One Time

Hatake Kakashi never cried in his life. Not when his dad died, not when his best friend died or even when his sensei sacrificed himself for the survival of Konoha. Not the day of the acts or at their funerals. Never. The only person he had left was Rin. His most precious person in the world was alive and he loved her. He made a promise to Obito to protect her, and he was going to keep that promise no matter the cost.

Kakashi was done training for the day and decided to stop near the bridge his team used to meet at everyday to wait for their sensei. He looked down at the water and watched the current go by. "I can't believe they're gone. It's all my fault. I should be the one in that grave, not Obito… he had so much to live for. I never was good to him and treated him like dirt. But I made a promise to him to keep Rin safe. Don't worry Obito, I'll take good care of her even if it cost me my life…" Just then Kakashi heard soft footsteps on the ground behind him.

"Kakashi?"

It was Rin. The maple haired kunoichi's dark brown eyes were filled with worry and concern but had a small touch of happiness within them. He turned away from the water to see what she needed.

"Are you ok?" she asked with a little urgency. He looked up at her and still didn't say anything

"…. Oh, sorry. Yeah I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you looked very pale and tired when I saw you walking to the training grounds this morning."

He stared blankly at her for a moment then spoke.

"I've just had a lot of missions lately. The third defiantly knows how to keep me busy." He chuckled softly. Rin looked at him with a light smile on her face. Then after she said good-bye to him she turned around looking mildly serious.

"Kakashi…I just want you to know that….that if you ever have a problem, you can talk to me about it. Even in the dead of the night I'll help you. All you need to do is ask." Kakashi look at her as if expecting her to go on,

but she didn't.

"….Thank you Rin. That is very reassuring." They both smiled and with that said they both walked back to their houses.

When Kakashi got home he got undressed to get in the shower. About a half hour later he got out and put a big T-shirt and some boxers on then crawled into bed. He stared at the ceiling for a long time. The T.V was still on but he paid no mind. He looked over at his clock. It read 1:27AM. "Great, now I'm an insomniac." About 30 minutes later he dozed off.. He was having a good dream but then it got taken over by the three deaths he couldn't bear to see again.

"NO!!!!!!!!!" He shot up and screamed in cold sweat. The pain in him was unbearable. He then remembered what Rin told him earlier. He then ran to the sink to wash his face. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked horrible. Sweat soaked hair, bloodshot eyes and he was as pale as snow. He didn't care that it was 3:14 in the morning he needed help. With that thought he quickly put on a dry shirt and dashed off to Rin's house.

Rin was awake drinking some milk to help her sleep better. Lately she hadn't been sleeping too well. Probably from all the stress of her medical training. She was sitting at her kitchen table when she heard an odd sound coming from the outside of her window. She went to open her window and saw Kakashi two stories down. She saw that there were some chips of glass on the floor and looked at Kakashi who was now sitting on her window still.

"Throwing stones Kakashi? Isn't that a little old school?" She asked with a little giggle. Kakashi realized that what he just did was pretty old, but no matter, he came here for a reason.

"Oh yeah, ha-ha, I came here at 4 in the morning to throw stones at your window for the fun of it." He stated with a small chuckle.

"Rin?" He asked waiting for her to finish her glass of milk.

"Yes?"

He didn't really know how to start off with what he wanted to talk about so he stalled.

"Can I have some milk too?"

Rin looked at him in confusion but then snapped out of it.

"Um… ok sure." She said a bit wierded out.

Kakashi stared at the flowers on the table while he waited for Rin to return with his beverage.

"So, is that all you wanted? A free glass of milk? Or do you actually need something?" She said in a very friendly way. Kakashi stayed silent for a moment, and then he finally spoke.

"Rin, I can't stand living it down everyday. It's just so... so unbearable. I just….I need somebody to talk to." Rin looked at him in a small state of shock but she was very happy that he, Hatake Kakashi, of all people needed her.

"So… is that offer still available?" He asked sort of embarrassed but very nicely. Rin looked at him and gave an approving nod. They went into Rin's room and sat on her bed.

For about ten minutes Kakashi spilled out everything that had been burdening him. He felt that he could be himself around Rin and not have to keep anything to himself or oppress any thoughts. He could really tell her anything.

Rin felt bad for Kakashi. He kept that all inside and covered it up with a calm and collected attitude. All that time. No one to talk to. Just building up inside him and gnawing away at his spirit. Kakashi was quiet for a while then Rin started to talk.

"Kakashi…you and I both know that Obito, Sensei, and your father died for a reason. But, you really shouldn't keep all those feelings inside you. It's not healthy. That's why I told you that you could come and talk to me at any time, about anything ok? I hate seeing you like that. Keeping in your emotions is an important part of being a shinobi, but there are limitations to that rule, and you've over exceeded that more than anyone I know. But that's why I'm here. That's what friends are for Kakashi." She smiled and looked out the window. Leaving Kakashi with a hard expression on his face.

Kakashi absorbed the words that were just said to him and ran over them over and over. He then took off his headband and placed it on Rin's dresser. With his left eye exposed he could now see Rin's charka flow. He then looked down at the floor, closed his left eye and began to speak.

"Rin…. You know shinobi conduct rule 25 right?" He asked a little uneasily. "A ninja must not show emotion at any time right?" He managed to get out with a chocked voice.

"Kakashi, what's wrong with your voice? It sounds like you're…." She didn't need to finish that sentence.

"Well… hic... that doesn't matter today…hic" He said with a smile.

Rin was speechless. Hatake Kakashi was crying. The most stubborn, skilled, and by-the-book ninja in Konoha was crying. He was going against the most stressed rule of being a ninja.

Kakashi knew what he was doing and glad he was doing it. He wasn't crying out of sadness, he was crying out of relief, happiness and for the fact that Rin was always there for him and that she was his teammate.

"R-sniffle Rin?"

"What is it Kakashi?" She was still a little suprised, but she wanted to know what he was going to say.

"…Hic…sniffle… t-t-thank…hic…you." He managed to get out very unclearly.

"For what?" She asked with a quizzical voice.

"…For always hic being there for hic me…. You're a true friend Rin, and you're my friend." He got out in pieces.

"You're welcome Kakashi." She smiled and pulled him into a hug. Kakashi was still when she did this, but he returned the hug and continued crying softly on Rin's shoulder.

"Rin?"

"Yes?"

" …sniffle…I..hic love you…hic…"

Rin looked at her bed then back up again. She always admired Kakashi but he never paid any mind to her. She wouldn't mind that, but she knew that he cared deeply for her, even if he didn't show it.

"…I love you too Kakashi." She hugged him even tighter now, and he did the same. Kakashi's cries subsided, and all they were now were soft hiccups and sniffles.

They released their hug and both calmed down a little bit. Rin looked outside of the window and was about to get up when a hand caught her wrist.

"Something wrong Kak-"Just then a pair of soft lips pressed against hers. They kissed for about 3 seconds and then stopped. About 5 seconds after it happened she looked at Kakashi who was still maskless at the moment and waited for him to say something. Without warning, he pulled her into a hug. She was still for a second, but then hugged back. He loved her so much. She was perfect. Always on time, a very skilled medical-nin and kunoichi, very beautiful, and most of all, she loved him back.

He dropped the hug and jumped onto the window still. Before leaving he turned around and looked back at Rin.

"… Thank you." He smiled before he pulled his mask back up to its proper place and jumped outside. When Kakashi got home, he smiled to himself and was able to sleep soundly for the rest of the night.

Rin then looked outside, up at the stars that dwelled above Konoha every night. She breathed the fresh air and then sat back on her bed. She was about to lie down when something caught her eye. She looked over at her dresser and saw a headband. It wasn't hers because she put hers away on the bookshelf every night. She then remembered that Kakashi wasn't wearing his when he left. She smiled to herself "I'll bring it to him in the morning." With that in mind they both slept soundly for the rest of what was left of the night.