Chapter 1: Prologue
The explosion rocked through the clearing and sent water up in its wake, soaking the shinobi underneath through. Rin wiped at the slick bangs obscuring her vision. Kakashi's hand touched her elbow briefly, as if reassuring himself she was still at his back. His fingers felt cold and wet.
Nohara Rin was thirteen years old and about to die. She didn't have to be a genius to figure it out; the angry faces around them made it fairly obvious what they were planning to do to her and Kakashi. And even without them... She laid a hand over her belly, pressing down on the wet fabric.
As of two hours ago, Rin was a jinchuuriki. A human sacrifice, host to one of the most horrendous creatures in the world. No one had told her this, but she knew. Hazy memories of glowing marks around and on her body accompanied by pain more intense than she'd ever felt in her life pressed themselves to the forefront of her mind, along with the press of foreign chakra against her own, something ancient and eldritch, threatening to overwhelm her. She pushed these thoughts back.
She had different priorities.
If her suspicions were correct, Kirigakure meant to use her as a time bomb; the seal on her belly was set to break open the moment she reached Konoha. She'd tried to tell Kakashi, tried to convince him to kill her because she couldn't do it herself, but in all his obstinacy and misplaced nobility he had refused. She loved him for it, despite herself.
She threw a glimpse at him; his headband was missing and his silver hair was plastered to his face. He was frightened and not hiding it as well as he usually did; his eyes were wide and his breath shallow.
Kakashi, who for all his faults was Rin's best friend in the world, who had refused to kill her no matter the cost.
Which meant she had to do it herself, somehow. Her stomach churned and a wave of cold rushed through her. She'd always known her life was dangerous, but she always thought she'd live past thirteen.
Childish dreams of making it to jounin, becoming Konoha's head medic and maybe, just maybe, having a family someday, faded into nothingness. She would never do any of those things. She'd never see Minato-sensei's proud smile when she gets her promotion. She would never get her first kiss, or see how tall she might grow, or find out what she would look like in the future, or what Kakashi would be like as an adult; she would never get to live because she would not survive today.
Her heart pounded in her chest. It felt like it was about to break through her ribcage and burst – she was almost surprised Kakashi couldn't hear it. She desperately wanted to live.
But she couldn't. Not if she wanted anyone she loved to be there at her side. She reached out behind her, catching Kakashi's fingers and squeezing them before letting go again. She would have to do it, and she knew quite suddenly that she'd rather die by Kakashi's hands than those of anyone else. She hated the idea of those Kiri nin getting their hands on her. She wouldn't let them.
She couldn't help but think of Obito, smiling faintly as he lay there dying. He'd been so incredibly, mind-blowingly brave. Rin needed to follow his example.
Her heart went out to Kakashi. He would be left behind, all alone once more. But he was strong too, and he would be brave, as he always was; he had to be. She didn't want to think about the alternative. Besides, he would have Minato-sensei.
And her father… Well. Her father would cope.
Today is the day I die.
One of the Hunter Nin screamed something and the others took it as a sign to attack. The two young Konoha ninja tensed; Rin felt Kakashi's chakra build up and grow to create Chidori, and made her decision in a split-second.
She'd have to jump in front of him when he used it. She knew she didn't have the strength to do it herself, not with that strange seal over her heart.
She watched him rush towards one of the hunter ninja's, his right hand poised for chidori. Rin pushed chakra into her own feet and almost blacked out from the sudden back-lash the tailed beast gave her. Using her chakra made the bijuu's presence stand out like a bonfire in the night.
She rushed after Kakashi and thought, please forgive me-
As Sanbi's chakra threatened to overtake her and she caught sight of Kakashi's startled expression, she knew she'd made a mistake. There was no chidori crackling in Kakashi's hand, just an old and familiar three-pronged kunai.
A flash of yellow, then darkness.
xXx
Elsewhere.
The dungeons were cool and dark, a welcome relief from the glaring sunlight outside. The figure dropped its dark cloak to the ground, revealing a strange inhuman face and a white, featureless body. The surface of its skin rippled like water, the outline of a hand pressing against the inside of its belly as if trying to escape.
"Madara-sama, it didn't work," the creature said, the voice rising up from somewhere in its mouthless face. "The girl got away."
A shrunken, bent figure seated at the root of the underground tree shifted slightly. "An inconvenience. You still have the boy?" Uchiha Madara croaked.
"Of course," the white creature said, and laid a hand on its belly.
"Good. He will still be of use. We will just need more time."
Author's note:
Hello everyone! If you've read this far, I hope you enjoyed chapter 1 and are curious to see more.
So, I'll briefly introduce my plans for the story here so you know what to expect from future chapters.
- Multidimensional, interesting and powerful female characters.
- Jinchuuriki!Rin.
- Worldbuilding.
- Slowburn KakaRin, as well as a number of canon pairings. I may ask you guys for input for future pairings. That said, I'm not going to write twelve-year-olds kissing. Because no.
- BAMF!Rin & Kakashi, lots of team Minato, and eventually a lot of Naruto.
- Character deaths. Yeah, sorry about that. On the upside, some characters who died in Canon end up surviving here.
- I have the first story arc completed and will update this one every few days to. I have ideas for further story arcs but whether or not I will write these will depend on my motivation and whether the first arc gets a nice response.
If any or all of this sounds like your cup of tea, hit the subscribe button for more! I usually update fairly regularly. You can also follow me on Tumblr hii-raeth.
Huge thanks keepyourpantsongohan and my real life bestie for shouting with me about this.