Title: The Sound of a Bell

Pairing: Kakaxrin

Rating: T

Chapter One: Heroes

Team Minato despised the celebratory crowd that greeted them when they returned home; they all surrounded them and cheered as they walk through the gates that separated the forest from Konoha. Kakashi had a frown on his face as he walked through and Rin said nothing, there was only a blank look on her face. Minato felt the same way as they did, however, being the Fourth Hokage, he didn't have the liberty of expressing his exact feelings to the crowd which were anger, sorrow and regret. Minato wore a smile on his face instead and waved as they all approached him. The only ones that didn't join in on the celebration along with Team 7 were the people who were the closest to them. They stewed their anger in silence at the ignorance of the villagers. For the civilians of Konoha, this was the day of victory, the day the Third Shinobi War came to an end, but for all the shinobi who witnessed the war, it was the day of death. For Kakashi and Rin, it was the day of Obito's death which hung over them like a giant rain cloud.

Kakashi didn't bother to go and celebrate by eating at Ichiraku or Yakini-Q like what they always did with Minato whenever they finished a mission. Instead, he headed towards home with Rin trudging alongside him in silence. He glanced over carefully to see how she was doing, but her face showed nothing but emptiness. She was taking it harder than he was to the point where she didn't notice anything in front of her and just kept bumping into people. The people made no complaints however, especially not to the heroes of Konoha. Kakashi pulled her aside and looked at how dirty she was, her skirt was covered in dust and there were bits of leaves in her hair from the constant hiding in bushes and falling whenever they came upon attack. There were also some bloodstains, Obito's to be exact from when she had to surgically remove the eye and transplant it to his. Rin glanced up to him and with tears in her eyes; she uttered the words that Kakashi had etched into his brain since they arrived at the village: "We're not heroes."

He could feel the trembling of her body as he held her hand and knew that she was crying. He wanted so much to hug her and tell her that everything was going to be okay, but he couldn't. Especially when, it was his fault that all this occurred; it was his fault for thinking that shinobi should stick to the rules and regulations – putting it above their comrades.

"Come on, let's go home." Kakashi just told her as he let go of her hand and urged her to walk. She wiped the tears from her eyes and knew that this was as warm as Kakashi will ever be towards her. She walked behind him like a shadow and headed to her apartment which was in the same complex as Kakashi's… and Obito's. Kakashi didn't just let her go in alone though, he walked her back to her apartment, waited in the living room as she changed out of her dirtied clothes and made sure she was in bed. He was about to leave her when a hand reached out and grabbed the edge of his shirt.

"Please, don't leave." Rin whispered.

"I'll be here." Kakashi said a bit reluctant to have Rin need him so much. What he didn't know was that he needed her more than she needed him. She was afraid that once he was out of her sight, he would go off and never come back again. That was more than she could bear, especially after this whole ordeal. With as much strength as she could muster, she kept clinging onto his shirt even though he was already seated at her bedside. The side of his back made her feel cold and she yearned to just hold him and tell him everything was going to be alright, but she didn't want to scare him away. She knew that he felt he didn't deserve that from her especially after abandoning her, so the only thing she could do was talk to his back.

"Don't leave like Obito." She said before sleep overtook her and forced her to loosen the grip on his shirt. When he felt no tug, he got up and took a quick glance at her. Even in her dreams, her eyes were furrowed and looked anxious, he prayed that the old Rin would come back. He left the apartment before the desire to stay would overtake her.

Rin only slept for a few minutes before she opened her eyes again. She heard the door close and tears filled her eyes. He really left.

"Kushina?" Minato peered through the doorway of their bedroom and found her huddled on her side of the bed. He slipped under the covers and embraced her as tears slide down his cheeks. Kushina felt the tears on her back and she shuffled positions until she faced her grieving husband. She didn't need to ask and in her heart, she already knew what happened as she embraced him. She fought the tears in her eyes as she stroked his hair; it was her turn to take care of him and not the other way around.

"Everything will be okay." She said and kept stroking him until the tears were gone.

"I don't know what to do or say to Kakashi and Rin." Minato said in frustration. "How do I tell thirteen year olds that they need to move on? Obito…obito was their teammate – they're too young to face this already. Kakashi has dealt with death before, but it's unfair for him to have to do so again. Rin's an orphan, but she was a baby when they died. Why does this have to happened to them?"

"Those poor children…" Kushina said with pity in her voice. "Minato, the only thing you can do is keep them close to you, if you want, we can have them stay with us for a while."

"Kushina, wouldn't that put a strain on you, especially with Naruto coming…"

"He would be happy to have the company." Kushina whispered. "What's more important is taking care of Kakashi and Rin." Minato knew there was a reason why she was the one for him, Kushina understood him and knew how it felt like to be all alone with no one to turn to. The only problem was getting Kakashi and Rin to agree.

Kakashi woke up and found himself in an alley, he must have fallen asleep here after decided not to go to his apartment. He checked the time and realized he was late for the memorial, quickly, he rushed to the place where they constructed monument for the shinobi that had passed away. He made it when Minato was finishing his speech and tried to distance himself from Rin who looked like an empty shell of her past self.

"These shinobi died with honor and should be regarded as heroes to this village. These shinobi shall never be forgotten as we remember them from time to time while looking towards the future that awaits us." Minato said, with the last line directed towards Kakashi and Rin. He hoped he had gotten his point across and headed over to be by Kushina's side. Rin gripped the flowers she had bought from Yamanaka Inoichi's flower shop along with Obito's goggles which she kept with her when she removed them to perform the surgery. It was only half of the whole goggle though, with the other half pulverized by the rocks.

After the memorial service was over, she gingerly walked up to the monument and placed the items there. She felt a warm hand touch her shoulder and hoped it was Kakashi, but it turned out to be Kushina. She said nothing and just pulled the girl to her as Rin sobbed uncontrollably. As Rin cried, she felt the light kick of the baby and sobbed even more, knowing that a child would be born in this place of pain. She just hoped that the child would live in a time of peace.

"Kushina-san, what are you going to name the baby?" Rin asked curiously. She realized that she kept calling the baby "child" and wanted to call him by his proper name.

"We'll tell you once he's born." Kushina beamed and Rin nodded. Like all parents, Kushina wanted to be the first person to call out their baby's name and for it to be a surprise to everyone. She couldn't wait to show off their first baby and thank everyone for their comments. She wondered if the baby would have her hair color and Minato's personality.

"Kakashi, what do you think about living with Kushina and me?" Minato asked Kakashi once the memorial was over. Kakashi almost didn't catch him as he was busy watching over Rin. Rin stopped crying and looked over to see the two of them discussing something important.

"I'm fine." Kakashi replied and Rin joined them. She wondered what they were discussing.

"Rin, why don't you stay with Kushina and me?" Minato asked. The wind was blowing a bit strongly and Kushina went over to Minato's side to huddle close to her husband.

"Eh?" Rin was confused as to why they would decide such a thing.

"I'm going to be a lot busier since we're short on shinobi and I would like someone to protect Kushina and the baby. I also want someone to look after Kushina if she is in pain." Minato replied, he did want Kakashi and Rin to be the people to assist Kushina, but the other reason was that he didn't want Kakashi and Rin to just brood by themselves, it was better if they were surrounded by loved ones.

Kakashi and Rin looked at each other. Could they really live in the same place together after what happened to them?