Hey everyone! I had this typed up for a little bit, except the ends of it. Sorry if it sounds really weird. It's supposed to be that way. ^^ Anyway, I do not own Naruto, or any song lyrics you may find. Enjoy! ^^ Final chapter is coming soon! ^^
I sighed, my lip still curled up, the head ninja's dead body crashed to the floor, Misaki glowing in my right hand, as my hair slid down the sides of my face, my eyes closing. My heart throbbed with pain, dull pulses that ached sharply. I knew that I didn't have much time left. I lifted two fingers, closing my eyes, Misaki's green flames licking at my forehead. Light brightened in front of my eyes, the sound of chirping birds could be heard in my ears, butterflies rushed through my stomach. It was Kakashi. After all this time, I could finally hold him. I opened my eyes, and took off down the hallway, jumping over the dead head ninja, sheathing the knife, and flicking my fingers, Misaki vanishing back into my hand, my hand still pulsing with green light, each ring frosted with emerald sparkles. I picked my arms up, and ran faster, the light in my heart guiding me, as I tore straight down the hallway, the sound of my despaired footsteps echoing through the hallway, as I ran faster, and faster, the warmth in my heart getting hotter, and intense. I knew I was close. My brown hair flew out behind me, newly cut, my bangs blew in my dark brown eyes, my aching legs moved with a strength I never knew I had, but what I assumed to be stamina. I kept going, turning a corner, and flying toward a door, the light so strong, I could almost taste it on my tongue.
I knew it was impossible to taste light, but, this light was different. It was sweet, and soft, and gentle, and bitter, and sour, and loving. This light tasted just like him. It had his name written all over it. I continued running, pulling my right hand back, drawing my fingers into a fist, Misaki flaring into existence, just as I neared the door. I knew that this door was the only thing separating me from Kakashi. The only thing that was going to stop me. I didn't know if I was going to find Kakashi alive, or dead. I also knew that this was going to be my final battle. Sure, it was against a door. But, still. I was inches away from reaching my goal. I wrenched my arm backwards, Misaki flashing brighter, as I glided across the ground, my brown eyes narrowed.
"CHHHIIIYYYYAAAAAA!" I cried, flinging Misaki into the door with a slam. There was a metallic screech as my punch forced the door off of its hinges, ripped the frame out of the wall. I shoved harder, the door completely flying off, flying across what looked like a huge hall, not a long one, but a wide one, flying across the air. I took in deep breaths, still hunched over, Misaki still bright, as I looked up, scanning the room carefully.
No silver. Or black. Or Chidori. I walked into the room, seeing small stairs, and stopping at the top of them, flattening my hand on my hip. It looked like a foyer of some sort, or a place to host meetings, having five flights of four small stairs, all separated by a few feet of polished stone. I gritted my teeth, and glanced left. Still nothing. Right. Nothing. Above. Ceiling, but not Kakashi. Below…Nothing again. I looked down at my left side, seeing the light flashing across the metal of the kunai knife. Kakashi's kunai knife. I knew time was running out. Will I even be able to return this to him?
After about ten minutes of coughing up blood and grabbing at my chest in pain, my heart pounded, as I heard light footsteps coming from in front of me. I looked over at where the sound was coming from, my brown eyes wide. Kakashi, alive and breathing, stood at the top of the third flight of stairs, watching me. I didn't know how he got there. Nor did I care. I was just glad he was alive, and within running distance.
"Kakashi…" I whispered, and took a few steps, starting to run toward him. Kakashi softened his eyes, as I ran down the stairs carefully, my legs screeching in protest, my chest burning. I made it him, his silver hair, black and red eyes, his soft embrace. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close, Kakashi gripping me, his fingers taut against my shoulder blades. The impact of me slamming into him nearly sent us crashing to the floor, but thankfully, Kakashi had good balance. He buried his face in my hair, as I laid my head on his shoulder, holding him tighter.
"You're alive." I murmured, closing my eyes, relishing this moment of closeness. Kakashi nodded, his right hand resting on the back of my head now, sliding into my hair as he held me tighter.
"Yes. I stayed alive, so I could come back to you." He replied gently, his voice soft. I smiled against the side of his neck.
"Thank you." I answered quietly, my heart fluttering in my chest. Kakashi sighed.
"Rin…I'm…" He started, pulling away, looking deeply into my eyes. I blinked, and nodded once.
"What is it, Kakashi?" I asked, my eyes following his left hand that slid up the right side of my face, slowly, hesitantly.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to be in so much danger. I really am a lousy teammate." He replied, brushing my temple. I smiled, and shook my head.
"Don't worry about that. Don't worry about it at all. I'm just so glad you're alive." I answered, smiling brightly. Kakashi's eyes widened for a split second, and then he smiled. A soft, genuine smile. He rarely smiles, so this surprised me. It brightened up his face, almost instantly. The way his eyes arched, his lips curled up behind his mask, his hand softened, he just shifted from his usual stoic self, to a gentle human being.
"Rin, thank you." He murmured, pulling me close again, wrapping his right arm around my back, his left hand lingering on my face. I felt the right corner of his lips alongside my temple, hesitant. I lowered my head slightly, and smiled.
"You didn't abandon me, so why should I abandon you?" I asked, Kakashi holding me tighter.
"But I tried to. You could've been killed, so easily." Kakashi replied, his voice soft. I turned my head toward him slightly, and smiled gently.
"I'm still alive. And you're holding me." I answered, Kakashi burying his face into my hair. The building shook, and I pulled away, my right hand coming up to my chest, over my heart, the dull ache now getting harder, and harder to bear. Time was almost up. Kakashi's eyes held hurt, and surprise.
"It's almost time for me to go, Kakashi. I'm glad I got to save you, at least." I murmured, looking down. Cool, gentle fingers pulled my chin back up.
"Not yet. You're not going yet. I still need you, just like you need me. Remember that promise I made to you, when we were "heart swapping", the one when I said I would save you? Well, I meant it." He answered, leaning closer to me. My eyes widened, but slowly drifted closed, as life faded, slipping through my fingers. Kakashi held me against him, resting his chin on the top of my skull, as I slowly died in his arms, my breathing getting slower and slower.
"You know…I feel so pathetic. I trained for this past week…Trying to get strong enough to save you. I knew that even at the very end…You wouldn't be able to do it, Kakashi…" I whispered tiredly, Kakashi not moving.
"Whoever said that I couldn't show you how I feel about you? I care, Rin. Although I don't ever act like it. You're my teammate, Rin. The only one I have left, aside from Sensei. I let Obito down, and I regret that. It still hurts, even though I've worked so hard to be emotionless. But, it looks like I can't be. Rin, I…" His voice trailed off, as he lifted his head to the sky, or ceiling in this case. I knew that this was hurting him. I knew he wasn't going to be able to do it. I was going to die. I sighed.
"At least, I'll be able to see Obito, again." I replied, my voice soft. Kakashi held me tighter, wet things flowing down my forehead, in between my eyes as they found their way to the floor.
"Rin…I'm so sorry…I…I…I can't do it…" He whispered back, his voice breaking. I lifted my face up to him slowly, and smiled.
"I knew that. But, it's alright. I've done everything that I've wanted to do in life, except one thing." I answered, before I dropped to one knee, clutching my chest. Kakashi looked down at me, his tears falling.
"And what is that, Rin?" He asked, kneeling down next to me, his hand coming back onto my face, his other than at the corner of his mask, his fingers starting to pull it down, slowly.
"…I've never been able to…" I replied, then turned to my right as my chest flamed with pain, coughing up blood. Kakashi's eyes widened, as he cried harder, his cheeks exposed, as well as the slope of his nose, but he was still covered. I sighed, wiping the blood from my mouth.
"I'm touched that you're showing so much emotion towards me, Kakashi. But you don't have to cry. I'm not worth it." I answered, lifting my hands up to cradle his face gently. Kakashi's eyes slowly closed, as he let me touch him. A first, in reality. His fingers slowly pulled the rest of his mask down, his face being exposed to me. It was a gentle and kind face, narrow jawbones, his lips curled up in a gentle smile. I felt another blood surge coming, and resisted it, about to fall to my knees, or on my side, my time to die right on my heels. I knew this was my last chance.
"I just want to do one thing, before I go." I murmured, sliding my hands up into his hair, pulling his face to mine as well as leaning my face closer to his. Our lips touched, gently, deeply, as I kissed him eagerly, Kakashi returning my kiss just as deeply, intensely. There were no words we could say. All we could do, was communicate with our bodies. Not in the disgusting, perverted sense. Wind blew through the door I had come into the room through, its gentle force blowing my hair over my shoulders, the dark chocolate brown strands licking at his temples, sliding across his cheeks, touching his face as well as my wrists. Kakashi and I pulled back, blinking open our eyes, staring at each other softly, our irises full of wonder. I felt something in my chest, almost like fluttering, or cracking. It flowed through my chest, as the connection, the Heart Swap technique, started to break. We had done it. Although it was unspoken, I knew it. I could feel it. Kakashi loved me, enough to break the Heart Swap technique. Kakashi smiled at me gently, his eyes glittering softly.
"I told you, Rin. I told you that I would save you." I felt strength flowing through my veins, power and raw chakra washing over me, life flaring inside my chest as I was restored to my original self, feeling energy rippling through my veins. I nodded, two lines of tears, one on each side of my face, sliding down my cheeks, smiling back at Kakashi.
"Kakashi, thank you." I breathed, clutching my hands to my chest tightly. Kakashi put his hand on my head, reverting to his stoic form, his other hand gently pulling his mask back up.
"No, thank you for keeping me alive. Had it not been for you, I would've been dead already." He answered, looking around, the room shaking, each violent tremble getting increasingly worse as time passed. We had to get out of here. I looked around, shifting, planting my feet, searching for a way to run. Kakashi grabbed onto me, and jumped suddenly, pulling me up with him. I looked around, seeing a rock crashing into the floor where I had been standing. I turned my head to Kakashi, and smiled.
"Thank you, Kakashi. I owe you one." I pointed out as we flew through the air, jumping from falling rock to falling rock, toward an open hole in the ceiling, the sky looking down at us. Kakashi eyes narrowed, his silver bangs blowing into them, his face twisted in a determined grimace. I closed my eyes, screwing them shut tightly; as he jumped from the last piece we needed to jump from in order to get out safely.
"Rin, Rin! Are you alright?" I opened my eyes, seeing Kakashi's and the others' faces staring down at me as they waited for me to wake up. I blinked, and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm alright." I replied, sitting up, Kakashi putting his arm around my shoulder to support me. I held my head in one hand, sighing. Kushina, Minato-sensei, Tsunade, Anko, and Guy smiled. Minato-sensei took a step toward me, and put his hand on my shoulder.
"You scared us for a minute there, Rin. When Kakashi found us carrying you in his arms we all started to panic until he told us about the Heart Swap technique being broken." Minato-sensei explained. I looked over at Kakashi, and he nodded. I shifted, and felt something poke into my left leg. I laid on my right side slightly, and reached for Kakashi's kunai, smiling at it before handing it to him.
"I'm guessing you want this back, since you don't have your father's blade anymore." I pointed out. Kakashi took it from me, and flipped it in his hand a few times, closing his eyes.
"Thank you, Rin. Thank you for everything." He replied, dropping it onto the ground and reaching over, hugging me tightly. I widened my eyes, then smiled, wrapping my arms around him too.
"It's fine. I did it for a friend. A very important friend." I replied, holding Kakashi gently. The others cooed, and cheered, until Minato-sensei cleared his throat.
"Alright kids, why don't we head back to Konoha now? The Third Hokage is looking forward to your return, Kakashi." He pointed out. Kakashi buried his face in my hair and nodded.
"Yeah." He answered, pulling away after taking one deep breath, almost as if he was taking some of my calming chakra along with him. I stood up, and smiled, flattening one hand on my hip as Guy and Anko welcomed Kakashi back to the team. Tsunade, Kushina, Minato-sensei and I just stood on the side watching them.
"Love is a beautiful thing, isn't it Minato?" Tsunade asked, glancing at him with gentle amber eyes. Minato-sensei nodded, and rubbed the top of my head gently.
"Yeah, it comes in many shapes or forms, but it's all the same. Love provides all of our strength to overcome all obstacles." He replied. I looked back at Minato-sensei.
"Rin learned that first hand. Right, Rin?" Kushina asked, Tsunade nodding. I looked back over at Kakashi, his back being to me, Guy yelling something about not being rivals. I smiled, as Anko tackled Kakashi, Guy laughing hysterically. I turned back, and nodded.
"Yeah, I did." I answered, then excused myself, walking over to Guy's side, watching Anko hold Kakashi down as he struggled. Guy shifted, and looked over at me, nodding his head.
"That was impressive. What you did back there, Rin." I widened my eyes, and turned to him.
"It isn't that impressive. Ninja do what I did on a daily basis." I replied, looking down at the struggling Kakashi. Guy sighed.
"If you say so."
"Kakashi Hatake. I see that Team Minato brought you back safely." The Third Hokage pointed out with a smile, looking toward me. I straightened up, blinking my eyes. Kakashi put his hands in his pockets and sighed.
"Yeah, they got me out of there in the nick of time too. I was just about to die, until they created enough of a diversion for me to escape." Kakashi explained, glancing back at Minato-sensei. I looked over at the window, and closed my eyes. The Third Hokage gestured toward me.
"And what about you, Rin? Your clothes are cut up." I turned back to him, and lifted my palms.
"Oh! I'm fine, just a few minor scratches, that's all. I healed them enough to stop the bleeding." I replied, taking a few steps forward to be right alongside Kakashi. The Third Hokage pointed at my side.
"And what about that wound? That looks pretty bad." He asked, my eyes flashing down toward it.
"I'm fine, Lord Hokage." I answered firmly, putting my left hand on the wound gently. Kakashi turned and looked at me, surprised. Tsunade giggled. Kushina laid her head on Minato's shoulder. Anko grabbed Guy's arm, and I just stayed where I was, facing the Third Hokage calmly. The older man laughed, and sighed.
"Well Rin, it looks like you were right." I blinked.
"About what, sir?" I asked politely, curious. Kakashi looked away, tightening his hand into a fist. I ignored him, and nodded my head once.
"About Kakashi being alive. When we all gave up on him, you kept hanging onto your faith in him. That's quite a bond you two have." He replied, smiling. I smiled back, and nodded.
"We're teammates. Teammates never give up on each other." I answered, hip bumping Kakashi while flattening my right hand on my side, lifting my left away from my wound. Kakashi closed his eyes, and didn't reply. I knew what was going through his head. I had gotten hurt, and he was blaming himself for it. What a downer…I lifted my left hand, and rested it on the right side of his face, Kakashi flinching, his eyes turning to look at me.
"Don't tell me you're blaming yourself for me getting hurt. These injuries were my fault, got it?" I asked fiercely, narrowing my brown eyes. Kakashi looked away, and his head dropped.
"…You don't get it. You don't get the promise I made to Obito. You don't understand how badly I let him down." Kakashi answered, grabbing my wrist in his hand, and pulling it off of his face harshly, his Sharingan eye glowing brightly with anger and loathing. I gasped in surprise.
"I don't care about that stupid promise, Kakashi. You know that. What I did was my choice. I don't care if Obito wants me to be safe. I'll do what I want, when I want because I care about you. And if Obito was in my position about a week ago, then he probably would've done the same thing I did. We're teammates, you hear me? We're in this together. You can try to shut me out all you want, but that doesn't change anything. You're one of my closest friends, one of the ones that know me inside out. I know you don't care about knowing someone, or bonds, or ties or even relationships, but guess what? You're stuck with me. I also know how it feels to lose someone precious to you, and I don't ever want to feel that pain again. But, most of all…" My voice trailed off, as I pressed my hand back to his face softly, smiling gently.
"I don't want to lose our bond that we have. I worked so hard to get you to open up to me, even if just a little. You mean a lot to me, and whether you want to admit it or not, I mean a lot to you. I know the thought of losing someone else precious to you scares you doesn't it? But you can't dwell on fear. It gets you nowhere. You have to keep going, no matter how hard it looks. Keep your friends close, and don't stop. You get it now, don't you, Kakashi?" I asked quietly, rubbing his temple, ruffling his silver hair gently. The Third Hokage, and the others just stared at Kakashi and me, not even thinking of speaking. Kakashi held my gaze for a few more seconds, then nodded.
"Alright." He answered, his eyes arching in a gentle smile. I smiled back, and pulled backwards, turning back to the Hokage.
"Well then. I guess that ends your visit here, everyone. You guys have the next few days off for rest, except the jonin." I widened my eyes. That meant Kakashi had to go too. I looked down. Seconds later, I felt cool fingers under my chin.
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to me this time, okay?" I shook his fingers off.
"But your Sharingan is what they-" His fingers moved to my lips to stop me.
"Want? I know. But that makes things more interesting. Besides, I have to pay them back." Kakashi replied, his lips curling up in a sinister smile. I widened my eyes again, and sighed.
"I'm coming with you." I announced, blinking my brown eyes.
"No you're not." Kakashi answered tonelessly.
"But Kakashi-" I started, leaning toward him, lifting my hand to grab his arm.
"I don't care." Was his astute reply.
"But I do!" I cried, shaking my head.
"I know that." Kakashi murmured back, turning toward the door.
"You do realize that they could-" I replied, my voice breaking slightly, as we stood side by side, facing opposite directions. Kakashi snorted, and I turned my head toward him.
"Capture me again? Let them try." Kakashi replied dryly, looking back at me from over his shoulder as he walked toward the door. I took one step after him.
"I don't want them to try!" I answered, running after him, Kakashi shoving his hands into his pockets as the door shut in my face. I flung it open again, and ran down the hall after waving myself out of the room. Kakashi hadn't gotten far, at the slow pace he was going, he was only at the end of the hallway.
"Kakashi! Wait! Please!" I ran down the hallway just as he turned around the corner, my footsteps echoing through the hallway. Kakashi kept going, not stopping.
"Kakashi stop! I'm coming with you whether you like it or not, please stop running from me! Kakashi please stop!" I turned around the corner, tearing after his silver hair, his relaxed shape. Then I lost him. In the blink of an eye, he was gone. Lost to me. I slid to a stop outside the Hokage building, and looked around, not seeing him anywhere. I sighed. I might as well clean myself up, then go look for him…I looked down at my wound, blood starting to leak out of it again. The Third Hokage was right. It was bad. I ran down the street toward my house, and flung open the door, flying up the stairs to my shower. I quickly hopped into it, flinching as the hot water hit the wound, the huge cut in my side. He probably just needs a little space…I shouldn't ask him about it for a little while, I guess…
Newly showered and wrapped up in paste and cloth, I ran down my stairs after blow drying my hair, and flew out the door for the second time, waving goodbye to my mother. It didn't take me long to find Kakashi. He was on his way to the memorial. I caught up with him, noticing that he was wearing casual clothes, his normal tee shirt and new shorts, compared to my sleeveless blouse and pleated skirt, I was overdressed. Seriously overdressed. I walked up alongside him, and touched his arm gently.
"Hey, Kakashi. Let's take the long way to the memorial, okay?" I suggested, tilting my head to the side and smiling. Kakashi shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed.
"Sure, why not?" He answered, allowing me to pull him down the street toward the pond trail in the training grounds.