Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Summary: The only mention of Rin is in Kakashi Gaiden, and Kakashi vaguely makes reference to her when he claims that every one that he has ever cared for is gone. But what if Rin had always been there and Kakashi had never known it? The story of Mended Hearts from Rin's perspective starting from the moment she first met her genin team to the moment of her death… (One Shot)

Angel of Death

Natsume Rin never forgot the day they first met. Team 7 met in a time of war, when Stone and Leaf were at odds… Rin's teammates were both males; one a dead last, but also an Uchiha, and the other, a five year old child prodigy, the son of the exalted White Fang. She had been the only girl in the team, the orphan child whose family had been merchants, the weakling, the medic and genjutsu specialist.

Sensei had been three hours late, but he had entered the classroom in a ripped uniform, covered in blood, and a kunai was still imbedded in his back. He had just returned from a mission only to discover that due to a shortage of shinobi, he was suddenly responsible for a genin team. He had rushed from the Hokage's Office straight to the Academy to collect them, never mind that he was exhausted and hungry and covered in blood and sweat and in a lot of pain.

They had fought together, advanced together, and within a year and a half, on Kakashi's sixth birthday, they became chunnin. A little over three years after they had first met, Kakashi had been promoted to jounin. In rank, he was equal to their sensei, while she and Obito had remained chunnin. Or so they thought. Then Sensei had announced that he had been selected as the Sandaime's successor, to become the Yondaime, the position that many in the village had long believed would belong to Orochimaru of the Sannin. Sensei was still the highest ranking member of Team 7, but it was alright. It was just how things were supposed to be.

They had been given a mission, with Kakashi as the commanding officer. Sensei would be elsewhere running the diversion. And then, as Kakashi and Obito got into a fight, she and gotten herself captured. All Rin remembered later, was being released from a genjutsu and seeing Kakashi with a damaged eye and Obito who was relatively intact. When the cave they were in collapsed, Obito's right side had been crushed. At Obito's insistence, Rin had transplanted the dying Uchiha's working Sharingan into Kakashi's damaged eye. A gift to celebrate Kakashi's birthday and promotion, Obito had said with his last breaths. Rin never forgot that moment, the feeling of her hands covered in Obito's blood as she dug out the eyeball from her semi-conscious teammate's socket, taking care not to damage the precious body part.

Kakashi had been devastated, and he clung to both Sensei and herself like a drowning man to the rope attached to the anchored ship for years afterward.

A year later, the war ended and Sensei officially became Hokage and Kakashi entered the ANBU. Rin, herself, became a top notch medic and the Hokage's private physician. Secretly, unknown to Kakashi, with Yondaime-Sensei's blessing, she began to train under the keen eye of Hiyohime, the Commander of the Oinin.

Two years after that, Yondaime-Sensei married Magami Tohru. A year and six months after the wedding, Sensei summoned herself and Kakashi and asked them if they would protect his future children. They had both agreed.

Three months later, Yondaime-Sensei told them that Tohru-san was pregnant. Two months later, she discarded the name Natsume Rin to become the Huntress Suzaku.

She had watched from a shadowed corner of the office as twelve year old Kakashi acted his age for the first time in years and threw a temper tantrum about her disappearance. She had seen Yondaime-Sensei's pained face as he told the child prodigy of Team 7 that there was nothing he could do.

After Kakashi left, Yondaime-Sensei had said to her, "Never take off that mask unless Kakashi keeps his promise. If Kakashi does not take in the child, the child will need someone to protect him from the shadows."

And Suzaku gave her word as a shinobi to her Hokage, wondering all the while about Yondaime-sensei's strange words.

And then, seven months later, the Kyuubi no Youko came, and Suzaku understood.

Yondaime-sensei had known all along that the Kyuubi was coming. The promise he had made her and Kakashi make had been a safeguard.

Not long after the Kyuubi arrived, Tohru went into premature labor, and Suzaku was summoned from her duties to deliver the child. Tohru gave birth to the child, a healthy baby boy.

"He looks like you, Sensei," she had said, holding the infant out to his father.

Yondaime-Sensei's face had been a mask of determination, adoration, fear, and more than a little self-loathing as he swept the newborn into his arms. He held the child, rocked him, and crooned lovingly at him for a while. Then he looked Suzaku in the eye and said curtly, "You promised."

Suzaku nodded. "I will protect him, Sensei," she had said.

"Take care of Kakashi and Tohru also," he had said.

"I will do all that I can," Suzaku had replied.

Yondaime-Sensei nodded and left, leaving Suzaku to clean up and see to Tohru after the difficult labor.

She could hear precisely when the battle ended. But she didn't know the outcome until the ANBU and the Hunters met with the Sandaime at noon the next day.

Her fellow Oinin, who knew her relationship with Yondaime-Sensei were not surprised when she had broken down when Sandaime told them that Sensei was dead. The ANBU were not so forgiving. She had shrunk back as the White Wolf, Kakashi, her old friend and teammate, ripped into her, yelling and screaming at her, accusing her of not doing her duty.

"You were his primary physician!" he had yelled, "Where were you when Sensei was dying of chakra depletion?! It's your fault sensei is dead now! Where were you when Sensei needed you?"

Suzaku dearly wanted to rip off the mask, she truly wanted to scream as Natsume Rin and respond to the accusations to react against the attempt to pin the blame on her.

"He was my sensei too!" she wanted to scream. "Yes, I was his primary physician, but my duties were not simply to him, but also to his family! Tohru-san went into premature labor! I was taking care of the birth, taking care of Tohru-san in the aftermath!" she wanted to scream. "Her insides were all torn up and she was dying of blood loss! I was trying to keep her from slipping into shock and dying!"

Suzaku wanted to rip off her mask and scream back, but she didn't. She couldn't. She was a Hunter, nameless, faceless, and unlike the ANBU, Hunters did not have a second identity to live in addition to the identity behind the mask. All Hunters had was the mask, and from the moment she became Suzaku, Natsume Rin had died.

In the end, Kakashi, despite his promise to Yondaime-Sensei, wanted nothing to do with the child. Suzaku, as promised, did not remove the Hunter's mask, and Natsume Rin never returned to life.

Tohru-san died two weeks later of infection and heartbreak, leaving two week old Kazama Kazuki-kun orphaned. Suzaku mourned for a day for the woman who had been like a mother to her, before continuing with her promise to Yondaime-Sensei. She watched as Sandaime sealed the records and renamed little Kazama Kazuki into Uzumaki Naruto. She stood in the shadows near the baby while Sandaime announced the news to the village. And she kept her promise.

Four years later, Suzaku watched as Kakashi became ANBU Captain. That same year, she watched as Naruto died and became Zeiguwa under the tutelage of Kou no Tori, Ookami, and Tora. She spoke with Ookami, Kou no Tori, Tora, Mizuhebi, and Kurohyou and they taught Zeiguwa everything they knew.

Suzaku had been the one who had told Zeiguwa all about the Kyuubi and his family, and she had taught him what Yondaime-Sensei had taught her: A genius is a master of revealing, but an idiot is a master of concealing. And she had used her genin team as an example.

She watched as Zeiguwa made his first kill, and watched as he continued killing. She and Kou no Tori took turns comforting him in those early years.

When Zeiguwa was six, he ran into a chunnin who recognized and remembered him, and blinded him. Suzaku then taught Zeiguwa how to function without his eyes. When Zeiguwa was seven, the Kyuubi finished reconstructing his eyes, and Suzaku watched as he made a name for himself as Konoha's Blind Hunter in the Bingo Books.

When the Uchiha Massacre took place four months after Zeiguwa's eyes healed, Suzaku had been the one to heal Uchiha Itachi after he had given valid proof that he had not killed his clan, and that his defection was for appearances sake. She had then turned around and healed Zeiguwa, not that he needed much healing, considering the Kyuubi's healing factor.

She had tutored Zeiguwa in acting like a child so he would blend in with the other children when he infiltrated the Academy to watch Uchiha Sasuke.

A month after the Massacre, she found out that Kakashi had left the ANBU. All the while, Zeiguwa never stopped killing. Zeiguwa had just turned eight.

Eight Years old. Four years younger than Kakashi when he had turned his back on his promise to Yondaime-Sensei. That had been when Suzaku told Zeiguwa about the promise that Yondaime-Sensei had wanted his remaining students to make.

Four years later, Hiyohime was KIA and Suzaku took her place as the Commander of the Oinin. That same year, Suzaku laughed herself out of a tree when she found out that Kakashi had become the jounin supervisor of Team 7, the genin team that contained Naruto, their late Sensei's son.

"Kakashi wanted nothing to do with Naruto and broke his promise to Sensei, leaving me to do all the work," Suzaku had told Kurohyou in between gales of hysterical laughter, "And now he is Naruto's jounin supervisor. In the end, Kakashi still has to interact with Sensei's son! I hope Naruto gives Kakashi hell for abandoning him!"

Then Suzaku noticed how Kakashi concentrated a majority of his efforts on Uchiha Sasuke, the barest of effort on Haruno Sakura, and none on Naruto. At first, she had written it off, having also noticed how Kakashi had often left baskets of fruits and vegetables on Naruto's kitchen counter, assuming that she might have missed the time when Kakashi trained Naruto and Haruno Sakura.

The afternoon that Team 7 returned from the mission to Wave Country, Zeiguwa had stormed into Headquarters, slammed the mission scroll on to her desk, snarled out a brief report, and stalked out of her office, most likely to beat the stuffing out of the training posts or whichever poor sap was silly enough to accept his invitation to spar.

She had been horrified when she heard Zeiguwa tell her over breakfast the next day that the only thing Kakashi had really taught him had been tree climbing (which was essentially useless to him since he already knew it) and that "A ninja who breaks the rules is trash, but a ninja who abandon's their comrade is worse than trash."

At the time, Suzaku had thought it fortunate that Kakashi had given the team the next three days off to rest, and that her days off coincided with Team 7's days off. She spent the day with Zeiguwa, and planned the tongue lashing she would give Kakashi when she saw him…

Two days after Team 7 returned from the Wave Country mission, Kakashi woke to find a furious Natsume Rin sitting on his desk in his apartment. It had been the first time since Yondaime-Sensei had died that Suzaku had revealed her true form on one of her off days. It was quite unfortunate that it had been spent arguing with Kakashi about who was to blame for what had happened in the past and who had truly kept their promise to Yondaime-Sensei as well as scolding him for not following Yondaime-Sensei's teachings instead of catching up and simply basking in the comfort of knowing that the other was still alive.

A week later, on her way home from a mission, Suzaku overheard Kakashi lecture Naruto on how recklessly he used his Kage Bushin and how he would do well to tone things down and work on his control and genjutsu and to add to his repertoire of ninjutsu.

Two weeks later, Kakashi entered Team 7 into the Chunnin Exams.

Six days later, Suzaku and the other Hunters were horrified to hear that Orochimaru had marked Sasuke and overjoyed to hear that Naruto had gotten the Frog Sannin, Jiraiya to train him. He would learn much from his father's teacher.

A month later, Konoha was invaded. Sound and Sand were beaten back, but at a heavy price. A week later, Suzaku and the rest of Konoha attended the Sandaime's funeral, and not long afterward, Naruto and Jiraiya left in search of Tsunade. They returned a month later with the Slug Sannin and her apprentice, and Tsunade took office the very next day.

A week later, Uchiha Sasuke defected, and put a chidori through Naruto's chest. It had been Kakashi who brought a near death Naruto back to Konoha, and it had been all the other Primary Six could do to keep Suzaku from killing Kakashi on the spot. She woke up a month later to find out that Tsunade had sedated her, and had constantly had to drug her after that to keep her from going after Kakashi. Suzaku had to swear as a ninja to her Kage that she would not attack Kakashi for what he had done before Tsunade would let her leave the hospital.

Naruto and Jiraiya left three months later, and Tsunade took Haruno Sakura as her apprentice.

The night Jiraiya and Naruto left Konoha, Natsume Rin paid Kakashi another visit.

"I told you," had been all she had said.

"I know. I'm sorry," had been Kakashi's reply.

And Rin had wrapped her arms around Kakashi's shoulders, as he cried for the first time since Obito and Yondaime-Sensei had died.

Natsume Rin began paying Kakashi more visits while Naruto was gone, and their friendship was slowly repaired. All the while, the mission load went up as Konoha was lacking in manpower, and every available ninja was swamped with one mission after the other.

Naruto returned three years later, and brought Sasuke back to Konoha as Zeiguwa. Team 7 was reunited, and Suzaku watched as Naruto drifted apart from his team. He stayed just long enough to get Team 7 into the Chunnin exam, then quit. Zeiguwa left for Hidden Stone not long after.

During Zeiguwa's absence, Rin watched as Kakashi's feelings for Yondaime-Sensei's son began to evolve.

Zeiguwa returned from Hidden Stone a year later, and Suzaku had watched in delight as he played a complex game of cat and mouse with his peers, and Natsume Rin's visits to Kakashi dwindled. Suzaku and the other Hunters began placing bets as to how long it would take before Zeiguwa stopped acting and admitted that he held some feelings for Kakashi that was not entirely of the teacher-student variety.

Suzaku watched as Naruto rejoined Team 7, and had to bite her tongue to keep from giggling at the dazed look on the visible portion of Kakashi's face after the bell test had been administered.

Suzaku watched as Naruto guided Team 7 into the ranks of the Chunin, and then left for her mission. How surprised she was to realize that Naruto had retreated behind the Hunter's Mask, vanishing into the ranks of the Hunters in the Hunter's District when she returned to Konoha a month later. And Rin's visits to Kakashi increased once more.

Suzaku watched as circumstance forced Zeiguwa out of hiding several years later into a position where Kakashi had been able to confront him. To the surprise of many Hunters, Suzaku had won the most money, but then again, many grumbled, Suzaku knew the two involved best. Suzaku had not been surprised when she heard that Zeiguwa had been ruthless with the Sound. He had always shown a protective streak where his precious people were concerned, even when he wore the mask…

Suzaku had been away on a mission when Naruto had been captured by the Akatsuki, and when she had returned, she had been among the Hunters sent out as advance scouts to search out the land. It had been Suzaku who made a trail for the Joint Rescue Party that led to Kisame and Naruto.

After the ordeal, Suzaku took care of Naruto at night after Kakashi had left, but not long after, she found herself leaving the village once more. She had laughed herself silly when she received a letter from Naruto about Kakashi's kindness, and how gentle he had been, and how Kakashi had washed away his uncertainties. She got good and drunk in celebration for the two men in her life that night.

Then suddenly, she was recalled.

"Tora has betrayed the village," Tsunade told her. "All of Naruto's precious people are in danger. Stay alert, stay on the look out. If you find her, kill her or bring her in for interrogation."

When Tora struck against Yamanaka Ino, it had been Suzaku who had intervened for Ino's life. To Suzaku's disappointment, she had been unable to stop Tora, and she escaped. Suzaku visited Naruto in the hospital quickly before going home to get some sleep.

A week later, Suzaku mobilized the entire Oinin force that was not hunting the last members of the Akatsuki, and moved them into concentrating their eyes on the village, searching for Tora. She received a three hour long tongue lashing from the Godaime for it, and she eventually regulated Sixth Seat into hunting down nuke-nin.

Several weeks later, Suzaku faced off against Tora once more. This time, they fought at the roof of the hospital. Kakashi and Genma had gone to the roof to talk, and arrived in time to see Suzaku hit the wall, her cracked mask shattering on her face, the shards falling to the floor.

"Rin?" was Kakashi's shocked question.

"Don't leave him alone…" Suzaku said, "Don't give her an opening!"

Tora was on the move, she noted.

"Don't leave Naruto alone!" she yelled, pulling herself to her feet, and she chased down Tora.

Rin woke up in the hospital a month later in extreme pain.

"You were here the entire time," Kakashi had said.

"Yes," she said.

"I accused you of not being there for sensei…"

"You didn't know."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It's alright," she replied.

She found out from the Hokage the next day that Kakashi had hunted down Tora and killed her a week after the confrontation on the roof and that two weeks before, Hidden Cloud had declared war on Konoha.

Two weeks later, she was declared fit to leave the hospital. A week later, Suzaku was drawn over the visage of Rin, and she departed for the front lines.

Five grueling months later, she received a letter from Kakashi, passed on by Sixth Seat, stating that the Akatsuki Leader had finally been captured and dealt with. Despite the good news, that resources were now freed up for Konoha to concentrate on Cloud, it had taken twenty-three Hunters, fifty-seven ANBU, and Uchiha Itachi himself to bring the Leader down. A letter to Sasuke had been found among Itachi's things, Kakashi's letter said, and it seemed that the Uchiha had known from the start of the manhunt that he would die before being able to reconcile with his brother, and so, had written the letter, just in case. Sasuke had been justifiably surprised, distraught, and angry, when he had received his brother's letter, and to ensure that he didn't do anything stupid, was being regulated out of Konoha to help out in the front lines. "Things in Konoha are as well as could be during a time of war," Kakashi had written, "and while Naruto has shown no signs of waking, examinations showed signs of his consciousness being closer to the surface of his mind than before. The medics have high hopes for his recovery. In any case, with the manhunt for the remainder of the Akatsuki at an end, resources have been freed up. Despite the loss of so many of our best, the returning shinobi will be given a chance to rest and restock on supplies, and will then be regulated to help our forces in the front lines," and then Kakashi's letter had ended with an uncharacteristically sentimental, "Yours Truly, Kakashi".

As expected, Uchiha Sasuke arrived in the front lines at the end of the two week mark. The arrival of an Uchiha made life slightly better, but for Suzaku and her Hunters, there was always work to do, and little to no rest.

As the first year of the war drew to a close, Suzaku was at one of the camps closer to the border, making inspections. Kumo lauched a raid agains them, and Suzaku and Hagetake remained behind while the other ninja retreated. Their lives ended as Suzaku activated the explosive tags scattered throughout the camp for the sole purpose of destroying the place if they were raided.

Suzaku never knew of Kakashi's rage at the news of her death…

She never witnessed Naruto's awakening…

She never attended their civil union five years later…

She never saw Naruto utilize the Orioke no Jutsu so he could bear Kakashi's child…

She never knew that Kakashi and Naruto had named the child after her…

All Suzaku knew was that her death would make them both sad and proud…

All Suzaku knew was that her death would be worth it if it kept Kakashi and Naruto safe…

All Suzaku knew was that her death would drive Kakashi to the brink, and if Naruto knew it, he would wake…

So Suzaku met her death bravely and with open arms…

Owari