For LeoInuyuka and Magical Hippo.
Usual disclaimer, I own nothing but the happily bouncing plot bunnies
When did it all start?
Where did everything end, and where did everything begin anew?
There was no one to answer that question for her anymore.
Rin stared at the wide blue, blue sky. In peace, in resignation, in awe.
This was different, and oh so new.
Her body didn't feel like it was bursting out of her skin now. She didn't have to fight to keep still from all that excess energy, didn't have to fight to keep her thoughts firmly in the present from worry about her friends, her family.
Her Village.
Though, it is no longer hers, is it?
Rin lifted the orb like object up high into the expense of the sky, brilliance shining bright.
Blue, like the colour of sapphires. It glowed with the colour of the sky.
Maybe, this is what hope feels like.
"See you, Rin-chan!"
"Mm. Bye, Mitsu-chan." Rin nodded cheerfully at the helpful girl, making her way out of Midori Middle. Tugging on her backpack, Rin stepped slowly into sunlight.
Warmth seeped into her bones, down into her soul. Her footsteps felt light. She never felt this before, during her first childhood that she remembers.
It was easy, to take a breath. But now, it is even easier to breathe, without the smokes and fires of war.
Rin inhaled, a smile on her lips.
She likes this peace. She's going to keep it.
.
.
She's 25 now, when murmurs of threat reach her ears. Rin blinks, and lets her senses stretch once more in a way she never had to before. Two decades and more of memories is her strength, her determination.
She's seen what wars can do, and by heavens above she will not let their fires come to her home's doors.
Rin breathes, and runs.
The world breaks beneath her feet.
.
.
She's 15 now, going on 16, when a white-haired albino appears on her doorstep, the crafty smile of a fox playing on his lips.
But she can see the hesitancy beneath the mask, worry, and what looks like the beginnings of something like fear.
Rin invites him in for tea.
The albino calls himself Byakuran, a boy who looks to be not much older yet his eyes are just as weary as the gaze she sees from her own mirror. A kindred spirit, who offers her a place in his household should she wish.
Rin shakes her head, declining his offer politely.
"Thank you, but I'm happy where I am."
"Are you?" She ignores the mutter that leaves his lips, certain that it's not meant for her ears as she sees him out not long after. Shinobi instincts are hard to erase, no matter that she lived that profession more than a decade ago.
Rin smiles, and ignores the twinges in her feet, the shiver in her spine. Her hands are steady, always.
She remembers the steel in the boy's -no, the man's eyes, the banked heat and promise. Of the Will.
It has been such a long time since anything reminded her of Will of Fire. Rin supposes the civilian lifestyle is indeed getting to her, if she's unconsciously twitching for excitement.
Maybe, she could indulge. Just a little bit.
.
.
She's 17, when interesting stories and tales of a mystical fight reaches her ears.
"Didja 'ear?" Another patron semi-whispered to his friend over a glass of scotch. "The arcobaleno are gonna fight."
"Seriously, dude?" The other guy reared back. In shock or horror, Rin can't tell which is more prevalent. "Shit."
The barkeep paused and looked up from wiping the glass. The rumour probably has precedence, Rin mused wirily. The conversations in the bar instantly silenced as word spread around, the atmosphere plunging into what is possibly dread.
The mafiaso around her, long-standing patrons of the bounty hunters' bar in Mafia Land looked pretty close to shitting in their pants.
It was almost like when Iwa shinobi saw Minato-sensei on the battlefield. Good times.
It nearly felt like home.
"The Arcobaleno…" The barkeep muttered, looking warily into the distance of the seaside view from the open window.
Rin tasted the word on her tongue.
The barkeep stared at her and blinked at her non-reaction, before giving a wry tick of his lips. "Suppose the great Ark wouldn't be as worried as the rest of us eh?"
Rin shook her head, amused. "Do you at least know where to avoid?"
He sighed, leaning in to whisper. "Just to my favourite customer, don't come back to Mafia Land anytime soon. Colonello, our guardian here has some kind of falling out with the rest of them."
"Ah."
.
Rin went back to highschool, blending back into civilian lifestyle seamlessly. Her underground contacts quietened, with amazingly little injuries reported despite the grand scale battles she heard was fought off-shore of the man-made island.
Bit surprising, but Rin was glad.
She didn't know why a twinge of guilt started curling up in her stomach.
She remembers the moment where she was a little child again, when the old man appeared in front of her on a bright summers day. Where the sun played peak-a-boo with the clouds, and the breeze danced sonata on her fingertips.
He stood there, lonely figure by the riverside. He tasted like heavy chakra to her lips, of power but weakening strength, just like her and Isobu once were a lifetime ago, seal unravelling at the edges.
His eyes were like Kakashi, of pain and denial and bit like betrayal as he turned to her silently.
The cogs of fate were ever turning,
Destiny in motion.
Rin smiled, and stood by him awhile, watching the blues brighten into gentle yellow and then into dusty orange, shining bright over the horizon. The river water sparkled gently, ripples lapping up the shore.
The stranger finally looked at her properly, awake from his thousand-yard stare. He offered her a box, arm outstretched. It looked like the world's most precious yet painful gift.
Rin flickered her eyes to it, before looking back at him, smiling.
She didn't ask any questions. He didn't provide any answers.
She took it, and together they watched the stars kiss the sun goodbye.
.
.
She's nearly 24, when the albino comes by again. He looks more settled, and she tells him so as they chat over tea.
It's a nice café in Italia, rustic design with beautifully handmade white garden tables and seats. He opens his mouth and closes it again.
He looks like he wants to say something, so Rin waits patiently and smiles.
"So you've made a nice name for yourself I suppose," Byakuran played with the rim of the cup, a vague half-smile as he really looked at her. "The world's best healer in our circles, the Ark of humanity."
Rin calmly shakes her head. The praise is from grateful patients, who they thought are lost causes without access to Flame healing.
It was only during her stints, that she learned about the properties of Flame, of why sunny yellow is considered the best to have among the profession, the general idea of why.
Rin refused to give up on these people that needed her.
Even if her passion burned a gentle, flickering blue rather than the sparkling yellow that they were looking for, she healed.
The albino spoke of an offer once more. Rin refused.
A little less than a few months later, a new famiglia was born. Less than two years later, the world burned.
.
.
And then suddenly, she's 15 going on 16 again, with all that who she is and was intact.
Rin gasps, and puts both hands on her chest. Her heart beat once, and then twice. And a couple of times more.
She isn't dreaming, and there is no genjutsu inflicted on her, she checked. Her chakra-that-isn't-chakra-anymore cycled within her, boosting her internal awareness.
Rin blinks, and stares at her calendar. The date didn't change, no matter how long she looks at it.
Long gone notes and schoolbooks filled the bookshelf, her uniform hung on the closet door.
Pinching her lips, Rin carefully reached out for the material.
Well, it's not like this is her first go this time.
"So-Sorry! Hiieee!"
Rin shakes her head in amusement as the boy panicked, waving a hand at him to calm down. "It's fine, really."
Her grocery bag is lying uselessly on the floor, contents spilled over the ground as the plastic now had a huge gaping maw in it.
She could have dodged out of the way easily, sure, but when the boy rounded the corner she felt the gaze of a predator staring at her.
So she did what ninjas did best: hide in plain sight.
The boy mumbled through his apologies but offered her a place in his house for dinner if she didn't mind, and no it's perfectly fine his mother is always cooking extra and loves having more guests over anytime. He helpfully picked up her stuff with only a minor scolding from the accompanying baby as they walked her to her house.
She wonders as she looked at the bright yellow pacifier from the corner of her eye.
The boy's name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, and he has few friends but the lot of them are exuberant, typically hyperactive teenagers, she concluded.
Rin is amused at their antics, as Gokudera bickered with Yamamoto over dessert at Sawada -please call me Mama- Nana's house. The three little kids piped in every now and then, but the cow boy loved attention like nothing else. Throughout the meal, the baby tutor looked ponderingly at her multiple times, but like the good civilian she is Rin pretended not to notice.
He seems kind of familiar to the eye. Rin wonders why.
"Hiiee, Reborn! Stop stealing my food!" Tsuna all but hissed at him at some part of the day.
Sudden realisation clicked, and Rin kind of wants to pinch herself. Oh yes, the giant balloons and figurines placed all over Mafia Land that practically worshiped his presence like a cult. What could possibly give it away?
The World's Greatest Hitman, Reborn.
Now currently playing as tutor to one Sawada Tsunayoshi, future heir to the largest criminal empire of the underworld. It truly is a wonder that they haven't met, on the iteration of Before.
Rin bemusedly chewed on the information as she volunteered to clean the dishes with Nana, perfectly polite and cheerfully talkative all the while to her hostess. The housewife giggled at all the right places, and Rin is satisfied only when Nana accidentally barked a loud laugh to one of the more epic misadventures of Team 7 carefully filtered through her lips.
.
Her smiles fades when she leaves the house, memories of another time creeping up on her.
Late night dinners, of stew or hotpot of whatever meat of the day that sensei brings back for them and Kushina-san fretting over the boiling liquid in the kitchen, with Obito peeling the vegetables and surly Kakashi setting the tables while Rin chatted softly over the stove about chakra theory with the Uzumaki and sensei adding in his piece every now and then.
Of rushed meals over a spluttering fire in makeshift camps in rundown forest clearings when they could afford to take a real breather from running in-between missions in Fire when they aren't attacked, a rarity during the war. When Obito and Kakashi sat bickering by the campfire like the two young boys they were while Minato-sensei sheepishly tried to pull them apart without accidentally making the argument worse and Rin watched, accompanied by ember sparks and starlight.
Rin blinks, and wipes away the tears that rolled down her cheek. She rubs her face, willing her emotions to scatter to the wind.
There are happier times now. Perhaps the future is as uncertain as ever, but.
People love and people hate, sorrow lingering longer than joy.
Step by step, Rin walks out of the shadows. Pale moonlight tints the window of the world. Everything looks a little bit different now.
Her heart is warm. It still hurts, but she knows better now.
.
.
She's just shy of 16, when there's a knock on her doorstep.
A shy expression greets her, and the fluffy kid from across the town greets her like a friend. "Hello Rin-san, u-uhm, sorry for bothering?"
Rin opens the door of her apartment a little wider, the small two storey townhouse rented out to her and the businessman neighbour downstairs made it very quiet on most days like this.
"Nothing to apologise for, Sawada-kun. Can I help you?"
The kid shuffles his feet, clearly uncomfortable to speak up at the door, so she invites him in first, bringing out rusty hosting manners she had long gone without in this lifetime.
They are sitting at her coffee table when he finally calms his nerves. Either that, or he simply can't keep it in anymore.
"Uh -er, well," he stumbles at first, but soldiers on bravely, if just a tinged confused like he's delivering a message by verbatim from another language, "I have this group of …friends", he winces, like the word isn't exactly what he'd use but good enough to convey across, "and they asked for a way to contact you, and since I'm the only one who's met you before I got sent to find you first?"
Rin raises an eyebrow in surprise.
And smiles in her mind as the kid desperately tries to find things to say while she lets him stew in silence with a perfectly placid expression he took to mean as possible anger, before she laughs aloud as Sawada freezes for a moment like a deer in headlights.
For starters, she never told him outright that he's not invited over, and he relaxes when he realises she's not angry at all. They talk a bit more before he has to leave, but she simply refused to give him a contact number, only an email address should it be necessary.
Sawada dithered slightly but left willingly enough when she made it clear that since he's not going to say who or why his friends were looking for her, then they can suck it up she's not going to help them find her.
The very next day, she packs her bags and skips town.
Amusingly enough, it only took another two months before the famed Team 7 luck raised its head, and Rin looked up just as the castle exploded just a street away from her current lodging.
People screamed in the streets as the mayhem peaked with casualties streaming in, families digging through the rubble desperately for missing people. Rin watched it all with a critical eye, healer's calling itching her to move but experience keeping her still.
There were unfriendly faces on the streets, and snipers on the rooftops. The entire situation smelled fishy to even a civilian, as the crowd quickly vacated the streets when guns started to appear in broad daylight.
Rin dodged beside the windowsill in a half-crouch, rapidly categorising all exits and mentally plotting out the most efficient escape route even as she rapidly snatched up her sparse clothing and stuffing into her backpack.
Escaping was easy. Doing so without being seen took three unconscious bodies stuffed into dumpsters and in an empty phone booth before she stowaway onto a glaring red train headed into the city, steam puffing loudly as the engines chugged.
Sapphire eyes glanced back one last time, as the old town faded away into the distance.
She travels, going wherever her feet takes her. From high mountains to deserts and on one very memorable occasion, a shopping trip in Canada turned into a site-seeing with polar bears and seals.
Those baby seals were really so cute!
Rin barely resisted the urge to squeal.
.
.
She's 17, when they start calling her Ark again.
This time, it started from a rural, small-time hospital in the outskirts that was doing their best to treat a child wasting away after a bad car accident.
The doctors were shaking their heads, at a loss of what to do as the little girl folded in on herself, crying herself to fitful sleep at night for months.
Rin wondered, and went to talk to the staff about it, before going up to see the girl. They were more than happy to try any help they can get by this point, the parents all but begging her to save their child from herself.
A blank, doll-like stare greeted her when she entered the quiet room.
Gently shutting the door behind her, Rin sat by her bedside in silent vigil for days, eating together with her when food is brought in.
Eventually, those milky blue eyes turned to her.
Rin still didn't speak, waiting it out.
"Why are you here?"
Slowly, Rin shifted to face her. "To hear your story."
The little girl paused and wanted to retreat.
A warm hand grasped hers, and she startled.
"Can you tell me a story?"
The girl paused for long minutes, before she opened her mouth.
She didn't stop for hours, laughing and smiling at first from ridiculous events said aloud once again, before turning moody and sullen or crying and slamming the bed in fits of anger as she spoke, of her brother and the bright future that once awaited her.
Of the joy and love she has for swimming and now she'll never ever be able to feel her legs ever again and how is life so unfair, she just wanted her brother back even if she can't swim anymore, ever!
Bluebell cried, messy, snotty tears dripped down her face.
"Give me my brother back! I-I don't care if you take my legs, or my life, I just want my brother back!"
"I-I just want to swim one more time with him… he promised to take me to the beach on my birthday this year…"
Cyan blue strands draped over her eyes as she clenched the wet sheets with white knuckled fists, choking on her sobs and grief.
Rin hugged her, rocking her gently, as she sobbed out the sorrow in her heart and the tears that overflowed. There was too much guilt and regret, but not self-pity, thankfully. Rin thought of Kakashi, then forced herself to think nothing at all.
She made comforting noises as Bluebell eventually tire herself out into her first true rest in months.
It took a really long time, months of constant visits and silent companionship, before Bluebell eventually became more comfortable with herself. She has to sit in the wheelchair for the rest of her days, but Rin managed to convince her parents to allow her to go swimming with supervision as physical and mental therapy.
Rin became a friend to the invalid little girl with a love for the water and an even bigger love for her dearest brother, and she never regretted those times spent by the bedside simply listening to Bluebell sharing her joy whenever possible.
"Hey, Bluebell?"
"Yes?"
"Want to learn a trick then?"
Curious blue eyes stared at her, staring at Rin's hand on her forehead. "What are you doing?"
"Can you trust me?"
Bluebell nodded and closed her eyes.
"Imagine, that you're already in the water. You're holding your breath, just under the surface. Your lungs are running out of air, but it's so beautiful down here. The water is soft, like a friend playing with you. The bubbles are laughing, and the currents are dancing with your hair better than the wind."
"Now imagine, that it's bright. Then the world suddenly looks a little bit darker, and you don't know why."
Bluebell scrunched her eyebrows.
"And you realise, it's actually because you closed your eyes."
A buffet of blue engulfed her hands, and Bluebell stares at in awe as her eyes snapped open.
"That," Rin patted her head and stood up, "is all yours. Think of it as a farewell gift from your brother, as the most precious secret in the world, okay?"
The girl stared at her in shocked awe, as the blue flames quickly winked out of existence.
"Try to not let anyone know okay? It can slow things, so don't let it affect your body!" Rin winked, a finger on her lips as she leapt out the window, much to Bluebell's shock.
"What do I call you?"
"Whatever you'd like!"
.
.
Rin didn't share her name for good reason. Sawada-kun's friends might still be finding her after all. She secretly pocketed back the warm object deep into her backpack, closed inside the box so no one can ever see.
Taking a break from all the travelling, Rin looks up briefly, when he slides into the opposite seat in Greece, Chania, like he has never left. He orders a cup of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, and a cup of local fruit juice mix with yogurt for her, quietly staring at her while she continue on reading the local newspaper.
When the drinks come, they both sit in silence. It isn't uncomfortable, when he finally leaves.
She ponders a bit, then continues biting the straw into uneven shapes under the brim of her sunhat.
In Morocco, Fez, she's playing slots at the casino for the hell of it when a waiter comes up to her with a tray of delicacies and a stack of coins. Rin thanks him and looks around, and it didn't take long to spot the mop of white hair leaning against the resident bar stool at the counter, gamely mixing a drink against a bartender as some sort of competition to the entertainment of the nearby guests.
He winked at her, and Rin huffed amusedly, rolling her eyes before turning back to the arcade.
No one knew about the little chip she smuggled out.
.
.
She's 19 going on 20, when the latest town she toured has the newest case of some kind of incurable disease, a group of infected kids wailing in pain and their parents crying in helplessness and frustration and anger and Rin felt her heart breaking all over again.
She rolls up her sleeves, shows them her international doctor's license and gets to work.
Six days, thirteen hours and four different operations later, she comes out with bloodied hands like the worst days of war but her mind clearer, cleaner than ever as she stripped out of the scrubs, showering in the provided facilities of the small-town hospital.
Five of them were in deep sleep, three were still under from anaesthesia. The parent of the little boy in critical care, the only one currently still awake, smiled tremulously at her with puffy red eyes and dark bags just beneath her lids, shaky hands patting his head.
She looked beautiful.
Rin nods at her, an exhausted smile stretching her lips even further when the boy spoke his first coherent words in days.
"Mama, I… love you."
This, is what she lives for.
Rin carefully peels herself away from the wall, leaving them to their well-deserved bonding time as she heads back to the motel to crash.
Today seems just a bit cloudy, that's all, she told herself. She ignored the pang in her chest, the cold loneliness that the sun didn't manage to chase away.
The streets are bright, the atmosphere is cosy with warmth. The people living here in the rural town rarely get visitors, but the tight-knit community is friendly even to her with her strange almond shaped eyes and reddish toffee hair.
They greet her as she walks past, a smile bright on their faces, families swinging each other's arms side by side as they walked.
Rin stared at the happy place.
She has never felt so alone before.
In a daze, Rin sat by the water fountain, eyes vacant as she looked at the sky.
It… was just a bit too bright today. Maybe it'll be better if she closes her eyes?
Rin curls her knees to her chest, hugging her head as she absorbed her little bubble of silence.
The drone of the background didn't bother her.
The warmth of the sunlight didn't bother her.
The cool little splashes of water tickling didn't bother her.
She's probably too tired. Maybe just a little nap is fine. Stretching out her awareness for any danger lurking and finding none, Rin lets herself fall into deep slumber for a while.
When she came to, blinking away the spots and the darkness, everything was coloured russet orange and yellows.
Huh, she probably slept half the afternoon away. Did nobody try to wake her?
Rin smoothers a yawn and stands, before reflexes kicked in and she caught the dark coat nearly slipping off her shoulders.
For a moment, she stared at it, mind blank. Then her thoughts caught up to her and she spun around to find the owner.
But the streets were mostly empty, and most of the shops were closing too.
Rin ran up to the nearest shopkeeper, and the ones nearby too, just in case. They did see her sleep there, they said. Some kept an eye out for her in case, but no one bothered her, and no, they didn't see exactly which kind soul left his jacket for her.
Rin blinked and nodded, thanking them. That's strange, if anyone got too close while she was unaware there was a good chance her honed reflexes will kick in and take down the person instead.
Privately, Rin promises herself to train even harder, to pay more attention to her surroundings.
She didn't notice the small car trailing off only after she left or the thumbs-up of the shopkeeper toward the tinted windows.
Rolling up her sleeves in the heat, Rin stared at the display windows coloured brighter than a rainbow. Her feet stopped unknowingly.
"Would you like a stalk, Ma'am?"
Shaking her head, Rin smiled and walked toward her next destination. Hmm… Maybe she could go see Paris since its just a bus away? Then maybe tour the rest of France while she's at it too.
She wistfully twiddled her fingers even as she left. Shinobi have no use for the non-practical, and flowers are definitely near the top of that list. Some things are better kept constant to remind herself.
She's laughing her lungs out at Niagara Falls, testing out the theory of the rushing water being louder than anything she could say or do.
Damp, shivering and just a bit cold, Rin hopped up and down as she got off the tour bus and separated from the tour group. Playing tourist around the world is really fun, she didn't think she'll ever get tired of it.
When she got back to her hotel room, she startled at the bouquet of sunflowers placed on the nightstand as centre display.
Five colours of blooms, the one she wondered about. Rin refused to admit that she was tearing up a bit at that point.
.
Pulling on black stockings and sturdy boots, Rin blinked nonplussed as greenhorns invaded her room and tried to pull demands on her. Keyword: tried.
It only took 20 seconds to take down all five. Another minute to ensure no one was going anywhere without at least breaking some bones.
Then she slowly made herself a cuppa, sat on the floor cross-legged out of spitting distance and placed her chin on her hand as she stared at the identified leader of the group.
Rin smiled a not-nice smile in a sweet manner. The smart ones started shivering and shaking in fear before she started.
By the end of it, what she got basically amounted to: Vongola intelligence has a leak, and the Varia are looking for her for some reason or another.
Likely because their medical staff is vastly understaffed to deal with temperamental and clinically crazy assassins, but well, details.
So it somehow became a bit crooked, where small-time fries are trying to kill/steal her for themselves as underground doctors that are decently skilled and don't charge an arm AND a leg for their services are pretty rare as it is, and if you add in the part about neutrality or freelancing?
Welp.
Rin is bemused. And a bemused Rin can generally lead to accidents happening, as Minato-sensei can attest to, though he isn't here to vouch for her innocence anymore.
Surprisingly, it only took two incidents at Mafia Land and one Triad hosted event that somehow involved in Vongola to blow the property damage to massive proportions before certain people decided enough was enough, and the small-time fries were strongly discouraged from messing with her, which was good, she can deal.
The downside was she now was on the same notoriety level as Trident Shamal in terms of healing ability for non-Flame users, since she never publicised that she could use it. Which meant that there were more and more annoying offers she couldn't shake off as easily in the past, which sometimes really put a dent in her travelling plans. It got quite annoying after a while.
A pouty and moody Rin plumped herself onto a bench, groaning at the latest lack of pampering time she had to herself in months.
Even the arcobaleno were starting to ask questions, when Yuni unintentionally mentioned her name once. The young Sky was quick to change the topic, but the damage had been done. One can never hide a lot from the sharpest tools in the box. You'd have to be, to survive as arcobaleno, targets simply from the label as The Strongest.
They knew she had some memories of Future-That-Never-Was, but not why.
Rin is tired.
.
The disguise on Colonello's pacifier has worn off. He is just wearing a clear one right now, and the I-Precelti-Sette are starting to ask uncomfortable questions to Yuni, and to Byakuran.
Yuni, the dear, is keeping mum on it like she would a vision, her silence just as condemning as it is fuelling speculations.
Byakuran remained uncontactable to even the Tenth generation of Vongola, disappearing off every contact list Yuni made for him. It's almost like he completely vanished, if not for random sightings of the ex-megalomaniac spotted in different parts of the world.
Some people started to make contingency plans to hunt down the wayward Sky. Sawada Tsunayoshi received a phone call at 3am local time of a pre-recorded message of Byakuran saying: "I'm off to find the person I'm looking for since a long time ago. Ciao."
When questioned, it was his turn to keep silent, the usually placid and kind Sky uncharacteristically mum on the subject. Reborn's methods barely did a dent on his determination, it was amazing to watch.
Tsuna recognised that exact tone of voice.
He'd only used it once in his life, on Hayato. He gave his Right Hand a meaningful look, and a tinge of red appeared on the Storm's ears.
"Ah."
.
.
She's turning 21 in six hours, and seven teams of elite veterans are hunting her down in a coordinated effort, and she's not particularly clear why.
Rin heaves in rapid breaths, eyes darting across the wild jungle as she leapt from branch to branch like a stroll through her home, much to the surprise and annoyance of her pursuers.
She's been running across countries for the past 72 hours, and her body isn't used to so little sleep and so much stress on a high-risk mission anymore, but she has the memories, the skill and the experience to keep herself well ahead of those hot on her tails.
But she can feel herself flagging soon, her last energy reserves starting to run out. Food supply in her bag is dwindling faster than Kushina-san eats her ramen, and she has no time to grab more than a quick bite in the forest with how fast these teams are.
Rin grits her teeth, and just once, wishes her Team 7 was here with her.
Its another 3 hours of fast flight and fight, the life and death kind of scenario the old her was pretty much born and bred for.
Her parents were likely shinobi, she had the Clan marks.
She was an orphan then. She is also an orphan now.
She died as a child of 14 then, but she remembers being an adult in the previous Now.
She wants to live, to turn 21 again.
So, just once more.
Rin stands in the calm clearing. Breathes.
She lets it go.
Bright sparks jolt to life, then a flash flood thunders through the damn forest.
"Retreat! Retreat!" The crackle of radio fizzle just as quickly as it sounds, silence returning to the forest as quickly as the thunder.
The flare of blue, blue light is visible for miles, before everything returns to nature once more.
They call that day Nocturne's Trident.
Bleeding, exhausted and dead on her feet, Rin collapses against a hollow of a giant tree. Squinting, it looked quite like the old Hashirama trees near Konoha, but that may just be her Flame exhaustion talking.
She faints, but not before she spots panicked purple eyes meeting hers.
.
She wakes up to crooning in her ear, something soft covering her as she's being cradled like something precious.
As her consciousness returns further, she realises she's being rocked like a child in someone's arms, leaning against their chest. Something warm is burning against her skin, and she looks down at it as she realises.
The pacifier is thrumming with light against her chest, pulsing in blue and she looks up to see the answering glows of six in front of her, all looking at her with varying expressions of shock, disbelief and mild horror.
Rin supposes its from the body count. She also didn't look very pretty right now.
She blinks slowly, still dizzy from hunger and blood loss. But the person hugging her is very, very warm.
"?" Carefully, she lifted a hand up to touch his face gently, tracing the purple birthmark with light fingers.
He hummed,
"Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday Dear Rin,
Happy birthday to you~"
The infants stared a bit longer and left just out of sight, but she didn't pay them much notice.
He touched his forehead to hers and crooned in a husky voice.
"I hope you don't intend to run wild where I can't find you."
Rin couldn't help it. She smirked.
"You'd have to catch me first."
He heaved a put-upon sigh, but his arms tightened around her further. "Must you tease me like a Cloud?"
Rin giggled, and stopped when it made her headache worse.
Byakuran searched her eyes, looking for any deceit and uncertainty.
Gentle caramel eyes slightly hazed with pain glanced back, but that was all he needed to know.
Byakuran smirked, his signature fox grin softening at the edges with genuine happiness.
"You're on," he purred.
As Rin nodded off into dreamland, she could faintly feel her ears turning red despite everything, content that this person will at least look after her.
It's been a long time since she's had anyone that she can trust her back to.
.
Byakuran stared at the Rain snoring softly in his arms with something like denial, joy, disbelief and most of all anger.
Anger that he'd hadn't managed to protect her from this.
Anger that he wasn't fast enough.
Yes, she was strong enough, capable enough to protect herself, much like she did today all on her lonesome.
And that was the problem.
He vowed to himself to pay them all back in folds. One by one.
But first, since his Rain invited him in for a game, who'd he be to deny her?
Furious lavender eyes catalogued all the bruises and cuts even as the rest of the arcobaleno (minus Yuni, safely waiting at his manor for them, thankfully) came back and helped perform first aid, exchanging wary, meaningful glances to each other but not speaking aloud in the face of a Sky hovering protectively over the unconscious Rain.
Their missing Rain.
And boy, does Colonello want to shake her awake and ask a million questions to the girl, but as Byakuran's flames spiked dangerously with an edge to it when the more serious injuries were out in the open, he wisely waited for a more opportune time.
Reborn could only put it bluntly.
He stared, as Byakuran carried her back, cradled in his lap as the limo sped back to the manor in the countryside Gesso property.
He continued staring, even as they wheeled her in to the emergency operating room as he wrapped his head around it.
Byakuran was really gone, off to the deep end but not in the bad way like the Future-That-Never-Was. Reborn had first-hand view and the memories to prove of what it meant when a Sky got a particular glint in their eyes, a prowl to their step and a weight to their tone that spoke of intent.
Nothing, nothing at all is going to stop them from getting what they want, not even the world.
If you thought a Cloud was stubborn, it's only because you've never had the chance to see a Sky with a motive.
Meek, mild Tsunayoshi fairly stalked after his Guardians, once.
Reborn still has that memory vivid in his mind.
.
Freshly whispered rumours and gossip was dealt with from a single glance by the albino Heir, and the arcobaleno were left to their own conversation in a private sitting room, checked and secured against surveillance by Reborn, Colonello and Lal.
They discuss and plan out their course of action, mostly agreeing by the end of it to simply let her contact them when she's ready.
A coded message was left by the bedside, an envelope bleached of words. They ask Byakuran to tell her the method for reading it and left.
.
Rin buries her face in her palms, even as Yuni giggled at her over her plate of pastries.
"I did not expect th-that!"
Yuni unhelpfully kept laughing at her while Rin stewed desperately in her seat in the small pavilion for private guests of the café, courtesy of her Giglio Nero hostess.
Rin chewed on her lip, bewildered eyes beseeching the young Sky sitting opposite her to say something damn it.
Yuni could barely get her laughter under control, breathlessly giggling non-stop for what felt like ages. Rin fidgeted on the metallic chair now warm from heat, nervousness and shyness warring on her face.
"I nearly can't believe you essentially gave him the go-ahead card," Yuni teased, ocean blue eyes sparkling with mirth at her expense.
"I'm sorry, okay! I didn't know what I'm getting into!" Rin bemoaned, burying her face once again into her arms.
Yuni kept laughing at her for the rest of the day. At least someone's finding her situation funny.
What was once flowers, little gifts of delicacies and paid-for lodgings when she went to foot the bill turned into a certain albino trailing after her everywhere.
Every. Where.
On the third month Rin finally got fed up enough to put her ninja skills into full play.
She ran across the globe once more. But this time, not because she was scared, angry or lost.
It felt thrilling, a long-forgotten memory of running across the Land of Fire tingling in the back of her mind, her muscles burning with the ache of marathon hide-and-seek as familiar as another life.
.
She took in the sights of Egypt in between volunteering at the hospitals, awed at the camels and dusty winds and the massive pyramids. It's like seeing Suna once more, but she didn't have to hide here or watch out for assassinations in broad daylight. But Rin didn't dare linger longer than a day after the massive sandstorm blew in like it had no better things to do as if it belonged there.
Rin spotted a speck of white in the aircraft hovering near the closest landing spot before the sandstorm fully died down with her secretly enhanced vision.
She fled.
.
She waded through the streets of Venice on the smallest gondola they had, pausing every now and then to take pictures to send them on to Bluebell.
It was in a single frame she checked during lunch that showed a certain albino showing two peace signs at the corner of the photo grinning like a maniac at the camera.
Rin wanted to smack her head against a wall.
.
Looking rumpled and slightly exhausted with dark bags highlighting her eyes, Rin flopped semi-gracefully beside Yuni on the bench facing the beach off Coasta Rica.
Yuni took one look at her and burst into giggles, Gamma shaking his head amusedly at both of them before he went to fetch drinks.
Even Reborn was starting to give her mildly approving yet pitying looks nowadays when she hopped onto Mafia Land or snuck into Vongola Headquaters just to dodge a rather persistent menace.
Lal unhelpfully commented when she walked with her once, "I can't believe you lasted this long. He's going to really pull all the stops at this rate."
Rin could only stare back at her disbelievingly, uncomprehending.
Lal could only pity the civilian-born silently at the back of her mind, supressing the irrational flare of jealousy at the thought of the Sky chasing after an element like an oasis in the desert as if a starving, dehydrated man.
The girl deserved her own happiness. At least they both are earning it.
It didn't take very long, before Rin got spooked like a bird in flight, darting off like a gunshot as the trees rustled.
"Ah, she ran."
Lal levelled a flat look at the albino. He really had a terrible sense of amusement.
"You know that she's just really confused right now, right? She doesn't know any of our Flame lore or anything, just the basic properties of Dying Will and how to use them."
Byakuran shrugged, putting both arms behind his head as he nonchalantly whistled a tune.
"So?" He waved a goodbye, disappearing back into the foliage as quickly as he appeared.
Lal shook her head.
Okay, she takes it back. She now feels kind of sorry for the poor girl. Arcobaleno or not, no one deserved that kind of all-comprehensive stalking and tunnel vision focus of a Sky prepared to put in his all for the hunt for any extended periods of time.
Lal breathed, and felt herself let go of the anger and unhappiness from looking at Rin's uncursed form. At least Checker Face removed most of the curse on her and Colonello after the Trident incident.
They can grow old together.
An unbidden twitch of lips, and Lal felt a warmth in her heart that she hadn't felt for a long, long time.
This entire thing is a damn conspiracy, Rin swore.
Even the staff at Mafia Land halls were starting to give her knowing looks, some even pitying.
Still, no one told her why and Rin suspects the true reason will lead her to her most important decision yet.
Nonetheless, it's frustrating.
.
.
She's nearly 24, again.
And she's kind of sleepy, exhausted but giddy and happy in a near-permanent way nowadays for some reason.
She can't place a name on the feeling.
It's sheer luck, purely coincidence that she bumps into him, literally.
It's on the sun-warm cobblestones of Milan at the start of summer, him on an actual business trip and her on a wonderful, uninterrupted vacation for the first time in months.
Bright caramel eyes flickered at startled lavender.
And suddenly, it felt like the world stopped.
Then a startled flurry of motion, and it ended with a couple of overturned tables, three spilt drinks and dogs barking in the mayhem and an hour-long chase into the twists and turns of the sideway alleys half hidden by the messy architecture.
It's easy to get lost, which was exactly what she did, trying to backtrack as sneakily as possible.
Until a hand slammed into the wall beside her face and a face panting with exertion entered her view.
A classically European face leaned in close, warm breath tickling her face, smelling like strawberries and something sugary sweet.
Rin felt her face heat up pink.
Too close, too close!
Panicking, she tried to push him away without using excessive force, but all that did was make him cage her with his body against the cold, hard wall.
Wide, shocked eyes widened as she keenly felt their close proximity. A low groan threatened to bubble out of her throat.
The albino smirked, all teeth. A predator's smile.
"Found you."
Rin swallowed. There was something in the air, something… there.
She didn't know what it was, but it felt like a promise.
Red faced and uncertain, she avoided looking directly at him, directing her gaze to the corner of his jaw.
Byakuran huffed and eased up when he's certain she won't bolt immediately. He slouched, hands in the pocket of ripped jeans as he faux nonchalantly looked at her up and down.
She looked a mess.
Flushing, rumpled and shivering slightly in her shoes and barely able to look at him, it was almost like she just had a very good snog. And that thought sounded more and more tempting every second that passes. He pinches his thigh. Focus.
Byakuran took her arm as her gaze snapped to him, alert.
Rin watched as he placed her hand against the curve of his jaw, usually pale lavender darkening into purple as he kissed her pulse while staring at her with intent.
Her heart skipped.
Even after he left, ghosting away like he usually did in and out of her life, Rin could still hear her heartbeat thundering in her ears. She collapsed against the concrete wall, heaving in rapid breaths.
Shakily, she stood, and stared in the direction he went.
Rin looked at her wrist and felt the faint tingles still lingering there, of something more.
After that day, it was like a switch has been flipped.
She finally gleamed it from an exasperated Sawada-kun, now Vongola Decimo who is currently having too much on his plate and being harassed and amused in turn by a certain white-haired menace indirectly because of her.
She's being Courted.
By the Mare ring holder of parallel worlds, though his ability is now mostly sealed. Yuni watched their interactions throughout the years and agreed with Sawada-kun on enlightening her at last.
One of the strongest Skies is the world is chasing after her to be his Element, with all that it entailed. It wasn't exactly the same as courting, in civilian terms. But similar enough to be mistaken for each other.
Rin didn't know what to feel.
When Rin directed a questioning look to the both of them, the respective face-palm and sigh was unnecessary, but they did explain.
How Skies react differently to different Elements, and although it is usually Elements that Court the Sky its not uncommon for the opposite to happen either.
Just that the scale of which one does things do leave much to be desired, as Sawada-kun heaved an exasperated sigh at the thought of Byakuran's antics.
Just the other day when Rin crashed a Vongola Ball to chat with Yuni and some of her fellow arcobaleno, Byakuran appeared and the resulting mess left him deep in repairs and paperwork for days in addition to his usual workload.
He's getting more blatant, more forward in his approach as the day passes.
Everyone in the know now simply waves and smiles when she bolts off randomly in any direction with no warning whatsoever, a certain person hot on her heels.
Mammon is taking bets on the exact date.
Yuni is already smiling from ear to ear, the cheater who can see the future.
Rin is constantly being harassed passive-aggressively on a near daily basis now.
No, it should be passive-aggressive, in fact.
She manages to run free for another year, before the persistent Sky finally catches her heel, holding her head in an armlock as he practically dragged her into a telephone booth in an old mining town and leaned against the door.
Rin is amused and exasperated and nervous in turn.
He's been playfully gentle with her, but has no qualms handling her roughly should the situation call for it.
Rin… doesn't know what to expect.
Shrewd eyes looked at her expectantly.
Rin lifts both hands up in a universal gesture. "What?"
She can still escape, if she truly wants to run and they both know it. She has destroyed better things than a rundown booth made of glass and metal after all.
With no answer forthcoming, Rin folded her arms and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Byakuran nods, like he just made a decision.
He straightened, and Rin tensed.
But she was not prepared for the sudden explosion of warmth that threatened to bring her to her knees.
Sucking in a breath, Rin trembles against the glass, as the orange engulfed her and him. She distantly notices the emptied streets, and realises she sprung a trap.
Bit too late, she belatedly collects her thoughts in the haze of warm, warm orange that could overwhelm her. One less talked about but well-known side effects of being in close-proximity of Sky Flames is that Elements can easily get drunk off it if they're not careful.
It was a little bit like drinking the best wine on a rainy day at home, curled up at a fireplace.
It was like a warm summer's day spent by the ocean with friends, swapping stories and sunning out their grievances of the stupidest things and laughing like children once more.
It was like running across rooftops, the breeze winding through your hair and wings at your feet, the world beneath you and the sky for all you want to take.
It was like campfires at night, fireflies dancing tango with the stars and embers licking like a puppy wagging its tail with joy as you relax in the silent companionship of your most precious people.
It was like watching Minato-sensei laughing with Kushina-san no matter how much he denies that it's a giggle over rolls of scrolls and bottles of ink. It was like the bright afternoons of Obito bickering with Kakashi over who gets to do the chores that day at the client's backyards and Kakashi trying to pull rank but failing.
It was like the downpour that flashes in cuts of her waking dreams and memories, when they came back for her in that cave, no matter how much she wishes they didn't afterwards.
It was like seeing the familiar gates once again when they are all tired and sore. The faded red paint of the gates and the Hokage mountain looming in the background.
It felt like coming home.
Rin cries.
He lifts a hand and wipes her tear away.
He kisses her.
.
.
.
Across thousands and thousands of parallel worlds, there are some things that stay constant no matter the time.
If there's Colonello, Lal Mirch will not be a full arcobaleno.
If there's Rin, which is extremely rare, the position of Rain arcobaleno will go to her without fail, every single time.
If there's Rin, there's no Byakuran.
Even if there is, they always stand on opposite sides.
One who wants to rule the world with power. One who just wants to keep her home safe.
But where is her home?
In this one, Nohara Rin didn't have one, not really.
Byakuran didn't, either. Until the Future-That-Never-Was happened and their memories got sent back in time, across the different branches of parallel worlds through the miracle of Tri-ni-Sette.
This time, he decided to hold her hand.
This time, he'd like to create a future instead of destroying one.
Home, is where the heart is.
A/N: It's been a long time, I know. Wasn't in a very good headspace for a long time now, but things are getting better.
So… have I converted you yet? ;D
Ahahaha I accidently converted myself while writing this fic, it was an accident I swear I JUST WANTED AN ALIVE RIN HEALING ALL SHE WANTED BUT THIS MONSTER CAME OUT.
Really.
Hope you had as much fun as I did!