adults in Sakura’s mind understood the need for actual structure.

“It is,” Sasuke said, folding his arms across his chest. “I already do my own thing on my own.”

“Medical-nin,” Sakura blurted out. “You’re a medical ninja, right?” She twiddled her finger. “Scratch that. Sensei admitted she’s out of his league, that he’s not good enough for her. Like…” She glanced over at Sasuke, then twitched her head back. “No. Don’t think that! Don’t!”

She was definitely behind the boys.”

“Well,” Rin said, frowning. “Yes, I know medical ninjitsu.”

“Oh. Is this some special jutsu?” Naruto blurted out.

“It’s the medical kind, dobe,” Sasuke said, giving Naruto a dark look, hands still in pockets.

“Is there a specific reason you’re asking me?” Rin asked.

“I want to learn,” Sakura said. “And my dad said I couldn’t just learn from anybody. So, Sensei may have suggested you?”

Rin’s already bright smile somehow ended up brighter. “He did, did he?” She let out a hum, then straightened, having been leaning over to be more at their height. “Maybe he didn’t actually leave you three to train on your own.”

“Huh?” Sasuke frowned.

“Medical ninjitsu then,” Rin hummed. “Yes, I’ll teach you.”

“You’ll teach us!” Naruto said, resulting in inward Sakura groaning.

“Do you have the patience?” Rin asked.

Sasuke stared, then, “No, he does not.”

“Okay,” Rin turned her head, looking at her younger brother. “Do you think you can handle the boys, Haruki?”

“Wait? What?” Then the young man groaned. “You’re as bad as sempai.” Then, “No. Seriously. You’re both ganging up on me now.”

Rin let out a laugh while Sakura laughed, feeling a bit confused.

Chapter Text

Turned out, Kakashi sticking around was an entirely different matter from finding where he trained his cute little Genin, because the moment she and Haruki arrived at the grounds, she saw three Genin.

Three Gennin were bothered entirely by the fact that their sensei had taken off. Still, the Uchiha on Kakashi’s team was quite emphatic that he did plenty of training on his own, thus feeling that being given this task was a waste of time and that Kakashi didn’t have any real plan.

And maybe Kakashi didn’t. Maybe Kakashi did throw everything to the wind in the moment Rin decided to show up at the training grounds, where Minato used to train them. Still, she liked to think, given how one of his students mentioned that she wanted to learn medical ninjitsu, “And my dad said I couldn’t just learn from anybody. So, Sensei may have suggested you?”

Rin didn’t hesitate, latching onto anything Kakashi was willing to give her in that particular moment while also trying not to think too hard about Kakashi avoiding her and what that really meant for the three Genin. So, without hesitation, she set Haruki to working with the boys while she and Sakura had a nice chat over the basics of medical ninjitsu in the shade.

And what she saw—

“Reminds me of Kakashi whenever he discovered some piece of knowledge he didn’t already have in that brain of his,” Rin said, watching as Sakura took in everything with ease, eating every word Rin said up, asking questions whenever she didn’t understand something.

The knowledge she imparted was just the basics, as well as going into the texts that Sakura would need to start reading before she could even begin to think of using medical ninjitsu. At the same time, Rin hoped maybe, just maybe, Sakura wouldn’t get it through her idea of experimenting on her teammates unsupervised, as she’d practiced on Kakashi a few times; he came back injured from missions prior to her and Obito ending up on their team.

“I still remember Lady Tsunade’s fury when she found out,” Rin thought to herself, ending the conversation with emphasis on not doing precisely what she had done at an even younger age, not saying her healing went off without an actual hitch beyond pissng Tsunade off at her brazeness, which meant she’d come to the other topic that needed to be addressed. “So, you’re taijutsu? How are you at taijutsu?”

Sakura winced, but the look on her face screamed she’d hoped Rin wouldn’t ask, but the end of the day—

“I have to. Things might have gone down differently if I’d worked on that particular skill sooner, and Kakashi might not…” Rin frowned, then, “It’s not a strong point?”

Sakura shook her head, looking at her fingers, looking somewhat guilty.

Rin frowned. “How long do you hold up against the boys?”

The girl stiffened, looking at her wide-eyed.

“I always did better than Obito, and could go toe-to-toe with Kakashi for a bit when we just formed our team,” Rin thought, remembering Kakashi chiding Obito for not doing well in comparison, which—

“I don’t,” Sakura muttered.

Rin always brushed aside Kakashi’s comment as the implications went over his head, as he’d always been on her side about becoming stronger. “You don’t? Like how long is I don’t?”

“I mean, I don’t spar with them at all,” Sakura said.

Rin stared, then looked at the boys, frowning, her stomach churning. “Wait? Not at all? Your sensei doesn’t have you spar with them at all?”

“He tried!” Sakura blurted out. “I mean…” Then she looked at her fingers. “He kind of lets the boys spar and teaches me stuff about genjetsu?”

Rin frowned. “Okay. Tomorrow, you’re sparring with the boys, got it?”

Sakura’s eyes widened. “But…”

“I’ll make sure of it!” Rin said firmly. “What could go wrong?”

“Plenty,” Haruki told her later as they headed to his place, which she’d sent a message to her cousins saying she’d adopted a new brother for herself, and that’s where she would be, which in turn turned out to be an apartment filled with plants, a pleasant surprise. “Sempai’s a better teacher than this?”

“Oh?” Rin asked.

“Those two lack utter discipline,” Haruki said. “Taicho would never let that stand in ANBU training.”

Which was yet another confirmation that Kakashi went into ANBU sometime after she died, thought she’d killed, but that didn’t settle well with her. She let out a hum. “You know they’re children, right?”

Haruki stared at her, blank-faced.

“You didn’t exactly have a normal childhood, did you?”

“Classified.”

“Uh-huh,” Rin said, feeling she could dig into that matter later.

And the next day—

As expected, Kakashi hadn’t even shown and might not show, while Haruki made a face at the knowledge that his sempai was showing up late to the training sessions.

“You can likely find him at the memorial stone,” Sakura offered up.

“Ah,” Rin thought to herself. “That idiot.” She took a deep breath and said, “I guess I’m in charge until he gets here, then?”

“Hey!” Naruto complained, folding his arms. “Says who?”

“Would you rather not train and become stronger shinobi?” Rin retorted.

That caught his attention, and SAsuke stood there, looking at her. “What are we going to do?”

“You two?” Rin said. “You two are going to spar with Sakura here and…”

“You want us to hit a girl!” Naruto said, looking appalled.

Rin frowned. “And what does your sensei say about that?”

“That I’m a kunoichi,” Sakura said.

“Still a girl!” Naruto said. “And then he gives me this funny look like I’m some kind of idiot.”

“So,” Rin said, letting out a sigh. “Kakashi tried to logic you with Kakashi logic and then gave up when Kakashi logic went over your head?”

“Huh?”

“He probably thinks it’s obvious,” Rin said.

“What is?”

“That Sakura’s a kunoichi,” Sasuke said. “So spar with her already, dobe.”

Rin frowned. “Says someone not sparring with her either, so the reason is different?” She clapped her hands together. “Naruto! You’re first!”

“But she’s a girl!” Naruto continued protesting as he took a stance and—

Rin didn’t get a chance to say go as Sakura literally lost her temper and—

“Sakura! That hurts!”

“What did she say about actually sparring with me!” Sakura said as Naruto coweered away, Sakura’s sudden show of strength resulting in—

“Looks like Sakura is the winner,” Haruki chimed in.

Rin frowned, then, “Sasuke-kun?”

Sasuke readily made a stance to fight Sakura and—

Rin watched as Sakura became all timid and meek, while Sasuke—

There was a look of annoyance. “Fight me!”

“Come on, Sakura,” Rin said, pumping her hand into the air. “Channel some of that anger into…”

“I can’t get angry at Sasuke-kun…”

Rin watched Sasuke’s face twitch, then watched him glare at Naruto. Almost as if—

“I’m sorry,” Sakura muttered.

Then, Sasuke turned, his back to her, his arms crossed, glaring at Naruto over his shoulder.

“I think Sasuke wants to spar with you, Sakura,” Rin said. She held up her fingers, “So maybe channel that anger just a little bit?”

“But I can’t!” Sakura said. “I just…” And then, she disappeared, body flickering away.

“Not fair,” Rin heard Saasuke mutter.

“Why don’t the two of you go ahead and spar?” Rin said.

“See. Undisciplined,” Haruki said to her as they stepped aside.

“They’re kids,” Rin said. “Though you aren’t wrong in a way. Kakashi’s got his work cut out for him, and he’s honestly trying his best, but…”

“But?”

“He was never good at explaining stupid genius to stupid normal,” Rin said. “I mean, in the ANBU, you had female ANBU members on your team, right?”

“And?”

“What would have happened if any of you said what Naruto did moments ago to Sakura?”

“Taicho would have made their life hell,” Haruki said. “If they were on the team, drills. Everybody. Off the team? He knows how to cause someone a lot of pain.”

“I…” Rin frowned, then sighed. “Well, you can’t exactly use those kinds of tactics with children, can you?”

“You can’t?”

Rin frowned, giving Haruki a dirty look.

“Oh. You can’t?”

Rin sighed. “At least it can’t get worse, right?”

The next day—

Not only had Kakashi not shown the day before, but Sasuke got it through his head to pull Sakura’s hair and make her angry at him, so that Sakura would actually spar with him.

Only—

The result was Sakura being in tears, holding the back of her head as she looked at Sakura, while Naruto’s jaw dropped, blubbering out. “What did you do that for, teme?”

“Now will you spar with me?’ Sasuke asked, looking at Sakura with determination, even taking the stance to spar.

“Why would I, you jerk!” Sakura said before disappearing on them.

“Wait. I thought…” Sasuke stared.

Rin frowned. “And this seems exactly like something Kakashi would have done when we were younger if he were in the same situation.” She leaned over, giving Sasuke a warm smile. “Pulling a girl’s hair, Sasuke-kun? That’s the worst way to get the attention of the girl you like, okay?”

“Wait. I…” Sasuke became flustered before looking away. “You’re mistaken.”

“About the hair thing?” Rin said, letting out a hum. “Why not, tomorrow, apologize and offer to run through kata with her instead? To help her improve, right? Not because Sakura’s cute?”

Sasuke became slightly more flustered. “I, uh. Not that, uh.” Then, “Fine. Kata. Apologies.”

“This is why we don’t hit girls, Sasuke,” Naruto said, only to end up with an elbow in the gut.

Rin sighed, standing up. “Okay. This has got to stop. Kakashi’s not even showing up because he’s avoiding me, but he was already having troubles with these three before I even got back. And the way he puts himself down, blames himself so easily, I’m not sure he understands even sensei would have struggled with these three. I mean, I’m having troubles here.”