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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
- 6
- 7
- 8
Heated Exchanges
The rain hammered relentlessly against the window panes of the complex, the faint sounds of the water draining through the guttering making ghostly echoes run through Rin's ears. A light somewhere in the hallway flickered sending the tight corridor into sporadic periods of semi-darkness. She should inform the landlady about that, Rin thought absently.
She heard a baby crying somewhere in the near distance, but even then she was struggling to hear the words Kakashi was saying; if he was saying anything at all. His mouth was moving judging by what she could see via the shadows cast onto his mask. But she was finding great difficulty in making any sense of the noises he was emitting.
She was more than aware of how unfocused she was but making any attempt to grasp her mind and shake some sense back into herself was too much of a struggle. She was tired, too tired, after her shift at the hospital that day, hell, she was still recovering from her long trek back to the village. Not to mention the emotional battle she'd had with the copy nin mere hours before. The conflict still tormented her and she regretted every second of it…
Her brain began to fire on its own at that point; why was he even here after the way she had treated him? How did he know where she was living, she was almost certain she hadn't told him yet?
Her head overflowed with questions just as Kakashi looked up from the floor and fixed her with a perplexed stare before tilting his head slightly to one side. "Rin … are you even listening to me?" he grumbled. The tone of his voice carried a slight hue of annoyance which broke Rin out of her trance. She jumped a little at his question and looked him over again, noticing the odd sheen that clung to him. His hair hung strangely in long messy strands and she noticed a puddle forming at his feet, threatening to spill over the border of her doorway and onto her hardwood flooring. He was dripping wet through…
The horror of what she was seeing took over at that point as she quickly bent over, slamming the milk bottles she embraced so possessively before to the tiles of the corridor. She straightened her self, reached out and twisted her fingers into Kakashi's sopping wet vest causing the water within to squelch out and dribble down her knuckles. She saw his eyes widen dramatically, almost comically, before she wrenched him through the threshold of her apartment.
"Kakashi! Have you completely lost your mind? You're soaking! You'll catch your death walking around the streets in the rain, you idiot!" she scolded, spinning the silver haired sponge around on his feet and slamming the door closed with a swift shunt of her hip. He just stood there, staring at her with a wide eye and a rather amusing worried arch to his brow. It was clear to see that the highly skilled Jounin hadn't been expecting Rin's little outburst.
She released him and wiped her now wet hands roughly on her shirt leaving behind darkened patches of damp along her stomach. She looked up at him again in an attempt to fix him with an annoyed glare to find his eye roaming around her lounge. She noticed a slight tint of pink on his visible cheek, although Rin wasn't sure if that was because he was cold … or embarrassed. Either way she dropped her head and sighed in defeat causing him to focus on her again.
"Take your sandals off and leave them by the door…" She mumbled softly as she made her way past him towards the sofa that dominated the centre of the large room. "…and, for goodness sake, don't move! I don't want you tracking dirty water through my living room!" She bit out eventually.
Reaching the arm of the sofa where a neat pile of folded laundry lay, Rin glanced round at her first house guest. She found herself actually surprised that he was doing as he was told; simply removing his sodden sandals and placing them carefully on the brown foot mat at the door. The sight made her smile, even as she turned her attention back to the heap of clothes and linen on the sofa's arm.
Dragging out a pale blue bath towel from the pile she spun herself around and wandered back over to her drenched friend. She stood toe to toe with him as she reached up and gently began to pull the hitai-ate from his head. Kakashi didn't resist as she assumed he would, he merely closed his eyes and lowered his head to make her task easier. Her small smile widened a little at this simple gesture of trust, she knew that not everyone was privileged enough to see this side of him. It made her feel warm and wanted. It felt nice; not that she felt she deserved it after what happened back at his apartment.
If anything he should be screaming at her, reminding her of how stupid she was for walking out and saying the things she did, for making him feel like this. The thought made her pause as she lifted the headband from his head. Kakashi opened one dark eye, seeming to sense her hesitation and causing Rin to continue with her simple actions. He wasn't screaming, he wasn't angry with her at all … he thought he had done something wrong, and this made the whole situation a whole lot worse. He was the one that had come begging for forgiveness for something he didn't even do when it should have been her grovelling to him.
She placed the forehead protector over Kakashi's shoulder, (not seeing the sense to put it anywhere else seeing as it was wet and would only form a nasty puddle on herself or her furniture) and reached up to wrap the large towel around his now stringy hair.
She began to rub at his head vigorously, much how she would towel dry her own hair. Kakashi reached up towards her hands before hesitating half way and curling his fingers into his palm coyly. She heard him grunt in mild surprise as she felt his head being jerked from side to side under her hands.
"Hold still, I need to dry your hair or you'll get a headache," she chuckled at him. He didn't answer but he lowered his arms slowly back to his sides as he let her do her thing. Yet another indication of how much he actually trusted her, and it hurt her a little.
The situation brought fond memories to the front of Rin's mind; how she had tried to care for him during his time in the hospital, nursing his new eye. She didn't do a lot for him, there wasn't much she could do, but she was there for him if he needed her. Plenty of tears were shed between the two of them and it was one of the only times Rin had ever seen Kakashi so … emotional. He had seemed so lost and broken back then but he had allowed himself to trust her, allowed himself to open up to her, they became so close … like family. It wasn't the happiest of memories but it was a period in her life that she didn't want to forget, not completely. And yet it reminded of what a bitch she had been recently as the guilt tapped sickly messages into her gut.
After a few moments of rough hair drying, Rin lowered her hands to his shoulders allowing the towel to fall with them around his neck. His hair fell about his face in fluffy wisps, it made him look insanely cute and a little vulnerable at the same time. It was still damp by the looks of it, but at least it wasn't soaking wet anymore.
He seemed to stare at his feet for a few seconds before his eyes flitted upwards and began to scan her face. She smiled warmly at him unable to resist the soft chuckle that blew from her nose.
"What am I going to do with you, huh?" she almost whispered, squeezing her hands gently into the base of his neck. Rin expected a sarcastic answer but instead he dropped his eyes back to the floor and furrowed his brow a little.
"Sorry…" Kakashi replied eventually with a small shrug. His expression pulled at her chest, it wasn't a nice feeling. She began to notice the dark circles under his eyes and he looked extremely pale, even for him. He looked awful, like he hadn't slept in weeks. She recalled at that moment that he had only returned from a mission that day, chances were that he wasn't as rested as he should have been.
"Kakashi… have you been to bed since you got back today?" she quizzed forcing herself back with a gentle push against the tall Jounin.
Kakashi continued staring at the spot on the floor he found so fascinating as he shook his head slowly. Needless to say that Rin wasn't at all surprised and she began to feel the guilt squeezing her stomach again. More than likely it was due to their exchange earlier that he hadn't had any sleep.
The medic regarded her old friend for a while, not quite sure what to say to him. She wanted to apologise, to tell him that his own guilt was misplaced and not for the first time. But after a whole lifetime of apologising for her own mistakes she felt the words themselves would be meaningless. She had spent most of her teenage years, praying to the Gods, apologising for the death of her friend, blaming herself for being useless and without meaning. Her self pity had dominated the majority of her life and it had taken a great deal of self teaching to drag herself out of it. Yet she could feel herself slipping back into old patterns again, she hated that about herself, always had…
It was after a few minutes that she noticed Kakashi shivering, though the vibration of his body was only slight it dragged her attention back to the issue at hand. He was still drenched and quite probably freezing his ass off.
Deciding that the inevitable subject of their feelings towards each other could wait a little longer, Rin pulled the towel from around Kakashi's neck, sparking his interest in her movements again.
"We need to get you out of those wet clothes or you're going to catch a cold. You don't want that do you?" Rin said softly, rolling the damp towel up in her arms as she turned around and made her way back to the sofa. She stooped over her laundry pile and pulled out a distinctive pair of dark blue pants before turning around and presenting them to Kakashi with a happy grin.
"And you're in luck! I just happen to have a pair of your pants in my collection of laundry," she chirped gleefully. She was going to return them at some point, but she didn't think she would be all that welcome at his place at the time she had found them amongst her own clothes. Good job too or he would have to sit around her apartment stark naked…
She watched Kakashi frown at her as he raised a hand and pointed to the garment in her hands. "What are you doing with those?" he asked flatly.
Rin inspected the pants before she shrugged at him. She wanted to joke about it, tell him that she had stolen them in a bid to lure him into her lair… but he didn't look in the mood for comedy. Not that this was the right time for that anyway.
"I guess your stuff got a bit mixed up with mine. I don't have a shirt you can wear though. I don't think anything I've got would fit you … and you're gonna have to go commando until your clothes are dry." Rin couldn't contain the little giggle that left her lips as Kakashi took the time to look down at himself before glancing back at her and arching an amused brow.
Holding out the piece of clothing to him, Rin motioned with her head to a closed door at the far end of the lounge. "The bathroom is through there. Go take your clothes off and I'll get you a clean towel and a hot drink. You look like you need it."
Kakashi motioned to take the garment from her, lifting a hand towards it, but hesitated again withdrawing from her as he lowered his head.
"Rin … We really need to…"
"Kakashi…" she interrupted softly. "I know why you're here and I know that I have some serious explaining to do. When you've changed we can talk about it. But not until then. Your health is a little more important to me right now. I still care about you … you know."

As Kakashi changed in her bathroom, Rin busied herself in her small yet pretty kitchenette. The kettle was steaming as the water boiled within while she towel dried a plate she used earlier in a lame attempt to fill her stomach. She hadn't really felt hungry at the time but she hadn't eaten all day. Even then she struggled to consume her meagre meal of dry toast to try and settle her stomach and ended up throwing most of it in the trash.
She placed the plate gently on the counter top, flipping the pink tea towel over her shoulder as the kettle clicked to the boil. She had prepared two mugs, each of them containing a single teaspoon of cocoa. She knew Kakashi wasn't one for sweet sugary things but the warm chocolate drink would help them both relax a little. She knew for a fact that she needed something to settle her nerves, and her stomach, but the copy nin needed the TLC a little more than she did right now.
She poured the steaming water from the kettle into one of the two mugs just as she heard the bathroom door click open and heavy footsteps approach the kitchen threshold.
"Feeling any better?" she asked as she placed the kettle back onto its holder.
"Yeah, thanks," Kakashi replied dully. He probably did feel a bit better, now that he was dry and a bit fresher than he was. But by the tone of his voice Rin doubted it made a huge difference to his state of mind.
She glanced over her shoulder to the semi naked man in the doorway. He stood a little awkwardly at the lounge entrance dressed in nothing but the clean pants she had given him and a clean cream towel draped over his shoulders. He didn't look as flushed as he did when he had first entered the apartment and he had gained back some of the natural colour to his face. In his hands he held a neatly folded pile of wet clothes as he scanned the area around him seeming to look for a place to put them.
"Uhm … what do you want me to do with these?" He asked quietly, holding his clothes up a little to her. Rin turned back to the mug she had filled with hot water and stirred it gently with the small tea spoon before dropping the utensil into the second mug. Picking up the hot drink she wandered over to where Kakashi stood and held it out to him.
"I'll swap you, give those to me and I'll hang them on the balcony," she said as Kakashi took the mug from her and handed her his pile of heavy clothing.
"You have a balcony?" Kakashi sounded almost amazed about the fact but Rin figured he would be. His apartment didn't even have any windows. It reminded her more of a cupboard than a home.
She walked past him, abandoning the preparation of her own drink as she began to make her way over to the double doors on the other side of the lounge.
"Uh-huh! I have a heater too so these should be dry by morning. If I don't start drying these now they'll start to smell funny. I don't want you wandering through Konoha smelling like a wet dog," she quipped with a small giggle.
"Wait … morning?" Kakashi questioned hurriedly, almost like he hadn't heard her properly. Rin knew exactly what he was getting at and tittered at him as she reached the large glass doors. Grasping the handle she turned towards him, feeling the dampness of his wet clothes soaking through her own and onto her skin. Looks like she would have to get changed too after hanging these up.
"Do you really think I would send you back out in this weather? Look at it, it's throwing it down still. This is going to last all through the night now," she scolded as she opened the door to the sheltered balcony area. She went to walk out into the open air before turning back towards her house guest who was still standing near the kitchen.
"You can sit down you know. Make yourself comfortable … my sofa is in a much better state than yours,"

After hanging up the still sopping clothing on the washing line on the balcony, Rin had re-entered the apartment and prepared her own drink. Both her and Kakashi had found themselves sitting next to each other, smothered by a cloud of silence as they both seemed to search for the words they wanted to say to each other.
The thick atmosphere reminded Rin of the first night she had spent at Kakashi's. Small talk was all she could muster then, not quite knowing how to act around him nor what to say, and this was no different. She knew they needed to talk about what happened, to set things right. But simply starting the conversation was getting harder and harder by the second. That was until Kakashi broke the silence.
"Rin, what happened? Have I done or said something to upset you?" He asked quietly. He was hurting, she could tell that without even looking at him. It was so rare to hear his emotions carry on the winds of his voice, but it was there, plain as day. He wanted her to know that he was in pain, and it made it so much harder for Rin to tell him why.
"No … no, you haven't done anything. It's just …" She shook her head irritably and sighed into her now tepid drink. Her reasons were valid ones, but she knew they would sound so stupid if she said them out loud. That she wanted to protect him, didn't want to hurt him again … didn't want him to hurt her … again.
"Just what?" he pressed leaning himself over in his seat and planting his elbows on his knees.
Rin felt her lips twitch as she tried desperately to compose herself and gain the courage she needed to open up. He should know why she did what she did, though she knew she could have handled it so differently.
"It's … it's me, alright? I'm the one with the problem, not you." her voice was a lot sharper than she meant it to be. Realising her mistake she wrenched herself from the sofa and stalked into the kitchen. She really didn't want to do this, not now. Why did he have to come here tonight? Why couldn't he have waited until she had sorted her own head out? Why did he have to be so fucking selfish?
She placed her mug on the side before planting her elbows next to it and dragging her fingers through her hair. Why did it have to be this hard?
She sensed Kakashi follow her, sensed him standing behind her and could feel his gaze pressing into the back of her head. She waited for him to speak, which eventually he did.
"I don't get it, Rin. One minute we're getting along great and the next minute you hate my guts. What's going on?" His tone was bordering annoyance, not that she could really blame him. He must be confused by it all. But even when she thought originally she was doing all this to protect him, she was beginning to realise that he was just an excuse, her reasons ran a little bit deeper than that.
"I don't hate you, Kakashi. I just don't think it's going to work…" she started before she was interrupted.
"But why? You haven't even given me a chance to prove anything to you!" He was starting to shout now. It had been a while since she had seen him lose his temper, but it was clear that he was starting to lose it with her. This in turn began to make her feel angry with him.
"Just tell me what the hell I've done to deserve this! For fuck sake, Rin!" He squalled impatiently. Rin spun herself around, slapping her palms on the work surface and glared at him. Kakashi was glaring back, he was pissed, be it with her or with the situation as a whole she wasn't sure but he was pissed either way.
"I've already told you! It won't work! I'd only been back a matter of days and we almost ended up in bed together! And you're telling me that was alright with you? I'm not some floozy that opens her legs for the first guy that shows her attention, Kakashi!" she shouted back. She could feel herself slipping again, her anger towards him frothing into the base of her throat.
She felt that her statement was a lie, though technically it was the truth.
There had been others that had showed her attention, found her attractive, wanted more than just her friendship. Yet she refused to let herself fall for any of them. Kakashi was the only one she had ever let get close enough to touch her as intimately as he had, to touch her being in a way she knew no one else could. She was still in love with him and she knew this would never change, but she had to protect herself. He had rejected her before, what if he did it again? What if she wasn't enough for him and he looked for someone else? If she let herself get too deep and he walked away she knew it would destroy her. She couldn't let that happen. No way, no how.
Kakashi's expression didn't change as he stood there and took it in. After a few seconds of regarding each other he dropped his gaze somewhat shamefully which caused that disgusting knot in Rin's stomach to tighten that little bit more.
"Why didn't you just say you didn't want me …?" he asked softly, not lifting his gaze to hers. She didn't know how to answer that. She had wanted him, more than anything. She still did. She had never wanted anything this desperately in her life but she couldn't shake that feeling that it just didn't feel right, not right now.
"I don't … I did want … I mean … Ugh, I don't even know anymore," she stammered irritably, turning herself back towards the counter top and resting her head in her hands. She felt she didn't know anything anymore. She felt so lost, confused and unfocused like she had just this second forgotten an important part of herself. Her feelings used to be so easy to control, so easy to understand but now … she just didn't know.
Though it hurt to be away from him - from home - when she first got sent away, the pain began to subside after a while and become more and more numb as time went on. She couldn't understand why it was all bubbling back to the surface now after all this time, why it was so difficult to keep under lock and key. If only he hadn't tried to kiss her in that beer garden, if only he hadn't actually kissed her before he left. Everything would be alright now, she could live her life happily burying everything into the back of her head and none of this would be happening. All she wanted was to get to know him again and yet she allowed herself to fall for him for a second time, and it hurt so much.
She lifted her head, hoping that the silver haired ninja would speak again, but he didn't. he seemed hurt at the notion that she didn't want him, as it seemed that - at the time at least - he had wanted her. If he didn't care about what could have been, he wouldn't be standing in the kitchen doorway now, would he? Maybe he deserved to know what was really going on inside her head. Kakashi had given her his everything, it was only right that she opened up too.
Rin lifted her head from her hands and crossed her arms on the work surface before taking in a shaky breath. "I did want you. You knew that, Kakashi. I've never wanted anything like I wanted you…" she started quietly.
Kakashi didn't respond, causing her to turn to face him again, pressing her back against the work top. She struggled to look him in the eye, she felt a little embarrassed but most of all she felt shame to what she was about to tell him next.
"I love you, I've never stopped loving you. But when I went away, and I became immersed in my work, it became easier to deal with, I guess. I thought I was getting stronger, growing up. You know, handling myself better?" She spoke quietly, hoping that he was listening and feeling herself welling up. She couldn't help it. Her eyes grew hotter and her breathing shallower as she tried in vain to take control over her tears.
She looked up at him suddenly to see his expression had changed from sheer anger and frustration, to a kind of sorrow. She took another shaky breath of air as she willed herself to continue.
"But when I came back so did all those old feelings. I thought at first that it was something else, something new. But it wasn't." Rin heard her own voice crack as she lowered her head shamefully and managed to blink back her tears. "I knew then that I hadn't changed at all. I hadn't grown or evolved and I was so ashamed of myself. I still loved you, and I couldn't convince myself otherwise … I've never wanted anything so badly in my whole life."
Rin chanced a glance his way again. Kakashi looked completely stunned, like he had just that second taken a blow to the stomach. He shook his head eventually as his eye scanned the floor.
"I don't understand … If … if you've felt like this all along then why is what happened such a huge problem? Why do you keep saying that we can't make this work?" His voice was unusually high in pitch, he sounded so confused and the bewildered look in his eye mimicked his tone. He seemed so upset by what she just told him, but he deserved to hear it, no matter how painful it may be. The truth hurts, that was a fact.
Rin regarded him for a second, feeling the tears returning and having no will to stop them. Her lips trembled as the room began to blur from view. "Because it wasn't supposed to be this way, it wasn't supposed to happen like this," Rin whimpered.
She squeezed her eyes shut, beginning to feel her entire body trembling as the tears escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. A sob escaped her mouth causing her to instantly slap her hand over her lips. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to cry in front of him, to lay her weaknesses on a plate at his feet. But she just wasn't strong enough to stop it… she just wasn't strong enough.
"I came home for a fresh start, to begin a new life. And prove not only to you but to myself how much I've changed but I've fallen into that same trap I was in before … and I can't get out … I can't get out," she cried raising her arms and twisting her fingers into her hair as though it would help to maintain a little composure. She knew she was rambling, to the point of becoming hysterical but she couldn't stop.
"…and I'm scared, Kakashi. Everything was happening so fast and I lost control of it … and … and I'm so scared it's all going to wrong and I don't know how to stop it … I… I don't…" Rin gasped at the sudden contact of a pair of warm strong hands on her shoulders. She glanced upwards, her eyes sore and blurry, and tried to focus on the ominous shape that loomed over her.
"Stop it, Rin. That's enough," Kakashi murmured from above her. "That's enough…"
She could still feel herself trembling in his grip as she gazed up at him, his image a messy blur as her eyes struggled to focus. The tears had stopped but her sadness remained. Lowering her head pitifully she whimpered again. She felt so foolish that he had to step in and stop her in her tracks.
She breathed in deeply to calm herself and it seemed to have an effect, a small one, but an effect none the less. She swallowed hard before she shifted her sights back to his face. He was still looking at her with that sad onyx eye of his.
"I'm really sorry, Kakashi … I suck at this, don't I?" She mumbled at him. She watched him frown at her before he responded, "What makes you say that?"
She looked away again, swallowing hard as she discovered the words she had wanted to say all along.
"I just … I'm terrified of losing you. You mean everything to me and I don't want to throw it away. I don't want to lose you." Rin felt herself blush with her own words, they sounded fine when she organised the speech in her head, but she couldn't help but think they sounded a bit pathetic when she spoke them. She half expected the copy nin to burst out laughing when she had finished, but instead he stroked his hands from her shoulders down her arms and back again tenderly.
She glanced upwards, greeted by that warm crooked smile that never ceased to make her heart jump into her throat as he spoke with that smooth deep voice of his, "Rin, I'm not going anywhere."
The smile that pulled at her mouth felt like it filled her entire face. It was all she needed to know right now. He was willing to wait for her, wait until she was ready to move on with the rest of her life. She didn't need him to say it, his smile was enough.
She reached towards his waist with both arms and all but fell into him, wrapping her arms around his strong frame in a firm embrace. Kakashi adjusted himself too, shifting his hands from her shoulders to the top of her head as Rin rested her cheek on the towel still draped over his shoulder. They leaned in to each other, knowing that everything was alright again, knowing that they loved each other, just knowing that being together was enough for now.
"I love you," she whispered pressing herself against him more snugly, never wanting to let him go again and not really concerned whether or not he heard her this time.

Morning seemed to come around quicker than Rin expected, the sunlight that shone through the blinds in her room hit her eyes like a shuriken to the head. Groaning she sat herself up in her bed and stretched her arms above her head.
Yawning loudly, Rin hooked both legs over the edge of the bed and used them to pull her to the side before getting to her feet and walking over to the door. She grabbed her yellow bath robe from the hook on the door and pulled it on sleepily before opening the door and stepping into the lounge.
The sofa bed she had set up for Kakashi the night previous had been folded away, the bed linens she had given him stacked in a neat pile on the arm of the sofa. She looked towards the glass doors that led to the balcony to see that all of Kakashi's previously wet clothes had disappeared. She secretly hoped that once he got home he changed and got them washed. Nothing worse than wearing clothes that have been drenched by rain water.
Rin hadn't expected to see him this morning, he had said he would be leaving early but it was actually a nice surprise that he had left everything tidy for her. She was a little disappointed that she didn't hear him leaving, she would have waved him off, or at least said goodbye.
She absently wandered over to the sofa and reached for the linen, pausing midway when she discovered a small scrap of paper with her name scrawled on it. She frowned at it as she picked it up and turned it over in her hands. It was Kakashi's handwriting, she could tell that a mile away. His handwriting had always been appalling…
The paper was folded, concealing the note within. Rin didn't quite know why but she felt rather nervous about reading it. She wondered if he had sat up all night thinking about the things they had said to each other the night before, about how horrible she was to him … nah … Kakashi would tell her to her face if she had done something he didn't like. He had found out where she lived off his own back and come to see her didn't he?
She opened the note and a smile tugged at each corner of her mouth almost instantly. The note was simple, and totally Kakashi:
Rin,
Thank you,
K x
That was it. Just "Thank you." She didn't really know what he was thanking her for; the bed? The fact that they had sorted out their differences? Drying his clothes? Either way, the note made her day and she continued to stare lovingly at it as she sauntered into the kitchen to fix herself a drink.

Coffee in hand, Rin did her usual thing and walked out onto the balcony area to take a good look at the morning in all her sunny glory. After the storm, the morning air smelled musky and summery. It was a wonderful smell and Rin didn't think twice about sniffing greedily at the air as she strolled over to the banister that bordered her little makeshift garden.
She had planned to buy some potted plants, maybe even a window box, just to make this part of her home a little more colourful. Crossing her arms over the wooden beams and sipping at her mug she drank in the sights before her. She could see the entire village from up here, the hustle and bustle of the crowd heaved beneath her, it was so good to be home…
She stood there for a while, simply admiring the new day as the breeze floated over her. It really was a lovely day. Just then something moved out of the corner of her eye. She turned her attention to the object that lay moving slightly in the gentle breeze, trapped in the corner between the apartment and the balcony.
It looked like a piece of paper, probably rubbish that had blown up from the ground. She walked over to it, bent down and picked it up.
It was a photograph. A very old photograph judging by the thick white cracks that ran across it. She struggled to see the picture to start with, it looked like it had been screwed up and unfolded many times and it felt stiff, like it had been wet at some point. And then she saw it, her eyes widening dramatically. This picture was of her and Kakashi.
They both looked so different in the photograph she didn't even recognise them within the worn print of the picture. It was an old picture, and she could only vaguely remember where it was took. The land of Tea. She had to have been around fifteen or sixteen years old in the picture, and Kakashi not much older than her with his arm draped around her shoulders. He wasn't wearing his trademark mask, which surprised Rin a little. Kakashi despised having his picture taken at the best of times never mind without his mask on.
Rin tried to think at that moment where the picture could have come from, she had never seen this photograph before (although she vaguely remembered posing for it) and Kakashi hadn't been on the balcony the night before. Gasping a little as she worked it out, she realised that it must have fell out of one of his many pockets when she hung up his wet clothing. She smiled a little at the thought that he carried her picture around with him.
Habitually, after staring at the picture for what seemed like hours, Rin turned it over to discover another one of Kakashi's childlike scrawls on the back. It had been smudged, the ink had begun to run into the fold lines, but it was still readable. Rin found herself reading it twice over, just to make sure she hadn't mistaken what he was trying to say. She felt her self well up a little as she smiled back down at the picture of her and her oldest friend again while getting to her feet. She turned it over again and read the little message one more time; it read "~mine ever since this day~".
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Crossing Rubicon's