Sorry for all the angst, but I had to get it out of my system somehow! You will see numerous descriptions on the sky, which are direct references to Joe Hisashi's One Summer's Day, a melody that I think fits perfectly in with the emotions of the story. Bittersweet and nolstalgic.
Hatake Kakashi slowly pulls a black sweater over his head.
He is careful of the gaping wound on his torso, neatly dressed with clean white bandages. Over his tousled white hair, he adds his forehead protector, tightening the sash, adjusting its height until it sits-just right—over his eyes.
He is only fifteen.
But as he peers into the self reflected in his mirror, Kakashi would never have guessed those eyes, those empty, burning eyes, brimming with the desolate despair of nameless suffering, could belong to a mere adolescent.
A knock sounds on his apartment door.
Kakashi takes a couple more seconds evaluating his reflection before turning away. He walks over and opens the door.
Rin stands outside, soft brown hair combed and parted. Her agile body is clothed in a simple but elegant floor-length black dress. Rin's eyes are red and puffy as she pushes the door ajar and slams herself into Kakashi's chest, gripping him. She sobs wordlessly.
Kakashi pats her hair, all the while telling himself, jonin do not cry.
.
…
.
The entire village is there.
Everyone is dressed and black and one by one, they take turns to lay the white flower across Namikaze Minato's shrine.
When it is Kakashi's turn, he lays his white flower down too. His heart breaks at the sight of his sensei's portrait, so young, so brave, and so willing to die for the village. Jonin do not cry. He makes his way down to his seat, next to Rin. Jonin do not cry. The storm clouds roll in from the horizon, miserable and grey. The entire funeral remains hushed as the first drops of rain fall.
Rin is past tears now, and she has assumed a mask, hard and empty, that steals the beauty from her soft features, and it destroys Kakashi's innards to see her hide her suffering behind such a flawless façade.
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…
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Kakashi and Rin often take silent walks to the memorial stone, where Uchiha Obito's name is engraved alongside other faceless shinobi, who have all perished during the war.
On those lovely summer days, hours pass by without either of them making a move to leave the memorial. Overhead, the clouds drift softly by, keeping watch over the two teenagers that remain stricken by their grief.
Kakashi feels bound by the stone, almost as if he had been caught in its gravitational orbit. He stares at Obito's name, neatly carved into the stone, a reminder of his past stupidities, his arrogant pride, and the devastating consequences it led to. He wonders if Obito has grown tired of all the silent apologies Kakashi has lavished upon the memorial.
Rin stays silent next to him, her blank green eyes fixed on some vague point in space. Kakashi has not heard her laugh since Obito's death.
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…
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One afternoon, as they remain seated beside the memorial stone, Rin takes Kakashi's hand. He turns and stares at her. "Rin—"
Her eyes silence him. Slowly she leans in, and Kakashi can feel her moist breath on the cloth of his mask. Her other hand, soft and white, reaches up and tugs his mask down. Rin pauses, green irises flickering, before pressing her rosebud lips against Kakashi's mouth.
Her warm tongue darts in and out, exploring his lips, his tongue, the insides of his cheeks. At first Kakashi is immobile. He remembers Obito, pinned under that boulder, clutching Rin's hand, professing his love for her in his last moments. This is wrong of us, Rin. But gradually he melts into her embrace and he finds his mouth moving against hers with desperate haste, tasting her despair in the kiss. They are two lonely ghosts, living without actually being alive, and they meld their loneliness into wordless gestures with their embrace. Rin's breath turns ragged, and she knots her fingers in Kakashi's white hair, tugging his face closer to hers.
But suddenly, she turns her face away, averting Kakashi's eyes. She smiles wanly, gaze trained on the ground.
"What would Obito think, if he saw me like this?" Rin murmurs.
Kakashi cannot bring himself to say a word. Overhead, the pale blue sky basks in the warmth of the afternoon sun.
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…
.
Kakashi is twenty years old and clothed in ANBU gear, the porcelain cat mask slung tight over his face. He flies through the forest canopy with the silent agility of a panther. Slightly behind him to his right, Rin follows. On his left, Tenzo trails slightly behind, ever vigilant.
It should have been a simple reconnaissance mission into Iwa territory. Kakashi is careful and wary, noting the slightest disturbance in the leaves. But despite their best efforts at stealth, enemy nin slip under their guard and they are engaged in battle.
Tenzo holds seven at bay with his Mokuton: Wood Release. Twenty more surround Kakashi, who releases another genjutsu with Obito's sharingan. He hacks his way through, using Chidori, and the ninja fall to the ground, grotesquely spliced by the lightening. Panting from exhaustion, he turns to look for Rin in the midst of the battle and realizes he cannot find her.
"Rin!" Kakashi yells. "Rin, where are you?"
Another shinobi attempts to stab him from behind, but he releases a Katon, incinerating the shinobi in the hellish blaze. He desperately scans the battlefield for a glimpse of Rin's familiar brown hair, and his heart stills, because he finally spots her, splayed upon the ground motionless. Blood oozes slowly out from underneath her and her fingers twitch weakly.
"RIN!"
Kakashi flies, forgetting the battle, forgetting to watch Tenzo's back, and he is on the ground, holding Rin, touching her face, applying pressure on her wound, and begging her to please, please wake.
Slowly, Rin opens her eyes. She smiles one last thin smile at Kakashi and heaves a sigh.
"You know, I've been hoping for this day to come," she says, and reaches up to touch Kakashi's mask. "Don't mourn for me." Her breathing catches and she ignores Kakashi's frantic yells to just use your healing jutsu Rin, look at me and please stay in the present Rin stay with me!
"We've been sad for far too long Kakashi, and I'm happy to be reunited with Sensei and Obito."
Her green eyes turn opaque and she stirs no more in Kakashi's arms.
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…
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Kakashi visits Rin's grave after paying his respects at Obito's stone memorial. He sets down the bouquet of daffodils and whispers to himself the familiar phrase: Jonin do not cry.
The sky is a wonderful blue overhead, the perfect hue for a warm summer's day.
Please, tell me what you think! I live on your reviews.