Crossing Rubicon's | By : Saphri Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1426 -:- 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. |
The fresh aroma of cut grass and foliage floating in the air was intoxicating. She sauntered through the bustling streets, allowing her nose to taste the sweet fragrances that sent shocks of nostalgia souring through her being. She closed her eyes in desperate need to enjoy the moment to its full potential as the breeze played gracefully in her long auburn hair.
It had been ten years since she had breathed Konoha's enchanting breeze, ten long years since she felt the glossy cobbled streets beneath her feet. After all this time, she was free, she was finally home. The sense of feeling whole again was indescribable as was the sensation of walking on air. It all felt like a wonderful dream and it took a great deal of willpower to suppress the urge to pinch herself just to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Wistfully unaware of the throngs of people shuffling and pushing past her Rin opened her eyes to examine the surrounding shops and eateries that littered the familiar streets. Not a lot had changed. New chains of random stores had appeared during her absence (that was to be expected) but the buildings still held their rustic beauty that she had once loved as a young girl growing up.
She was finally home.
It felt so good yet so surreal to finally find herself within the walls of her home town. Lost within her own nostalgia she absently crumpled the small slip of paper in her hands which jolted her from her daydream with a start.
Her first port of call had been to the Hokage. A very fruitful visit that had been too; not only to clarify the success of her mission but also to obtain the information that was scribbled onto the tiny yet precious scrap of fine bamboo
The Hokage; a young man that went by the name of Uzumaki Naruto, had found her request quite unusual at first. Rin had explained her reasoning's and he had been somewhat over excited at the prospect of handing over the information to her once he had jotted down what she wished to know. Though the blonde, whiskered man seemed of good heart and of nature, it seemed to Rin that he was overcompensating for something with his over indulgent kindness. He was a nice kid never the less, but the Hokage wasn't what she had expected. Back in Lightening Country she had heard that the new Hokage was a man of great knowledge and power. Needless to say that she had secretly hoped that he was somebody else, somebody she knew.
Opening her hands carefully Rin glanced down at the valuable note eyeing over each and every word as though it was some sacred scripture before stuffing the small sheet into her shirt pocket. The address that young Uzumaki had given her was pointing towards the southern district of Konoha. The housing districts. By Naruto's brief description Kakashi was living in one of the bachelor apartments that were nestled into the outskirts of the entertainment district of the village. Rin found it rather unusual yet unnervingly relieving that she had been given a sizable hint that Hatake Kakashi was living alone. She couldn't imagine how awkward it would be to simply turn up on his doorstep unannounced if he had a family. Nor how disappointed she would be to find that he had moved on.
Pushing her selfish thoughts aside, Rin tossed her hair feverishly over her shoulder with a swift flick of her head and marched onwards. The thought that she should find herself accommodation had crossed her mind briefly but seeing her oldest and dearest friend again was first and foremost. She couldn't quite understand why she was plucking up so much courage to knock on the door of a man whom had once been her closest friend. Whom she hoped still was. The thought tampered with the knots in her stomach as she approached the dilapidated building said to house one of the most powerful and respected ninja's the whole of the Fire Country had ever known.
Rin couldn't help but feel the disdain rise into her gut as she studied the building that could barely support itself. The light green paint on the exterior walls was flaking and in desperate need of a repaint. The windows on the ground floor also looked to be rotting at the frames from within, the glossed wood becoming damp and black. How could he live in a place like this? Surely he had enough money to his name in order to rent, or even buy a nice apartment rather than live in this squalor.
Rin pursed her lips distastefully, pulling out the slip and studying the words carefully, hoping that she had made a simple mistake.
"Yup… this is it… Oh, Kakashi." Rin sighed in mild disappointment. Eyeing over the dilapidated mess of construction once more she apprehensively began to step towards it with the screaming hope that Kakashi was actually home.
The Hokage had confirmed that he was stationed within the village and was on leave after returning from a short mission not so long ago.Having already tried the memorial site, the one place she thought sure to find him, this was the only other place she could think that he could be. She hadn't seen or heard anything of her dear friend and one time crush for such a long time she had no idea where his usual choices of habitat were. His habits and preferences could well have changed since he was an adolescent, struggling with a breaking voice and the sudden growth spurts. But looking at the abysmal state of his chosen abode she highly doubted it.
According to the note Kakashi resided on the third floor of the complex and there was a surprisingly high number of stairs leading up the side of the building. By the time Rin had plodded her way up to the third floor the calves of both legs were achy and a little wobbly. Using the wall opposite, which had as much decaying paint on it as the exterior wall, to steady herself she cursed under her breath for being so out of shape. Too much time dissecting corpses in the hospital, she thought dismally.
It was then that she came to the decision that she would undertake a drastic change in her current lifestyle. Rin was still a kunoichi in every aspect, but her missions would very rarely be of the physical kind. Since being stationed in a very remote village on the border of Lightening Country her healing and medicinal skills were needed much more than her strength and agility. Hence her physical fitness had unfortunately slipped a little further than she had wanted it too despite her slim and trim figure.
Straightening herself whilst smoothing down her knee length skirt Rin again resumed on her endless journey to Kakashi's apartment door. Tight knots of discomfort and anxiety twisted in her stomach at the thought of seeing him again. A mixture of doubt and anticipation took a strong hold over her mind as well as the intense urge to flee and never look back. It would be so much easier to simply bump into him in the street rather than approach him on his own turf. The idea was a sugary sweet one, but Rin knew that this way was probably the best way. She couldn't have him find out that she was back after all this time just through word of mouth, Kakashi would want to know why she hadn't tried to contact him on her return. She couldn't even contemplate the idea of hurting him and she knew for a fact that her ignorance would not be the best course of action.
Taking another downward glance at the note in her hand, Rin confirmed the door number she was looking for; two thirty seven.
Shifting her gaze around the vast amount of sickly green doors huddled along the long everlasting corridor she saw it. Smack in the centre of the hall it stood out like a glowing beacon in the dead of night; two thirty seven. The knot in her stomach twisted a little more but to a point that felt somewhat pleasurable as she trotted over to the door that hopefully housed her beloved Kakashi behind it.
For what seemed like hours, Rin gazed up at the metallic, slightly rusted numbers bolted to the flaky wood in awe before comming to her senses. Bowing her head, Rin went over the spiel she had memorised in her head, the one she planned to use when (or if) Kakashi opened his door. Firstly she would apologise for leaving so hastily and without warning, he was sure to be a little upset by that, even with his superior knowledge that most missions were confined to secrecy.
Ever since Obito's death, Kakashi and Rin had become closer than they had ever been. They had been the best of friends doing everything together up until the point when Kakashi had joined the Anbu. It was during this time when she had been assigned her research mission in a far away land having to leave it all behind.
Looking back up at the door she recalled the sleepless nights tossing and turning in her strange bed concealed in the shadows of a foreign room in a country she didn't know just missing him. Missing his soothing voice, his off the cuff remarks. Missing the way he used to mess up her hair whenever they met up together. They had no one else, both their parents were long dead. All they had was each other.
Rin shook her shoulders, standing bolt upright and glared at the metaphoric force field with a mean earnest and rapped on the door. Each knock of her knuckles on the beaten wooden panel echoed down the hall giving the building a sudden eerie air that she didn't much care for, but managed to ignore as her anticipation began to grow in the base of her gut. She waited for a few seconds before raising her hand and knocking again, harder this time in a desperate attempt to be heard. She stood rigid again, glowering at the door as her mind made the dismal confirmation that she had been dreading.
Nobody's home…
Blowing out a sigh of frustration and disappointment, Rin slumped her shoulders taking a step away from the door and staring up at the tarnished digits once more. She couldn't help but feel a little hurt that Kakashi wasn't home despite knowing that it wasn't his fault. He wasn't to know, she guessed. Bowing her head and cramming the tiny scrap of paper back into her pocket she turned away from the apartment entrance and walked slowly back down the hall.
She'd never felt so stupid. All that courage she had summoned from nowhere had all been for nothing. With had no idea where to go next she figured that her next port of call would be to find a place to stay. Possibly a hotel for a few nights until she was able to get something more permanent. As she began to lose herself in her own thoughts, she heard a door click open from behind her.
"Excuse me… did you want something?"
The voice made Rin's stomach lurch into her throat as she was dragged from her daydream and stopped in her tracks. That voice was so familiar to her ears yet completely foreign at the same time but she recognised it immediately.
She turned around carefully settling her eyes on the holder of that smooth, recognisable voice and felt her heart stop be it only for a split second.
He stood there, as bold and confident as the day they had first met when she had been just four years old. He was taller than when she had last seen him, broader too, yet still lean and sleak.
Dressed in a black tank and matching pants, complete with hitai-ate and mask, his hair still the unruly mass of silver, he looked like everything that she had ever imagined since the day she had left. Aside from the obvious, he hadn't changed a bit.
"Kakashi…?" She whimpered, the planned spiel she had religiously memorised lost forever as her mind went completely blank just by the sight of him. She saw his expression change from innocent curiosity to a darker shade of confusion as he scanned her over with his one dark eye. Turning his head slightly to one side, as if to gain a better view, Kakashi folded his arms across his chest and cocked his leg making him lean slightly towards the door.
"Do I know you?" He drawled. The sound of his voice, though older and deeper than she remembered, still sent electric tremors shooting up her spine. The nostalgia of his presence causing her to feel a little light headed with anxiety and excitement.
She stepped towards him desperately clawing at her composure, her eyes locked with his lone onyx stare and nodded her head as she raised her arm and placed her hand on her chest. She could feel her heart pounding at the wall of her ribs so hard she could feel it pulsing in her head. She twisted the fabric of her shirt into her fingers at the thought that he had forgotten her.
"Yes, you know me. Please say you remember me, Kakashi, please?"
Kakashi furrowed his brow, flitting his eye over her form once more before the surprise took over the only visible portion of his face. He stepped back, lowering his arms and Rin saw the flash of recognition in his glassy eye. He shook his head in a small sporadic movement, but Rin had all the confirmation she needed. He remembered.
"No … No way, it … It can't be …" He stammered, seeming to struggle with his words.
Rin smiled as she began to feel the sting of tears in her eyes not bothering to fight against them.
"Yeah … Kakashi … it's me."
"Rin?" He murmured, cocking his head to one side in a questioning manner his eye still comically wide.
Rin had lost the power to speak and simply grinned sheepishly and nodded as she walked towards him, stopping mere centimetres from his feet as Kakashi looked down at her, his eye wide and glistening in the artificial light of the hallway. It was clear to her that he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.
After a few seconds of regarding each other Rin couldn't hold back anymore. Throwing out her hands she flung her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight embrace. She heard him gasp and felt the muscles in his shoulders stiffen to counter balance his own weight as she buried her head in his hair.
She could feel him shivering, possibly from surprise but it didn't take long for him to begin to relax and gently place his hands over her shoulders.
"I've missed you so much." Rin mumbled into the cloth that covered his neck. She was crying, she could feel her tears soaking into the fabric of Kakashi's tank but she was far from sad. She was finally home and in the arms of the one person that mattered to her.
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