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Crossing Rubicon's	By : Saphri Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1427 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters portrayed in this story. I make no money from writing this fanfiction. I write purely for my own amusement and the amusement of fellow fans.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Diversions.
oOo
Stepping over the threshold of the little town was not nearly as heartbreaking as Rin first thought it would be but this fact did little to quell the unpleasant flutter in her stomach. She found herself eyeing over every building as she passed it with a paranoid curiosity, what she wouldn't give to be back in Konoha right now. She didn't want to be here, she hated this place.
The town itself was a quaint little village with breathtaking views and pretty little shops filled to the rafters with homemade trinkets and treats that would satisfy any craving. It was an ideal place to stop by for any traveller wanting to stock up on supplies or merely drink in their surroundings, maybe even buy a sweet little gift for their special someone.
When Rin had first arrived it looked so bright, shiny and exciting but as the years tore on so did that bleak greyness that warped her perception of this small town. She had hoped never to set foot in it again.
One of the many reasons Rin dislike Machenich was due to the fact that shinobi weren't very highly thought of here and the occupants of the town made no secret of it. She, like many others had been shunned by the locals and barred from many of the little shops and bars in the town for nothing more than being a ninja. It had taken her many years to coax her way in to some of these places mainly with a sweet little plea and a fluttering of eyelashes. But even then she was watched closely by the shop keepers and automatically branded a thief despite the fact that she hadn't stolen a thing.
It didn't matter that the shinobi sent here were sent to help, they were hated by the majority which made each day harder than it needed to be but she supposed that these villagers had their reasons.
The last major shinobi war had all but crushed the entire area making many homeless and killing tens of thousands. Many of the people that lived here were orphans of war, their parents killed by ninja for simply being in the way and forcing those that remained to merely pick up the pieces and carry on.
It wasn't just Machenich that was affected, all surrounding towns had felt the fallout of the war and most of the villagers honed a great resentment towards shinobi kind ever since. Not that anyone could blame them. Ninja brought blood, chaos and ruin with them and as far as these people could see they were the enemy no matter which side they were fighting for.
It made Rin hate her title when she thought about it long enough, but she was a soldier built for protecting the land from which she hailed. Both her parents had been ninja which meant she had no other path to choose. She assumed Kakashi had been in the same boat as were many of the ninja she knew back in Konoha. It wasn't a choice for them, the life was chosen for them by a higher power that no will or authority could oppose.
Kakashi had long since released her hand and they walked side by side as they entered the bright town centre. The streets were the same as how she had left them, and a few people she recognised though didn't know personally still gave her that courteous nod as they passed her by like she had never left, but not without scrutinising the copy nin in obvious distaste. He was a stranger here and he was quite obviously a shinobi given his attire so Rin hadn't expected any less from the general populace. Thankfully it seemed he was oblivious to it, either that or he simply didn't care. Knowing him it was more likely to be the latter.
Though the sun shone with a glorious brilliance that heated the skin of her face there was a chill in the air that suggested the night wouldn't be as pleasant. Not that it was anything to rely on by any stretch of the imagination.
That was another thing Rin really disliked about this part of the world; you could never plan anything because the weather was so unpredictable. One minute the sun was beating down on the colourful footpath, the next the sky was as black as soot and the path had become a mini river with the rain pelting down like a monsoon. The weather was something she could never get used to – she hated it here.
The apprehension she'd felt since leaving Konoha's wooden gates was still bubbling away in her stomach almost to the point of making her feel physically sick. Habitually she raised a hand and twisted her fingers into the fabric of her tunic as if this would ease the uncomfortable pangs of fear as they squirmed around her insides. It didn't. Why couldn't she just shrug it off like any normal person? But it was moments like this that made her realise that she was anything but normal.
It made her wonder how she had gotten this far in this life as a ninja. Under any normal circumstances she would have been written off as a lost cause, but somehow she got through each day with a hope, a prayer and the odd tumble here and there. It wasn't the most gracious way to be, stumbling through life as she did... at least that's what she thought.
Kakashi was the one that surprised her the most. Instead of scolding her for being such a wimp (something he was prone to doing a lot in his youth) he merely offered her mild encouragements and that sweet fond smile he seemed to share only with her, the one that turned her legs to jelly and made her heart jump into her mouth. It dawned on her then as she dared a glimpse at her new (and old) team mate, that he was what fuelled her strength.
He was the fire in her furnace, constantly burning his infectious energy inside her, forcing her continue, to be braver than she actually felt. Were it not for him she would be a dribbling mess of tears at the town entrance not daring to take a step closer. But he was there - as he always was recently - to guide her in the right direction, to coax her into doing things she wouldn't normally do on her own because her fear dictated how her body and mind functioned.
Maybe one day she wouldn't give in to her apprehensions quite so easily, but she felt she needn't worry about that for now because the man she loved so badly had finally made himself available to her in more ways than she had dared ever dream. He fed her new found confidence although she wasn't sure if he was aware of it.
She dropped her eyes back to the path hoping the action would be enough to stop the ugly flush she could feel threatening to erupt on her face. Her eyes weren't trained on anything in particular while she continued to pull restlessly at her clothes, be that unconsciously. The nerves were still fraying and she began to dread not only seeing the body of her dead friend, but another man that had gone out of his way to make her working life a complete misery for the past decade .
Doctor Nashi Kenshin; the name itself made her stomach twist painfully as she recalled his image in her mind.
He was a horrible, bitter, withered little man. Rin loathed him with a passion, as had many other kunoichi unfortunate enough to be placed on his team of medics and not without good reason. She wasn't certain if he had a wife, she had never been interested enough to ask, but if he did her heart went out to the woman. If he was anything like he was at work at home then he must be a nightmare to live with.
Ultimately he was a brilliant doctor with a knack for instantaneous diagnosis without so much as any physical contact with a patient, but his bedside manner was horrendous and he honed a particular dislike for females, especially females who either rivalled or outranked his position. It seemed such women threatened his masculinity and the way he would cope with that was to drive these women to tears if he could.
As a Jounin, Rin's rank was classed as equal to his despite him being one of the head doctors at Machenich hospital. He didn't like it and he had taken an instant dislike to her when she received the rank through letter after only the first couple of months on the mission. Not that he had been particularly pleasant before then.
She had lost count of the times Kenshin had lost his temper with her, calling her horrible names like "bitch" or "whore" and throwing things at her in his office when she couldn't give him the answers he wanted to hear. She wasn't the only one he targeted and she was too afraid at the time to tell anyone of a higher authority about it through the fear that no one would believe her. He was highly respected in the town, not just the hospital and trying to squander his "good name" in a place that hated people like her was just asking for trouble. So she suffered through it.
Satoshi-san had told her more than once not to let his awful attitude get to her, to just let it roll of her back, but that was easier said than done when you had to spend more than seventy hours a week with the man and she wondered if Yumi-chan was still practicing under his rule.
Rin felt herself slow as she thought of Satoshi-san, dear Satoshi-san. She felt the sorrow heave in her chest at the thought that she would never see him again, not living anyway. She wasn't looking forward to her visit to the morgue and she certainly wasn't looking forward to seeing her dead team leader lying there on his cold bed of steel. It seemed so unfair that a man who had worked tooth and nail to develop a treatment for these people should die of the very thing he had fought so hard to cure. It was so unfair...
She had no idea how she was going to handle herself towards the end of this mission, and she hoped Kakashi didn't think her too much of a fool if she was to break at some point. She would try her upmost to stay strong for her own sake but death was something she had never handled well ... not since Obito...
But it had to be her that collected Satoshi-san's remains, not only as the one that had prescribed his medication and cared for him before she left, not only as the last remaining member of his team, but as his friend. She owed him at least this much for all he had done for her over the past decade. She was just so sorry that she couldn't speak to him, just one last time.
She sighed deeply and closed her eyes against the chilly breeze just to gain back a little bit of focus. I'm so not ready for this – she thought miserably.
A slender yet heavy hand touched on her shoulder at that point, causing her to jump in her step and glance up at the culprit responsible with frightened eyes to see Kakashi looking lazily back down at her.
"Alright?" was all he said, his voice soft yet strong which sent that familiar flutter to shimmy around in her tummy. It was a far more pleasant feeling than the dull throbbing ache she had moments ago but even then she tried to swallow the lump that had mysteriously sprouted in her throat the moment she heard Kakashi's voice. Even now, after all they'd been through up until this point, he still had that effect on her...
"Yeah, sure. I'm okay," she lied eventually with what she thought was a happy, faked but believable smile, though it seemed by the slight narrowing of his lone dark eye that Kakashi wasn't at all convinced. He didn't question her about it, something she was quite glad of, but he sighed irritably as he crammed his hand back into his pocket.
It wasn't long until they caught up with the other two members of the little team who were both stood outside a café and eyeing the cakes and pastries that lined the windowsill. Rin instantly forgot about her rapidly fraying nerves and took to admiring the mouth watering selection staring back at her; she swore she could hear the cakes begging to be eaten.
If there was one thing Rin could not resist, it was sweets. If she wasn't so concerned with keeping her trim figure she felt she could happily gorge herself on candies, cookies and cakes until she was no longer able to stand up under her own weight. The thought was quite frightening, but her sweet tooth was a difficult demon to ignore, especially in times of stress. Chocolate had saved her sanity on more than one occasion.
She had once thought it a shame that Kakashi wasn't all that fond of sweet foods, but she found it to be a blessing now. If she would be entering a serious relationship with him (she sure hoped so) then at least she didn't have to share her chocolates with him. Sharing chocolate was a crime all in itself no matter who it was with or how much you had.
"Hime-sama makes the best cakes and cookies. We should stop by here when we've been for the jab, I could really go for something sugary and I'm gasping for a nice cup of coffee," Rin chirped gleefully as she stepped up close to Yamato whom had been acting quite strangely since their last stop over. She was rewarded with one of his shifty sideways glances before he stepped back and away from the window.
He was purposely trying to avoid her knowing she was onto him and Rin was quite enjoying watching him squirm. She didn't know him terribly well but well enough now to able to play with him for a while. It was all in good fun, for her at least but she prayed for just one moment to get Sakura on her own and actually ask her what the deal was.
Sakura was a nice, open girl, even in spite of the rumours she'd heard about her vile temper, and she doubted she would try to lie about what Rin had been witnessing over the past few days, but the opportunity to talk to her privately without the boys around just hadn't cropped up.
She had kept it all to herself for now but she was quite sure something was going on between the young medic and the wood user. His actions were subtle but it was the little things she picked up on, like his need to always travel with Sakura as opposed to either her or Kakashi, and he seemed to avoid any kind of contact with the latter. When Kakashi addressed him Yamato was quite short with his answers, he was never nasty with his words, just unresponsive. It may have been to her that this was just the way he was, but he spoke to Sakura so differently much more calmly and smoother which made her think otherwise. It was weird considering how long he and Kakashi had known each other. She knew their relationship stemmed back years, that and she was aware that Kakashi was actually quite fond of him.
Sakura was acting equally strange, seeing as Rin had first assumed that her and Sasuke were actually an item when she had first met them. She didn't quite know why she had assumed this as fact, perhaps because of how close they seemed. She surmised now that it was just her being naive as usual. There was enough evidence to suggest that the medic and the Uchiha were indeed not in a relationship but Rin simply hadn't seen that far into it at the time.
Sakura was so bright and vibrant, not only in colour but in personality and he was ... well ... kind of dull in comparison. He seemed a bit distant most of the time and his facial expression rarely distorted from that glum disinterested scowl. It was a crying shame really; Sasuke would be a very handsome young man if he just cracked a smile once in a while. He certainly wouldn't have a problem attracting the ladies that was for sure.
It was the little coy giggles Sakura gave to the older man, and that nervous flitting of her pretty green eyes whenever they came into contact that had given the pretty medic away this time. Well, Rin had news for both of them, she knew what was going on, and her feminine curiosity was not going to let this matter lie.
Rin had found herself wishing - during their last stop over - that they would just fuck on the table they ate at and get it over with. It was so infuriatingly frustrating to watch the pair try and flirt with each other while trying to keep a lid on it at the same time.
She desperately wanted to tell Kakashi about it just to get it off her chest, and almost had done on several occasions but something inside her told her that informing him of her suspicions wouldn't be the wisest choice to make. Not yet anyway. Hell, he had probably already spotted the signs if she had but again, a source in her gut told her he was oblivious to the whole thing.
"So where's the hotel?" Yamato questioned a little too quickly which seemed to even catch Kakashi off guard as he turned to look at his old friend with a comical arch to his brow.
"You're quite eager today, Yamato, what's the rush?" he commented casually shifting his weight onto one foot.
"Heh, I just want to get things organised so I can sit down, Senpai. My feet are killing me," Yamato responded his strange eyes pinched closed as he rubbed the back of his head.
Kakashi merely shrugged at him and turned his attention to the sky instead.
"It's across the road, if we book now the rooms should be ready in a couple of hours which will give us time to get the inoculation out of the way and then we can relax for a bit," Rin replied turning away from the cafe and pointing towards the familiar pastel yellow building on the far side of the street which enticed the others to automatically turn on their heels and begin to wander somewhat lazily towards it.
"How many rooms are we budgeted for, Rin-sensei?" came Sakura's cynical voice much closer to her ear than Rin had originally thought.
"Oh, we have enough Ryo for two rooms. So, me and you will take one and Kakashi and Yamato can have the other one," she replied with that same sly smile as she watched a flash of disappointment stream across Sakura's bright green eyes much to Rin's delight.
It was sick, in a way, to make them suffer like this but both Sakura and Yamato needed to learn a thing or two about keeping secrets from her.
The ability to read people so well wasn't something she learned during her years as a kunoichi, it was something she had inherited from her mother; it was just a gift that she liked to use to her advantage when she saw fit. It wasn't her fault she was so good at it, hell, it was one of the only things she felt she actually was good at.
But she wouldn't let it carry on for too long. It wasn't really her style to try and worm her way into other people's business, but their actions were so funny and curious Rin simply could not help herself from digging that little bit further. Their relationship had piqued her interest and she was simply dying to know more about it.
Kakashi turned around at that point, fixing Rin with a hurt glint to his eye as he proceeded to walk backwards towards the hotel. "You're making me sleep with him?" he whined pathetically while jabbing a thumb in Yamato's general direction.
"Hey, what's so bad about sharing a room with me, Senpai? We've done it before and I don't think I snore or anything..." the dark haired of the two men replied sounding a bit hurt himself which only served to make him seem even more adorable than he already was. Needless to say that Rin was actually warming to Yamato a lot quicker than she anticipated.
Kakashi switched his gaze back to him, his eye now blank and unreadable. "No offence, but the last time we shared a hotel room we also shared a bed and you get a bit grabby in your sleep." Kakashi finished with a demonstration of his hands making a squeezing motion like he was caressing a pair of large breasts.
"I do not!" Yamato retorted almost angrily just as the two girls behind began to giggle at the thought of him trying to fondle his superior in his sleep.
"So it wasn't you who was grabbing my ass and trying to spoon with me all night then?"
"What?"
"I must have kicked you at least five times that night. I hardly got any sleep at all."
"Senpai!"
"Why on earth were you two sleeping in the same bed?" Rin chortled, the imagery of Yamato spooning a rather distraught Kakashi stirring a heat in the pit of her belly she was sure shouldn't be there but she made no effort to try and stop it in its tracks. Even if the image was slightly arousing it was more amusing than anything else.
"Because Kakashi-senpai is cheap ... that's why," Yamato grumbled miserably turning back to the path with a defeated slump to his shoulders. The comment did nothing but make the copy nin, who was still walking backwards, chuckle at him.
"You're making it up, aren't you, Sensei," Sakura snorted obviously finding it next to impossible to hide her amusement much to poor Yamato's horror as he gawped around at her with obvious pain drawn all over him.
"Nope, I felt so violated," Kakashi whimpered as he flailed an arm dramatically over his face and turned back to face the direction he was travelling.
"You're such a drama queen, Kakashi," Rin replied between her hitches for breath feeling Sakura wrap an arm around hers, both of them unsuccessfully trying to hide their giggles as they all but fell about each other like the laughter had caused them to forget how their legs worked.
Kakashi swung an arm around Yamato's neck, obviously in a bid to let the poor guy know that he was only joking, before Yamato pushed himself away and playfully punched the copy nin in the shoulder. The action clearly said "Not cool bro, but I forgive you..."
The sight forced the smile already on Rin's lips to hitch upwards that little bit more. It was more than clear that the two boys in front were closer than she originally thought they were. She knew they had known each other for a long time and they had worked in very close proximity when they were both affiliated with ANBU. The trip here had yielded her such fruits of information. But she had no idea of the amount of trust Kakashi seemed to give him. He wasn't like that with everyone, Kakashi gave out his affection very sparingly, and she doubted that Yamato knew how privileged he was to have gained that trust.

With the hotel all booked and paid for, for the next two days, it was time to get the inoculation that three of the party needed to complete the mission.
The jab was mandatory if the intention was to visit the hospital. The Rot – as the infection was locally named due to the horrific sores that appeared on the surface of the skin in most victims – was well under control, had been for at least three years, and had been segregated within two wards of the hospital itself before Rin had left. She could only assume that the arrangement hadn't changed in such a short space of time. However, that didn't mean that there wasn't a risk. So everyone who passed through took a little time out of their schedules to have the inoculation whether they intended to go inside the hospital or not, just to be on the safe side.
No appointment was needed; all the nurse asked for at the waiting desk in the makeshift foyer of the tent like clinic was a name and if the person in question had any allergies, medical conditions, if they used any particular medicines, so on and so forth.
Team Kakashi gave the nurse the information she needed before all four of them were asked to take a seat. Rin went along simply because she had nothing better to do and no better place to be. She would rather sit in the little clinic with her friends than wait somewhere else on her own bored out of her skull. They wouldn't be here all that long anyway; the tent wasn't busy with only a handful of people waiting for their turn. More than likely the majority of these people were simply passing through.
The little clinic was a lot smaller than she remembered. But then again it had been a couple of years since she'd had to come in here. People popped in, got jabbed and were sent on their way again within a matter of minutes so there was no real reason to go over budget when constructing the fabric building. Hopefully the disease would be eradicated and the clinic could be torn down sometime in the near future. One could only hope.
The interior was nice enough, pristine and white in colour, with a pretty fish tank teaming with tiny shimmering tetra fish on the far side of the waiting area. Rin thought briefly about the last time the fish were fed what with most of them pecking around at the base of the tank.
Rin had always wanted a pet fish as a child, just a simple goldfish in a little bowl with brightly coloured pebbles at the base and maybe a treasure chest for decoration to look after and watch as it swam around and popped its mouth open and closed, like fish did. She would've named it Fluffy, just to be ironic in her own sad little way.
But her father never allowed it saying a fish "was not a useful animal for a shinobi." It wasn't like she had any plans to try and train the damn thing and send it into battle - simply watching it gasping for breath on the ground, the enemy getting all confused as she stood there barking orders at it and getting annoyed because she was technically being ignored. She just wanted to look at it mostly. But whatever Dad said was law and Rin never got her little goldfish in its little bowl.
At that moment she heard muffled voices suddenly grow louder as a young woman stepped out from behind the screen and left the clinic. The nurse, a woman she didn't recognise - presumably she was new to the hospital - followed soon after holding a clipboard in both hands.
"Haruno Sakura," she called flatly into the room just as the candy topped medic lifted herself from her seat and traversed carefully over to the screen.
"It should be Yamato next and then you," Rin muttered nudging Kakashi with her arm to signify she was talking to him.
"Yeah… goodie," he quipped with what could only have been a nervous twitch of his head.
She frowned at his reaction and found herself observing him a little closer.
His attention was squared directly at the white screen at the far end of the room so she couldn't see his face lest she craned her entire body around his. His shoulders were hunched awkwardly though not enough to be noticed by anyone simply passing but still he was sitting awkwardly which was unusual for him.
She noticed then that his arms were shaking, only ever so slightly but shaking none the less which drew her eyes down to his hands. His fingers were wrapped so tightly around the arms of the metal chair that his middle knuckles on each finger were white over, he was gripping the steel like his life depended on it. Something wasn't right.
"Are you alright?" she whispered to him sitting herself up on the chair so her mouth was level with his ear.
"Yes. I'm fine. I'm hot though, are you hot? … Is it hot in here? I can't breathe, I'm ... I'm going outside for a bit," he stuttered lurching from his seat and stalking out of the waiting room. His movements were so sudden and brisk Rin didn't even have the time to react to it. Before she had gathered enough of her bearings to call after him he was already gone.
It wasn't hot in the waiting area of the tiny clinic, if anything it was quite cold but she couldn't deny that odd sheen of perspiration she had spied on his skin as he removed himself from his chair.
She turned to look at Yamato who was staring her way looking just as perplexed as she felt. Kakashi was acting really weird, had done since they had come into the clinic. He was edgy and finding it increasingly difficult to sit still which wasn't like him at all, she simply hadn't took much notice of him until he stiffened up like a board when Sakura's name was called. Something was bothering him and he was struggling to keep a lid on it, which again, went against his character in every way possible.
Without saying another word, knowing that Yamato had already seen what had just happened and not really wanting to converse with him about it, Rin rose from her seat and navigated her way back outside.
She found Kakashi instantly, just sitting on a stone wall shaded by a large decorative tree in the near distance reading that orange book of his and looking like nothing had happened at all.
Carefully minding her feet, she stepped over to him, pulling both arms around her midriff as she went to shield her against the chill that was gradually getting cooler. It was going to be a cold night tonight.
She sat herself next to him cautiously, not bothering to turn to face him, already aware of why he was acting so strangely and kicking herself for not noticing the very same signs years before. Maybe she could have helped him a little back then... she would never know now.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly, hitching herself closer forcing the slight gap between them to close completely.
"No, not really," he replied dully snapping his read shut and resting the hand that held it on his lap. He focused his attention on the ground absently tapping the heels of his feet against the dusty stones he sat on.
"It might help, you know," she spoke softly still this time turning to face him just a little. She didn't want to force him into opening up and if he continued to tread around the matter then she would let it lie, but she knew better than most that a problem like this could be controlled, but it was rare one could do it alone.
Kakashi glanced up at her momentarily before he dropped his gaze back to the street. He was embarrassed, she could see that as clear as day even with the mask and the looming shadow of the tree behind them shielding the majority of his face. But he needn't be, not around her. The only thing she wanted from him was to admit there was a problem. Until then she felt there was nothing much else she could do. It would only serve to humiliate him further if she told him she already knew what was wrong.
"You'll laugh."
"I won't."
"Want to bet on it?"
"No, but I can promise I won't laugh at you."
A moment passed where he didn't do or say anything. He just sat there fascinated by his feet that dangled beneath him. Maybe he was thinking of the best way to describe how he was feeling, maybe he was mustering courage to tell her at all, maybe he wouldn't. Eventually he cleared his throat and adjusted his weight awkwardly on the wall, a movement which he seemed to use to find his words.
"I'm trypanophobic..." his voice was terribly small, like he had forgotten how the air moved around his throat when he tried to speak. But at least he admitted it despite of his reluctance to do so.
"I don't think that's funny, Kakashi," she soothed habitually placing a hand on his knee which caused his attention to flick to that spot while she rubbed random circles in the fabric with her thumb.
Rin had a good inkling that she was one of the only people he had ever admitted his needle phobia to, and as someone who was terribly afraid of spiders she knew how much such a fear could get in the way of a normal day to day life.
Needles and syringes probably weren't something that Kakashi was faced with on a regular basis, but he was bound by law to have yearly screenings at Konoha hospital and sometimes these screenings required him to have routine booster injections to keep his immune system fine tuned. She could only imagine how hard that must be for someone with his type of fear. It wasn't funny and anyone who thought a phobia of this nature was in any way amusing was basically moronic and ignorant at that. There was nothing Rin hated more than ignorance.
He didn't say anything or acknowledge that Rin had responded at all but he was obviously ashamed of himself by the way his head hung low on his shoulders. Rin could understand that. An elite Jounin shinobi, the copy ninja no less, feared in many countries throughout the world and considered a formidable foe with a weapon so powerful he could kill a man with a glance ... was afraid of needles. But everyone had a fear, be that irrational or not, it was just one of those things that made people ... well ... human.
"Can you remember when the phobia started?" she asked, hoping that if he could pinpoint a moment when he had developed this fear so she could at least get him through the next ten seconds it would take to get him inoculated.
He furrowed his brow before he slowly shook his head, still refusing to lift his gaze as he spoke. "Not really. I've had it since I was a kid. Dad used to hate taking me in for jabs because I used to scream the place down..." he chuckled at his own words, but it was likely his feigned amusement was out of shame more than anything else.
He rubbed the back of head awkwardly with his free hand before he flicked his eye towards Rin who offered him a sympathetic smile despite the fact that she knew he was lying. She wouldn't pull him up on it, if he didn't want to tell her then that was up to him no one else.
"The needles themselves don't scare me. It's the thought of it going under my skin..." he shuddered quite visibly "... it's revolting and unnatural."
"Out of curiosity, how is an injection different to say ... I dunno, biting your thumb to summon your ninken or getting nicked by a sharp weapon? Those things are still puncturing your skin." The question was as she stated, for curiosity's sake.
As far as Rin was concerned an injection was no different to having the skin pierced by any other means. Kakashi obviously didn't see it that way and she just wanted to understand how he saw it differently. But she was disappointed with his answer.
"Trust me, it's not the same. I can't explain it, but it's definitely not the same."
"Oh, okay."
"And now I feel stupid," he muttered finally with what could have only been a slight coy grin under that dark mask of his.
"You're not stupid, Kakashi, far from it," she said softly patting his knee one last time before she sat herself back up on the wall.
" Usually a phobia comes from a traumatic event that involves the object of the fear. So I'm guessing that something happened to you, or you witnessed something that involved a syringe or needle and it frightened you. It's not unusual for people suffering with the phobia to forget the source either because more often than not the event that triggers a phobia happen at a very young age. The memory will vanish but the fear remains." she explained almost matter-of-factly.
"I have a phobia too. And seeing as you told me yours I'll tell you mine if you want," she said boldly giving a shrug of her shoulders like talking about it didn't bother her at all. It did, more than anything. Simply thinking about all those horrible legs and those disgusting expressionless eyes made her toes curl. There was absolutely no need for a spider to have so many of the same things, surely not!
Kakashi just looked on expectantly like he knew she would tell him anyway and now was as good time as any to spill the beans.
"I'm terrified of spiders," she quipped rolling her eyes skyward and shrugging her shoulders in a sort of dismissive gesture.
"Spiders?" he repeated. "But spiders are everywhere..."
"Yes, yes, I know that, thank you," she grumbled as she wafted a hand in front of her face to dismiss that part of the conversation. It wasn't like she needed reminding that she was almost constantly surrounded by the little beasts.
"I'm okay with them as long as I can't see them but if I see one I freeze up and I start to panic. It's a horrible feeling like I'm going to die if it touches me and yes, it makes me feel a bit stupid too because I know they can't hurt me ... well ... apart from the big ass poisonous things you find near Earth country. But I don't know why I'm so scared of them, I just am." She hummed a chuckle as he took it in but he didn't laugh. He just looked at her with that warming smile she could see through the shadows cast onto his face. It was sympathetic like the smile she had given him moments ago because he understood what she was saying even if he wasn't scared of spiders like she wasn't afraid of needles.
It was endearing to know that he wasn't amused by what she'd just told him. And she felt herself fall in love with him that little bit more because of it. There was another understanding between them, something else they had in common that brought them a bit closer together even if that one thing was something they both hated about themselves. But it felt nice like she had just drunk a hot cup of sake and the heat was radiating in her belly as that pleasant tingle from the fictional alcohol thrummed in her head making her feel a little giddy.
They regarded each other for a while and Rin thought absently that Kakashi would have missed his slot by now. But that was okay. They may have to wait a bit longer but she hoped after this little chat he would feel a bit better about it ... and not quite as frightened as he was before.
Eventually she decided to move the conversation on.
"There's a lot of ninja with Trypanophobia, you know. Some of those ninja you actually know, not that I'm going to tell you who they are, of course. But you aren't the only one I can promise you that." She wasn't lying either. Genma had been little more than a sniffling mess the last time he had gone to her for one of his screenings many many years ago and she could count a few others. At least Kakashi dealt with his problem a damn sight better than his friends did, there was no report in his medical file of Trypanophobia so (until now at least) he was exceptionally skilled at hiding it.
"How do you know that?"
"Oh, us medic nin have our sources. But that's not important. Anyway, the best thing I can suggest you do to try and deal with it is the advice my mother gave during a brisk talk of the birds and the bee's when I was about thirteen years old."
Kakashi cracked a smile then, she couldn't see his mouth but she saw the amusement in his eye, which lifted her own spirits a little, though they weren't really low in the first place.
"Go on," he said with far more interest than she thought he would have.
Rin closed her eyes and leaned back a little on the wall gripping it with her hands to suspend her back so she didn't topple over and lifted her legs so her feet hovered over the ground.
"Just lie back, take a deep breath, relax, and think of Konoha," she breathed contently.
He snorted just before the laugh erupted from his throat, he threw his head forward and slapped his free hand to his mouth to try and stem it and failed horribly in the process. It was clear that he hadn't meant to laugh at her but the reaction had been compulsive by the looks of it. It was the most genuine sound she had ever heard him make and in turn it caused her to laugh too, though she wasn't entirely sure why.
"That's really bad sexual advice," he chuckled "It sounds like your mom didn't like sex very much."
"Hm, knowing my mother then probably not, there wasn't much she did like. But hey, it might work for what you're about to do. You never know. My mom's sex talk might actually help you fight your fear of needles!" she chirped gleefully as she watched him shake his head with another one of his small giggles.
"You have no idea how wrong that sounds, Rin. But for you I'll give thinking of Konoha a try."

Back in the clinic it was apparent that Kakashi had missed his slot to receive his inoculation. The nurse at the counter didn't seem too pleased but Rin did her best in trying to reason with the young woman who eventually submitted and allowed them both to take their seats again.
The brunette stalked over to her chair in mild annoyance and plopped herself down in her seat roughly, Kakashi did the same but with a little more constraint than her.
He had to admit that he felt a bit better than he did the first time, at least he didn't feel dreadfully sick anymore, but his nerves were still a little sensitive and he was undoubtedly worried about the jab itself. It wasn't like him to worry about things as small and insignificant as this, even he knew that, but this was something he just couldn't help getting anxious over, it wasn't like he could just shrug it off, if only his mind was that simple.
He hadn't wanted to admit his secret phobia to anyone and he had managed to keep it a close guarded secret up until now, but Rin had somehow managed to coerce him into talking, something he was finding she was very good at recently. But she seemed to know what she was talking about and it had a positive effect, so he was grateful for the boost of confidence he felt he needed to get through this next step.
Yamato and Sakura were waiting near the exit of the tent and it seemed they hadn't even noticed him and Rin come back in. He vaguely noticed that Rin was watching them too possibly for the same reason he was, waiting to be acknowledged.
Eventually Sakura turned around and spotted him and Rin before rolling her eyes dramatically and carefully making her way towards them, Yamato not too far behind her.
"Kakashi-sensei, you missed your slot! Where did you guys go?" she asked obviously feeling a little annoyed that they felt they had to wait around for him.
"I needed the bathroom, and then I lost my wallet so Rin was helping me find it," Kakashi deadpanned hoping she didn't see through his lie. He had only been sitting outside, there was every possibility that she had seen him and Rin talking not too far away but even with the quizzical look the younger medic gave him she dropped the subject instantly.
"So how long have you got to wait for the next slot?" Yamato interjected.
"Twenty minutes... it might be longer than that because he missed the first one but we shouldn't be long," Rin replied sounded a little exasperated.
"Why don't you guys have a wander around town, I'll stay with Kakashi and we'll meet up at Hime's tea shop, you know the one with the cakes in the window, in, say, thirty minutes?" Rin suggested, sounding a little more cheerful than she did seconds ago.
Sakura and Yamato glanced at each other then and nodded an agreement between them before turning back to the two that were seated.
"If that's okay with you two," Sakura mused focusing her green eyes on Kakashi as though he would object for some reason.
He lifted his hands defensively before he spoke, "Well, it's my own fault I'm still waiting. So I suppose it's not really fair to expect you to wait for me. Besides, Rin here will keep me company."
"Are you sure...?" Sakura started until Rin interrupted with a shooing wave of her hand.
"We're sure, it's fine! Go, go have fun and we'll see you later," she quipped which more or less sealed the deal between the members of the group.
As the other two left the tent Kakashi turned his attention to the gorgeous woman sat next to him and flashed her a concealed smile. She'd known exactly what she was doing the minute she lied about his appointment being twenty minutes away when in fact he should be the next one to be called up.
She had politely gotten rid of Sakura and Yamato merely so neither of them could ask him any more questions about his whereabouts just now or sit and complain about having to wait far longer than they should have because he was late. He was apprehensive enough about the procedure and even he felt the last thing he needed was to be punished for something he couldn't really control.
"Thank you," he whispered just as she focused her dark brown eyes on him with that a glorious confident smile he didn't think he'd seen since they set off from Konoha not two days ago.
"No problem," she replied in an equally soft voice leaning over her lap to collect a magazine from the table in front of her.

The seconds dragged by one agonising click at a time, it was unbearable. He would lose his mind at this rate, the beads of sweat were forming on his skin again and that relentless knot had begun twisting around in the pit of his gut gradually getting worse as the second hand on the clock above the reception desk seemed to get slower the longer Kakashi insisted on staring at it.
He'd lied through his teeth outside when Rin asked him if he could recall what had triggered the phobia. He didn't want to tell her for the fear of appearing even more weak and disgraceful than he already did but now he was wishing that he had said something. Maybe she was right; maybe getting it off his chest would have made this easier. But it was too late now, he'd already told the lie and he didn't have the strength to go back on it, not right now anyway.
He remembered the incident like it had happened just seconds ago even though he'd only been five years old at the time. It was something he knew that could happen to anyone, and to others he assumed it wasn't something to get so worked up about. Usually he didn't not until he was faced with the possibility that it could happen all over again.
The nightmares tormented him for weeks after it happened, forcing him to wake up in the middle of the night screaming his head off. He'd lost count of the amount of times his father had lost his patience with him and told him to 'grow up and get over it.' Kakashi doubted now that he'd really meant those words; he was simply an exasperated single parent who just didn't know how best to help his son.
He'd had numerous jabs before this particular day and they'd never bothered him one bit, just one tiny prick of the skin and it was done, he'd get a sticker with a funny picture on it and sometimes a lollypop that he never ate and that was the end of it until next time. But the time it came round to having a routine booster injection not so long after his fifth birthday was what made him lose his nerve.
He couldn't recall much of the day itself just that he was sat in a chair that was much too big for him, his feet only just able to dangle over the lip of the seat. He remembered the nurse performing the task, a kindly old woman who had a fragrance about her similar to old clothes stored in a dusty attic. It was weird what he remembered sometimes.
But the one thing that had traumatised him so much that day was when the needle broke from the syringe inside his arm. He remembered looking at it with lazy, uninterested eyes and deciding himself that he would remove it with his own hands only to accidentally push the thin strand of metal deeper into his skin. It was then he had started to panic. The only thing he felt he could do at that point was to scream at the top of his lungs as the broken tip of the needle disappeared out of reach as he desperately clawed at it without success.
Kakashi couldn't really remember what happened after that, just that the needle was extracted safely and there was no extensive physical damage to his arm, but he could still feel that strip of steel sliding under his skin puncturing its way through the muscle of his bicep, a sensation that still made him feel sick to his stomach.
He swallowed hard praying silently to the gods that the nurse behind that screen would hurry the hell up just so he could get it over and done with. He surmised that the quicker he was behind that screen the quicker he could get the hell out of here.
Something touched his hand causing him to turn his attention to Rin who was looking back with that understanding smile she had used on him outside. It worked, the knot in his guts unravelled, if only a little, but he felt himself sit back in his seat as she sat up and leaned towards him.
"Just relax. Ten seconds, that's all it's going to be. Just relax," she soothed placing a hand on his forearm and stroking a thumb across his over sensitive skin. The contact however only splayed his nerves further, her touch, meant to be soothing, only grating on him like a steel saw but he didn't have it in him to pull away as that inner voice in his head started talking to him again. It was always the same - patronising and cruel - and the voice was always his own, taunting him in his head and forcing that horrific memory from all those years ago to the front of his mind. It was like he enjoyed torturing himself.
'It's coming, Kakashi, it's so close and there's nowhere to run! It's going to be one hell of a needle and the same thing's going to happen all over again! You know it right?'
Shut up!
'There's so many people here, they're all staring at you, waiting for you to break, the nurse is going to look at you like you're a freak! Just like always!'
I said, shut up!
'Just remember how it felt! That hard slither of steel buried deep in your arm, the more you poked at it the deeper it drove! Remember the pain? The blood? The fear? Remember how you sobbed like a little girl in front of all those people? You're pathetic! Everyone thinks you're pathetic!"
PLEASE, JUST SHUT UP!
He wasn't entirely sure if he had just shouted out loud at that point which made his flesh tighten around him but a weary look around the waiting area confirmed that he was safe. Everyone was going about their business.
An elderly couple sat straight opposite sharing one of the many magazines Rin had helped herself to earlier, a man, smartly dressed, sat with his legs crossed next to them reading a book and there was a young pretty woman with a small boy, presumably her son, crouched in front of the fish tank on the far side. He heard the boy laugh, a piercing noise that shot through his ears like a freshly sharpened knife through a raw piece of steak forcing him to squeeze is eyes shut before focusing on his feet.
Rin was still looking at him, her smile had faded but her hand was still on his arm burning away at the skin beneath it. He wished she'd let go, he wished she'd have gone with the others and just left him here to fester in his own juices. This could not get any more humiliating if he tried.
"Hatake Kakashi," came that flat voice from the screen which did nothing but force the bile into his gullet.
He swallowed it feeling it burn his throat, determined to keep his dignity intact for his own sake. He had gotten through this very same procedure numerous times without incident, without making too much of a fool of himself and he was damned if this would be any different.
'Just sit back, take a deep breath, relax, for the love of the gods, relax, and think of Konoha.' he chanted to himself in his head. He repeated Rin's words mentally as he stood from his seat and navigated feet that didn't feel like his towards the nurse stood next to the white screen.
His focus was directed at the floor beneath him as he stepped into the closed off area and parked himself in the large white leather chair. He noticed the chair looked more like something one would see at the dentist (another place he didn't particularly like going to but he would rather a man poke around in his mouth than this) and took his time in leaning back and allowing his body to sink into the supple softness made uncomfortably warm by the throngs of people that had passed through here today.
He began to let his eye drift towards the nurse who was preparing herself at a small sink to his left until something hard jabbed him in the arm to his right.
Kakashi snapped his head around to see Rin stood next to him which surprised him a little bit.
"Rin, I'm fine, I don't need you here," he hissed viciously feeling more foolish now than he did when he was sat outside. If she thought he was going to let her hold his hand through this ten second procedure than she had another thing coming.
"Oh, I know you don't but I was just wondering what you wanted to do after this. I mean we'll have about twenty minutes before we have to meet Sakura and Yamato," she chirped happily.
Kakashi's scowl deepened a little, he just wanted to concentrate on not ripping the poor nurse's hand off as she tried to stab him in the arm, not talk about what to do afterwards. He would think about that when his head was a bit clearer.
"Rin..."
"Well, you see there's this bookstore just around the corner and I noticed the last time I was here they had one of those special Icha Icha collectable box set things in stock. I just wondered if you wanted to go see if they still had one because I noticed you didn't have that collection at your apartment."
He felt his heart skip a beat at the mention of Icha Icha. He was certain Rin hated him reading those books (not that he ever let that stop him) but she seemed genuinely interested in visiting this bookstore for that very reason.
"Really? You mean the Diversions set?" he asked hearing the excitement in his own voice.
"Yeah! That one, there's two books, right? Both of them with light blue covers?" she beamed.
'Ohmygod-ohmygod-ohmygod' his inner voice chanted, that malicious voice from earlier being replaced by that shrill high pitched squeal he heard whenever he knew a new Icha Icha book was due for release.
Icha Icha Diversions was a two part spin off series with a different protagonist than the first set of books but he had heard the stories were just as gripping as the others and just as sexually explicit to boot, which was always a bonus. The set was very limited edition and only a handful of them were ever published so Kakashi had unfortunately missed out on getting his dirty hands on one when they were released. He had scoured every book store he could find ever since trying to find them only to be told by disgruntled shop keepers that he didn't stand a chance in hell.
His mouth began to water at the prospect that he could actually own these books. Actually hold them in his hands and feel the soft supple cover under his fingers.
"I think it was near the back of the shop the last time I saw it, but that was a while ago now. So don't keep your hopes if they don't have it anymore. And ... you're done!" Rin almost cried out the last sentence she spoke ... which made no sense to Kakashi's ears whatsoever.
"What? What have I done?" he asked with a small shake of his head and having no idea what had just gotten into her.
"She means you're done. You can go now, sir," the young nurse said flatly.
Kakashi snapped his head back to the nurse before looking down at his left arm. The sleeve had been rolled up past the elbow and a small band-aid was secured to the skin just above the crook of his elbow. He hadn't felt a thing and while Rin had been talking he hadn't even given the nurse and her nasty needles a second thought. That was it... it was over and he had been oblivious to the whole thing. He felt the relief wash over him all of a sudden making his legs feel numb but his head pleasantly light and empty.
Pushing himself from the large chair he rolled down his sleeve and gave the young nurse a courteous bow thanking her for her service before following Rin towards the exit of the tent. He should take Rin to the hospital the next time he was due a screening, just to sit there and babble her soothing nonsense at him.
Nonsense.
It dawned on him then as he was stepping back out into the sun what Rin had just done.
"How much of what you said in there was actually true?" Kakashi ground out watching her freeze in her tracks and turn herself around to face him with an apologetic upward twitch of her mouth. He felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. He didn't need her to explain herself at that point, he already knew the truth but he stood there and waited for her answer anyway.
"Well ... there's a bookstore around the corner..." she muttered coyly pointing sheepishly to her left. She meant: yes there was a bookstore but no limited edition once in a lifetime buy extra special Icha Icha Diversions series inside it.
"You've just broken my heart, Rin," he stated flatly and he half meant what he'd just said.
Rin's features crumpled then as she walked back towards him and tried to place a hand on his chest. He didn't let her make contact however; briskly he folded his arms to block her attempts of touching him and stared down at her ensuring his glare gave her enough information to let her know that he was not impressed at all.
"Oh, Kakashi, don't be like that. I was just trying to help..."
"You should have picked something else to lie about."
"I really didn't think you'd believe me."
"You're a very good actress."
"Kakashi, please."
"..."
"You hate me now, don't you?"
Her last question caught him off guard if only for a split second. She sounded really hurt and she was now staring through him instead of just at him, her eyes heavy and her shoulders slumped. What she'd done wasn't terrible, not really; she'd acted on her feet to make sure he was as comfortable as possible and had gained the exact result she had hoped for. Hell, he had no idea how to thank her for making that experience as painless as it was. So now he felt a little guilty for making her believe that her little fib had hurt him far more than was actually true.
Hate was such a strong word and Kakashi could probably say that he didn't really hate anyone. He disliked many people and found others quite irritating but even those emotions didn't even come close to hate. But he was in love with this girl, though it had taken a few weeks now to finally have the guts to allow himself to even think it, how could he possibly hate her?
"Of course I don't hate you," he responded softly. "But I'm disappointed that I can't get those books here now. I guess that's my own fault for being so gullible in the first place. You can be quite good at deception when you put your mind to it, Rin."
He saw the faint hint of a smile on her lips before she replied, "Well, we were tutored by the same man. I guess I'm catching up to you at long last."
He hummed a chuckle at her. Kakashi was good at what he did, very good, considered the best in fact but Rin had her strengths too. She was also a Jounin Elite the exact same rank as him only in a different field. Her abilities complimented his hence why they had always made a brilliant team on their own in the past. Where he failed she would pick up the slack and vice-versa. She had no need to "catch up" because there was nothing to catch up to; she was already at her peak. It was such a shame she just couldn't see it in herself.
"So, does this mean I'm forgiven?" she asked sweetly flashing her teeth with a broad and over confident smile.
"No," he replied courteously just to watch her face rumple with guilt much to his amusement. "But there is a way to make it up to me," he continued smoothly as he forced both hands into his pockets and strolled past her.
Rin sighed as she fell in line with him. "Go on then, tell me how I can make it up to you," she grumbled dejectedly, she obviously expected a task that was either so tedious she would be bored to tears, like doing his laundry, or something way out of her depth... possibly sexual which didn't seem like a bad idea at all.
He thought of all the things he could ask her to do, a hand job? A blow job? A quick grope of her boobs? Or maybe just a quick hard slap on her butt. All were quite satisfactory but he dismissed all of them with a mental shudder knowing that given the circumstances of this mission anything even remotely related to sex was probably the furthest thing from her mind. He certainly had no intentions of forcing her into something she felt uncomfortable with.
He hadn't forgotten about the last tender moment they had shared in her apartment and he wasn't likely to forget it any time soon. It was that memory he clung to hoping that they could carry on where they left off when they got back. He guessed he was wishing on a burnt out star, the moment was ruined the second he clapped eyes on the messenger bird at the window. But that didn't mean he couldn't dream. And it certainly didn't mean they couldn't just start again.
It was disappointing that they wouldn't be sharing a room for this trip but Kakashi surmised that this was actually a smart move considering that fiery spark that had started developing between two other members of their team.
Kakashi had known for months that something odd hung in the air whenever Sakura and Tenzou were together. He had never been able to put his finger on what it was so he had chosen to ignore it at the time. Whatever that something was it didn't interfere with training or their dynamics as a working team so the copy nin didn't see a need to question it. It had been a while since he was sent on mission with the pair so he was never given much of a chance to dwell on it anyway, until now that was.
Nothing incriminating had happened between them, nothing that directly proved that there was a relationship brewing between the pair and it wasn't until he found himself comparing their little awkward actions towards each other against his and Rin's relationship that he started to piece it all together. The shifty glances exchanged between them, the way Tenzou touched Sakura's lower back when she stepped in front of him and the way she blushed and giggled quite obviously when he did so.
It was funny to watch, but why keep it a secret for all this time?
Tenzou was a good person and it was clear that he was quite fond of the girl, and Sakura could do a lot worse, hell, she had done a lot worse over the course of time Kakashi had known her. But he still held a reserved feeling of protection towards her. He and Sakura weren't incredibly close in the realms of friendship, they didn't talk about anything other than training all that often but that didn't mean he didn't care deeply for her. She was young and sometimes a little naive which was the only reason Kakashi found himself running to her rescue when she found herself in bouts of trouble.
She was a damn good medic and a passionate fighter with her own unique style, but she was lonely and desperate for someone to love her as much as she could love them. Kakashi could relate to her on that level but not once had he ever spoken to her about it or even broached the subject. There had always been a little resentment at the back of his mind against Sasuke who had hurt the girl on more than one occasion, but it seemed that Sakura was well and truly over him so it didn't matter anymore.
But she was a big girl, she didn't need Kakashi's guidance despite the fact that she had actually asked for it on more than one occasion when it came to certain boyfriends she'd picked up from goodness knows where. Even if he didn't particularly like being bogged down with the problems of her failing love life he found it impossible to turn her away and had guided her the best he could, usually that guidance being "The guy's a loser, you don't need him, Sakura, and you know it."
Kakashi would bide his time with this pair, he found he would very much like to know what exactly was going on between them just to be in on the loop, but if they wanted to keep it to themselves for now then he was happy to let them get on with it. It was ultimately none of his business anyway.
Shifting his mind back to the situation at hand after hearing an impatient sigh pass Rin's lips he shifted his eye to focus on her before flitting his eye back to the street.
"Well, I would like to know why you followed me behind the screen instead of letting me face my fear alone. Wouldn't that have been the best way for me to deal with it?" he asked flatly giving her an arch to his brow as spoke. He had to admit when he saw her standing there while sitting in that chair he felt pretty dumb, like he was a child all over again.
"Well, I saw you getting more and more stressed out in your seat and you kept telling yourself to 'shut up' after I told you to relax. And I thought you might freak out when you saw the size of the syringes they were using so I got your attention before you had the chance to see it."
Kakashi shuddered at the thought, he didn't even get a glimpse of the syringe and he was glad about that, the fact that Rin had just stated that these syringes were larger than usual turned his stomach inside out until he was able to force the image of it out of his head. Now the ordeal in the clinic was over it was far easier to do so.
"And you've been facing this fear for years, Kakashi. If you haven't gotten over it by now then I don't think you ever will." Her words were harsh, but non-the-less true. Kakashi felt his mouth twitch defensively but declined to answer because she was probably right and he saw no point in trying to argue a point that was already lost.
"I'm sorry I made up that story about the books. I couldn't think of anything else that would grab your attention," she said shamefully.
The chuckle that left him was genuine, the more he thought about the situation the more amusing it seemed. She was just helping, and her method was very effective so he could forgive her for leading him on just that little bit. Even if he did feel like falling to his knees and sobbing the moment he realised she had lied to him about it.
They slowed to a stop as he navigated them both into a small space between two shops. There were people still milling about the area and he wanted his next move to be as private as possible given that they were both outside under the guise of the general public of this small town.
Placing a gloved hand on either side of her head Rin looked up at him with watery eyes just as he leaned in and kissed her softly on the mouth, the warmth of her supple lips bleeding through the fabric of his mask as she responded almost instantly with a low pleasured moan. The kiss wasn't passionate like ones they had shared before but it was soft, delicate and intimate.
She didn't make a move to remove the fabric that separated them like he thought she would but he spied her eyes flutter shut as she lifted her hands and gently touched his face with long slender fingers.
He pulled away gently though by the way Rin moved her head towards him she was none too happy about it but she complied and opened her eyes to allow them to flit between his eye and his mouth.
"What was that for?" she whispered shakily.
"For understanding," he murmured back and he meant it. No one in the world understood him like she did and he had no other way of thanking her for just being there in the clinic just a few minutes ago. How he had coped this long without her guidance he would never know and he knew he would be repeating that same question to himself forever more.
"Don't worry about it," she muttered bashfully, that serine dusting of pink on her cheeks forcing her to lower her sights to the space between them as she allowed her hands to drape over his shoulders before she took a quick glance at her watch.
"We should get to the tea shop now, I bet Yamato and Sakura are waiting for us," she said tapping her hands on Kakashi's shoulders and navigating her way back to the street.
He fell in line with her as they walked and felt her gently link an arm around his. She pulled the fabric of his shirt sleeve into her fingers and played it in her hand but he was okay with that, she was comfortable with holding him like this so in turn he felt the same. She was the only woman he would ever allow to touch him in such a way and that was the way it would stay. He loved her, more than anything and this little incident did nothing but make him realise exactly why that was.

It seemed that neither Yamato or Sakura had turned up at the cafe yet and a quick look at the watch on her wrist told Rin that they still had ten minutes before they were due to meet here. But that was okay, the more time she got to spend alone with her precious copy ninja the better in her eyes.
They walked through the threshold of the little tea house together but she found herself shocked when the majority of the customers sat at the tables stopped dead in their conversations and turned to glare at her and her partner. It was like something out of a movie when the bad guy enters a bar, the music stops, everyone goes silent and the focus lies purely on the presence that just entered the room.
There were only a handful of people in the little building but Rin couldn't help herself as she froze up in the doorway, the memories of first entering this shop frothing to surface as the folks just sat in their chairs staring through her... judging her, tearing her to pieces with their eyes.
A warm hand on the small of her back brought her back to reality with a crash and she whipped her head over her shoulder to glance at Kakashi who was looking at her with that obsidian eye that said 'I'm here, just keep going.'
It was enough for her to turn back around to step into the shop and soon enough the handful of punters soon lost interest in her and Kakashi's presence resuming with whatever business they had before. It shouldn't have mattered anyway, Rin liked it in here and she was glad Kakashi hadn't given her the chance to let these people ruin that for her.
The quaint little cafe hadn't changed a bit since the last time she had come here. Hell, it had only been just over a month ago since her last steaming mug of coffee in this place. It was one of the only havens she had while trapped in this hell hole. She had used this place many times to simply unwind or finish up snippets of paper work at the ends of shifts.
The view of the lake nestled in the woodland on the borders of the town was so beautiful despite the oversized puddle being the quarantined water supply that had killed countless people in this little village. But still she had been able to forget herself here and just enjoy existing, something that had been a rarity for her over the past decade.
All the tables that lined the borders of the shop were different, each one a different size shape, and colour to the one next to it and none of the chairs matched either which - rather than look chaotic and untidy - was actually quite homely and cosy.
The people who owned the shop were friendly and always welcomed her with a smile and as she approached the counter, Kakashi in tow, the kindly middle aged woman graced her with that same kind smile she remembered. If nothing else her welcoming expression brought a little warmth to Rin's bleak outlook.
"Oh my goodness! Rin-chan? My, you're looking well. I didn't think I would see you in here again!" the older woman gasped, placing her duster on the counter and looked Rin over with a curious awe.
"Hello, Hime-sama. Thank you and I honestly didn't think I would be coming back, but here I am," she chirped feeling less happy to be here than she sounded. But it wouldn't do to dampen the older lady's mood. She was a nice woman and she loved to talk, she was one of the only locals that had welcomed her into her life and Rin would be forever grateful to her for that.
"Well it's very good to see you, my girl!" she piped with a kind smile that quickly turning brazen as she spotted the tall shinobi stood next to her. "Oh, and who's this fine looking gentleman with you?" she commented flirtatiously as she eyed the copy nin over with a roving eye.
Rin couldn't help but giggle, the woman was old enough to be Kakashi's mother and she was also married to a man that adored her, but it was a well known fact in Machenich that dear old Hime-sama was a bit of a flirt, especially where younger men were concerned.
She was an attractive woman and she never failed to use this to her advantage. Sometimes watching the men blush and stutter around her advances was painful to watch but most of the time it was funny as hell and the two women had spent many happy moments laughing about it.
Rin had lost count of the amount of times Hime had deterred men from approaching her where she had liked to sit at the counter by turning on this flirtatious charm of hers. It had been an in running joke between them and Rin was surprised to find that she had actually missed it. It was all innocent fun but there was no denying that Hime enjoyed the attention she received from the men that passed through here.
"Oh, Hime-sama, this is my ... uh ... friend, Kakashi. Kakashi, this is Hime-Sama." She spoke as she waved a hand between them in her greeting as Kakashi held out his hand to the older woman who looked down at as though he was handing her a piece of expensive jewellery.
"Pleased to meet you, Hime-sama," he said while Hime gently wrapped her fingers around the tips of his.
"I can assure you the pleasure is all mine, Kakashi-kun," she cooed rubbing a rough looking thumb over his knuckles as her smile widened.
Rin saw Kakashi's spine snap rigid with the honorific Hime had used with his name as he coughed awkwardly, pulled his hand slowly from hers and shoved it back into his pocket. He looked like he'd just touched something very unpleasant. The uncomfortable crease to his visible eye was amplified by the deep rosy tint that had appeared over the hem of his mask. The sight was hysterical but Rin managed to choke down the chortles as he turned towards her and pointed behind himself with his thumb.
"I'll go grab us a table," he muttered before he strolled over to one of the free tables towards the back of the small cafe. Habitually Rin followed with her eyes as he went, still unable to shake off that warm pool of pleasure in her stomach from when he kissed her outside.
She hadn't expected it and it wasn't quite his style to be as spontaneous with his affection like that, but she hoped that kiss wouldn't be the last one she received today. In fact she was almost certain that it wouldn't be given the gift she had brought with her she had meant to give him on her return to Konoha but had simply forgotten about until packing her things ready to come here.
Secretly she wished she didn't have to share a room with Sakura tonight, she would gladly jump into bed with Kakashi and feel him place his hands and those glorious lips of his all over her. But with a mission to complete it wasn't wise to let such things get in the way, she had to remain focused and the last thing she wanted to do was taint what she already had with him with something as horrible as she would have to do in one day's time.
Her stomach lurched at the thought, the trip to the morgue was getting closer and she was dreading it.
"My my, so that's the legendary copy ninja? I never expected him to be so shy," Hime whispered over the counter triggering Rin's attention back to her. Her comment was a little baffling.
Rin had never thought of Kakashi as being shy. He was a bit of a recluse sometimes but hardly shy ... not like her anyway. If he had something to say he would say it no matter how offensive others may find it and he read those lewd books in public, certainly not the actions of someone who was considered easily embarrassed or coy. Although it was more than clear that this woman had embarrassed him but it was all in good fun, he'd get over it.
"I can certainly see what you see in him. I imagine he's quite dashing under that mask and he has lovely hands," She winked.
"Yeah, well I've known him a very long time. We've been friends for years," Rin responded with a warm smile which Hime returned almost instantly.
"Anyway, my dear, what would you like to order today?" the older woman piped as she resumed with wiping down her already immaculate counter top.
"Oh I'll have the usual, and Kakashi will have a regular coffee, just a little milk and no sugar, thank you."
"Ah, sweet enough is he?"
"Something like that, yeah."
Both women giggled before Hime turned to the machine behind her and prepared two of the largest mugs she had. She even remembered that Rin liked her coffee in one of huge soup mugs she kept so she had assumed her guest would have his the same way.
A quick glance over her shoulder showed that her partner was sitting at one of the tables near the door next to a window. With his chin planted firmly into the flat of his hand he was simply gazing through the glass panel at the world outside. She wondered what he was thinking about, it was hard to tell his current mood from here but he looked like he was in a world of his own.
She heard the telltale clink of porcelain on glass which again turned her attention back to the counter.
"How much is that, Hime-sama?" Rin mused reaching into her rear pouch to retrieve her purse.
"On the house, my love," she responded with so much love in her voice Rin thought she might cry. Her voice had always been so soothing back when she was stationed here and she had wittled away the woes when work had become a little too much for her to bear and she needed someone to talk to.
"Oh, no, I would much rather pay..."
"You'll do no such thing. Now go and sit with your friend. He looks bored to tears."
Rin didn't know what to say. Hime had never given her free coffee before and although the kind gesture was small it warmed her heart to know that this kind old lady was so fond of her.
"Thank you, Hime-sama."
"The pleasure is all mine."

They both sat in a comfortable silence sipping away at their hot drinks and simply watching the world go by outside. The sun was still high in the sky and people were milling around the town, dropping in and out of the shops and just enjoying the brightness of the day.
Rin felt the anticipation from entering the village gradually dissipate and was replaced by an old familiar sense of warmth and nostalgia. It was a feeling she had managed to conjure a lot in this little coffee shop and the smile that was pulling at one corner of her mouth finally broke free. It was the first time she actually felt like smiling since she got here and it felt nice to just sit back and relax.
"It's actually quite nice here," Kakashi remarked somewhat dully from his side of the table prompting Rin to look his way. The comment told her that he had expected something quite different to what he saw.
"Yeah," she replied flatly turning back to the view outside.
It was a nice place ... for a civilian. But Kakashi hadn't been here when she first arrived, the place was a mess then. A real mess. The beauty he could see now had been built up around her over the years she had spent wishing she could just leave and go home.
Droves of the afflicted came pouring through the gates every single day all those years ago, it was only two years since the last new case came here, as far as she was aware anyway. It was unclear how Machenich Hospital had become the main hub for the Rot, more than likely those that had become infected blamed the lake that could be seen on the other side of the coffee shop even if they hadn't drunk the water itself.
The streets had been stained with blood of thousands of souls that failed to make it through the night. It was a horrible place then and that picture she had stored in her mind of the misery that took place here would never go away. To her Machenich reeked of death, a disgusting stench she thought she would never get out of her clothes or her skin.
She didn't expect Kakashi to understand how this place made her feel so she chose not to comment any more about it, yet she could sense him looking at her from the across the table.
"What's the matter? Have I sprouted an extra head or something?" she remarked with an amused grin as she turned her visual attention back to him.
She saw him smile with that trademark crease to his eye before he shook his head slowly. "No, I was just thinking about what you said to Hime-sama earlier."
"Why, what did I say?"
"That I was your friend." He'd put a lot of emphasis on that one single word - 'friend' - and he phrased the comment like it was question. It sounded like he was either offended by it or he didn't agree with it in some way, but Rin was finding it difficult to know exactly what he was getting at.
"So ... you're not my friend then?" she asked bemusedly resting her elbows on the table and lifting her huge mug of coffee to her mouth.
He didn't answer her straight away; he just sat there, arms crossed over the table top regarding her taking wary sips from her mug. Eventually she flicked her eyes his way again which prompted him to answer her.
"Well, I hoped you saw me as something a bit more than that."
The tone of his voice was as flat and indifferent as it ever was, but that didn't stop that violent flutter of butterflies swarm in her stomach forcing her to pause with her drink in hand. It wasn't something they hadn't openly discussed before now but it obviously seemed that Kakashi had been thinking about it.
"You mean like, my boyfriend?" she asked coyly. Kakashi chose to stay quiet again obviously noting the uncertainty in her voice, his expression didn't change but she had a feeling that the term boyfriend was exactly what he thought he was to her.
"It sounds so silly though..." she whined, placing her mug down on the saucer that was much too small for it.
"Why does it? That's how I'd refer to you if anyone asked me now," he responded holding out a hand to her as if that would explain everything.
"As your boyfriend?" she huffed narrowing her eyes at him.
"N-no ... no, you know what I meant, Rin."
"Do I? Explain it to me," she teased, quite certain that he would drop the conversation. But Hatake Kakashi was full of surprises recently and he certainly delivered this time too.
"I meant that if I was to introduce you to someone now I would say 'This is my girlfriend, Rin'."
That swarm of butterflies stirred in her belly again, this time flushing straight up to her throat. She couldn't quite believe how quick he had come out with that last comment and he sounded so confident and sure of himself. The only time this had ever come up was when Sakura stuck an angry finger in her face in the Hokage's office and accused her of being no better than her boyfriend. Rin hadn't given it much thought thereafter. And Kakashi hadn't even mentioned it until just now... had he been thinking about it all this time?
"You ... I ... I mean ... Uhm ... Hm." she stumbled on her own tongue trying to get the words out that hadn't even formed in her brain yet so instead she coughed, snatched her little napkin from the table and began tearing it at the corners trying to focus herself. She knew this conversation would happen at some point, but she didn't realise just how bashful she would feel about it. Not only that but he was the one who broached it when she was sure it would be her asking these sorts of questions at a later date.
She had tried so hard during her early teens to get Kakashi to notice her and failed each and every time. He even openly rejected her advances more than once and eventually she had given up altogether. She'd dreamed that one day she could call him her boyfriend, but now he had noticed her and he wanted to be referred to using that term and she didn't know where to put herself.
"Have I embarrassed you? Your face is crimson," he deadpanned.
"Uhm ... no ... but ... I don't know, I guess I haven't given it much thought, you know? Everything has been so hectic recently and ..." she hesitated hooking a stray stand of hair behind her ear as she flicked her eyes at him. He was still sat as cool as a cucumber looking at her thoughtfully. It annoyed the hell out of her that he could sit there so calm and collected and she was falling about herself like a bumbling idiot.
"I mean ... do you want to be, you know, my boyfriend?" her voice seemed to retreat into her throat when she asked, but she saw a grin form within the shadows of his mask as he crossed his legs beneath the table and slung an arm over the back of his chair.
"Well, I don't know. Are you asking me out?" he deadpanned as he wiggled his eyebrow at her. She'd never, ever, seen him do anything like that before and the little action all but knocked the wind out of her if only for a few seconds.
"I'm going to kick you right in the shin if don't start behaving yourself, Kakashi," she bit out pointing a knowing finger at him.
He laughed at her threat, another one of those genuine laughs that came from the base of his gut that he couldn't hold in. The sound made her smile against her will.
There was something about him that had changed recently that made his laugh more infectious than it used to be. It sounded different but familiar all at the same time but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
Eventually he fixed her with that same thoughtful eye of his before he shrugged his broad shoulders.
"I want whatever you want, Rin," he answered so softly his voice was almost a whisper.
She wanted to kiss him, just for that one little comment that was so vague yet so direct, that he wanted whatever she did. She could feel the muscles in her legs contracting preparing to launch her across the table so she could catch him in her arms and suck his face off.
That was until a shrill feminine voice sliced through the centre of the table bringing her back down to earth with an almighty thump.
"You're already here? Who are you and what've you done with the real Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura chortled planting both fists on her hips and thrusting her face into Kakashi's who cowered away from her almost banging his head against the window.
"I'm not late for everything, Sakura," he complained poking a finger on her forehead and promptly pushing her head back so she stood straight again.
"If you want a drink you should order now because Hime closes up in about thirty minutes. The rooms should be ready by then too," Rin informed them observing how they looked at each other and coming to another one of their mutual agreements.
"Alright, Sakura do you want your usual?" Yamato asked the young girl softly who responded with a brisk nod of her head and a deep blush that all but filled her face.
Something was definitely going on and it was fascinating.
Yamato left the three of them at the table as he wandered over to the counter at the far end of the shop where he would no doubt get harassed a little by Hime-sama just because he was young attractive guy. Sakura watched after him turning her entire body his way as she carefully took a seat next to Rin who turned her attention to Kakashi.
He was already looking at her, legs crossed, arms folded and leaning back comfortably in his chair. As soon as he clocked Rin he wiggled his eyebrow in the same manner as he did before while he shifted his sights to Sakura and then back again.
He knows... she thought somewhat absently as she lifted her drink to her lips. But it was what he did next that confirmed Kakashi's thoughts on the matter.
He lifted a hand and waved a finger at the space between the two other members of the team before lifting the other and resting both elbows on the table. He made an O shape with the fingers of one hand as he proceeded to poke through the hole he'd made with the index finger of his other hand. As he performed his hand signals he arched his brow again and nodded quite seriously.
The message was very clear and very blunt: 'Those two are fucking each other.'
Rin's mouthful of hot coffee didn't stay there very long as the spontaneous laugh that rushed out of her caused her to spit most of it out all over the table and down her white tunic, the spray was like a mini fountain, or a garden hose.
Sakura span herself around just in time to see the brown liquid dripping from her chin and onto her once clean clothes.
Rin just sat there drenched in her own drink feeling the air around her become dense and stifling. The humiliation of what she'd just done was sinking in at a painfully slow rate and she vaguely heard Sakura asking what had just happened. Her voice sounded so distant like she was in another room and all she could do was stare wide eyed at Kakashi who was merely staring back at her with a very similar expression with his head tilted ever so slightly to one side.
And then he did something she hadn't seen him do since he was at least fifteen years old. He burst out laughing...
Not just one of his little chuckles, not even the laugh he had emitted when they were talking outside the clinic earlier that day, but a full blown guffaw that emptied his lungs completely and left him almost unable to breathe.
He squeezed his eye shut, desperately whooping the air back into his chest forcing a single tear to roll down his cheek. His head lolled back on his neck as he wrapped both arms around his stomach and all but face planted the table keeling over with the sheer force of his own laughter without an ounce of control. His laugh was so loud, so boisterous and bold, so infectious and so not Kakashi that Rin soon found herself in a similar state as she began to lose the little grip she had on herself.
She didn't even know what she was laughing at; whether it was the hand signal Kakashi had given her about her two team mates or whether she was just laughing at him laughing at her.
Sakura just sat there in her seat asking what the hell was going on as she stared at them both with a comical horror in her eyes.
"Nothing ... it ... it's nothing ..." Kakashi chortled sitting up with considerable effort and trying his best to calm down by pinching the bridge of his nose. But each time he opened his eye he'd take a good look at Rin and the mess she'd just made which served to only set him off again, like a broken alarm clock with no regards for the correct time, forcing him to pinch his eye closed for the second, third and fourth time while he laughed his silly girly laugh that clicked in his throat and made his whole body bounce in his chair.
Rin managed to calm herself a lot quicker than he did with a long drawn out and rather loud sigh. She looked down at herself and feebly poked at the coffee that was now staining her tunic. It was everywhere, all over her bust dribbling downwards over the curves, all over the table but most of it had ended up in her lap which was now getting quite chilly and making her feel like she'd just wet her pants. How humiliating...
"D'aww, look at me ... Look what you did!" she yelped at the man still chuckling to himself at her expense opposite.
"I didn't do anything!" he yelped back holding up both hands in his defense.
"What's going on over here? What am I missing?" Yamato's voice came from the side of the table while he looked Rin and her mess over with an innocent curiosity.
"I have no idea..." Sakura responded flatly with a small shake of her head.
"I missed my mouth," Rin interjected as she dabbed the already wet napkin over her tunic unsuccessfully. She was certain the garment was now ruined, coffee was a bitch to get out of white clothes and to make matters worse she would have to walk back to the hotel looking like a homeless bum.
"Goodness knows how you managed that," Kakashi commented casually soon accompanied by a harsh grunt as Rin kicked him in the shin under the table like she had threatened to do earlier. He hissed inwardly and winced at her as he leaned over and started to rub at the now tender spot on his leg.
Sakura turned away from the pair of them with a shake of her head seeming that she'd had enough of their foolishness and engaged Yamato in a conversation about some ninjutsu she was trying to learn for an upcoming exam. It seemed the conversation was being continued from before they entered the shop.
"I-am-going-to-kill-you-for-this." she mouthed silently at Kakashi and meaning every word of it, in a hypothetical way of course.
She saw him smirk as he sat back up and started giving her more hand signals knowing the other two were now engaged in a conversation of their own.
He shook his head dramatically, pointed at her with both hands, made heart shape with them and then jabbed himself in the chest with his thumbs.
I don't think so because you love me.

The hotel was exactly how Rin had described it, it was nice. It was nothing incredibly special but nice nonetheless, he had stayed in far worse places that was for sure.
The beds were comfortable and the sheets clean and fresh so Kakashi was happy enough. The only reason he ever stayed in an inn or a hotel like this was for somewhere to put his head when he needed to sleep. He didn't mind camping out but nothing beat a nice warm bed.
The room itself was quite small; the two single beds on either side dominated the space and was separated by a single end table holding a vase containing some rather ugly looking fake flowers. There wasn't much room to walk around but Machenich seemed to be more of a holiday resort than an actual town so the rooms weren't really designed for hanging around in just for sleeping and getting ready to go places.
There was a small wet room next to his bed with an actual flushing toilet as opposed to the public shower rooms with a hole in the floor a lot of hovels had, so at least he knew he would have a little privacy when it came to washing and visiting the little boy's room. There was even a bar/restaurant downstairs and a large sitting room with a big screen TV on the wall. This had to be the nicest hotel Kakashi had ever stayed in.
Sitting on the bed he had picked out of the two in the room he bounced his posterior on it in an attempt to test its springs. Not a single creak in ear shot. Score! There was nothing worse than trying to sleep on a creaky bed.
"So you're having that one then, senpai?" Tenzou asked obviously quite anxious to find out where he would be resting his weary head.
"Yep," he answered flatly allowing his body to flop back on the cool crystal white sheets. Wrapping his arms around the back of his head he lay there content with the view of the ceiling as he listened to Tenzou unpacking his essentials. Kakashi preferred to live out of the suitcase when it came to travelling, one never knew if he had to move quickly and there was nothing worse than forgetting something important like an expensive trusty razor when one was in a hurry to leave. Such a thing had happened to him during an ANBU mission and he went home looking like a scruffy hobo in uniform. That beard and moustache took ages to shave off.
"So, mind if I ask what all that was about back at the cafe, Kakashi-senpai?"
"Hm?"
"Why Rin-san was covered in coffee and why you were laughing ... although you were laughing so hard I thought you were choking on something at first." Tenzou sounded almost concerned, almost but not quite.
She spat out her drink because I told her you were screwing my former student.
"It was nothing really. She took a drink of her coffee and I guess she didn't swallow it properly which made her spit it out. I just thought it was funny, that's all," he lied. It must have been a convincing one anyway because Tenzou decided to poke around elsewhere, lucky for him Kakashi was in a talkative mood today.
"You're really taken with Rin-san, aren't you?"
He couldn't help it, but the question made him smile.
Taken with her? Are you mad? I'm crazy about her I just haven't told anyone yet...
"Yeah, I guess I am," Kakashi replied wistfully as Tenzou rose from his bed and navigated around the beds and Kakashi's feet towards the mini bathroom.
"Can I take the first shower?" The wood user asked flatly
"Sure," he sighed as he closed his eyes. He was still daydreaming, smiling like an idiot, his stomach still hurt from laughing so hard earlier and Sakura thought he was completely bonkers (nothing new there just a bit more bonkers than usual) but he didn't care.
He hadn't felt this good in years; in fact he couldn't even remember the last time he felt like this. It felt amazing like there was something soft and fluffy running around in his belly making him do and say crazy things. It was all Rin's fault and he decided then and there that if he ever did anything else that was deemed not- like-him he would just blame her. It was easy to just do that and he was certain that she wouldn't mind one bit.
He hadn't even noticed that Tenzou had gone when he heard the distinctive sound of shower spray on curtain fabric. It wasn't enough to knock him out of his near blissful catatonic state but the loud knocking on the door sure was. He glared at the door like it was the large panel itself that had disturbed him until the knocking came again.
For whatever reason he assumed it was room service wanting to come in and make sure they were settling in okay (the manager at the desk told them they do things like that, what a stupid idea).
"Go away, I'm not decent," he called irritably letting his head flop back onto the bed.
"Oh, for crying out loud, put your penis away, it's me!" came the amused voice from the other side of the door.
With energy he didn't think he had Kakashi bounced himself from the bed, straightened out the kinks in his shirt and habitually brushed a hand through his messy hair before he opened the door to find Rin on the other side.
"Blimey, that was quick!" she chirped giving him the once over with her pretty dark eyes "I thought you said you weren't decent?"
"I thought you were room service," he droned taking the time to take a brisk look up and down the long corridor before turning his attention back to Rin.
"So, what can I do for you, you want to come and play in my room for a bit?" he teased as he leaned his body against the door.
"Uh ... no. Actually I have a present for you," she quipped as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the corridor.
He noticed then that she'd changed out of her coffee stained clothes and was now wearing nothing but a very long purple button up shirt that hung to her knees. She still looked pretty sexy even in her baggy shirt, hell, she'd still look sexy in a potato sack, or a bin liner, or nothing at all, definitely in nothing at all.
"A present, for me?" he mused feeling genuinely surprised. That was when he saw she was standing with both hands behind her back possibly hiding this gift she had.
"What is it?" he asked as he tried to reach around her to grab whatever it was she had but she was too fast for him as she quickly swivelled herself out of his reach.
"Hear me out first!" she giggled before she composed herself and continued with what she wanted to say. "So, I bought these a while ago..."
"Oh! There's more than one?"
"Yeah, and I intended to give them to you when I first got back to Konoha. But everything was all up in the air and a bit chaotic at the time and I completely forgot about them."
"Okay, I understand that."
"But then I found them again when I was packing my things to come here. I was gonna give them to you on the way but I've been a bit ... pre-occupied with ... uhm ..." she hesitated lowering her sights to her feet as she tried to find the right words. She'd been reeling from the news of her team leaders death so it was no wonder her short term memory on something so trivial wasn't at its best.
"It's alright, Rin," he interjected softly which gained him a small but pretty smile.
"Well, yeah, you know how it's been. But I remembered them again today." With that she drew her hands from behind herself and presented Kakashi with two books both with light blue covers and bright colourful letters emblazoned on the front. Icha Icha Diversions, both of them.
The wind left Kakashi's lungs so fast he thought he was going to pass out as he stood there simply gawping down at the books in her hand.
"What the ... where ... how...?" He couldn't even speak, he was in that much shock. He had wanted these two books, no, needed them, for the past five years since their release and here the girl of his dreams was just presenting them to him.
Slowly Kakashi reached for them praying to the gods that he wasn't dreaming, that this was actually real and he was now in possession of a very rare miniature collection of his favourite series. He took them from her and held them in front of him for what seemed like an eternity while he rubbed a thumb over the pristine cover.
"Rin, these are so expensive to buy, if you can find them, I've been looking for these for years. Where in the world did you get them?" He could hear the excited quiver in his own voice. He wasn't sure whether he should be jumping up and down on the spot shouting his head off or down on his knees sobbing his heart out. Maybe he should do both...
"The little book store around the corner from the clinic..." she all but squeaked causing him to spring his head up and stare at her with wide eyes. She was talking about the same book store in the story she had used to distract him from the injection.
"So, the lie I told this afternoon wasn't really a lie... just a truth that's three years out of date." She hunched her shoulders, looking almost pleased with herself that she had finally put right something she must have thought really upset him.
Kakashi looked back down at the books in his hand, still not quite believing what had just happened or why...
"They didn't come with a box though ... they're second hand, but they've hardly been read, they're in really good condition, I know because I flipped through them and..."
He silenced her with a finger placed delicately on her mouth.
"Rin, you have absolutely no idea how happy you've just made me. I don't care about the box..."
He was rewarded again with that beautiful smile of hers as she hooked a lock of auburn behind her ear.
"But ... I don't have anything to give you in return ... I can pay you for them if you want, even second hand they can't have been cheap," he muttered shamefully as he regarded her for a reaction.
Her smile just broadened on her pretty face as she reached out and touched the fabric on the arm of his shirt like she was picking fluff away from it, though needlessly.
"I didn't buy them to get anything back, Kakashi. I bought them because when I saw them you were the first thing that popped into my head. That's the only reason. They're a gift. Enjoy them. And I'll see you at dinner later."
With that she backed away from him swinging her arms by her sides, walked into a room next door but one to his and closed the door. She didn't even wait to hear him at least try to thank her.
Kakashi stood there and watched her disappear into her room not realising how tightly he was clutching his new books to his chest. He would treasure them for as long as he lived, he could promise her that much because these weren't just books, not anymore. They were part of Rin's memory of him at a very difficult time of her life, and during this difficult period she had still spared him at least a second thought. That alone was a treasure in itself.
One day, he decided there and then, he was going to marry her.
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