Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters for that matter.

"I want to teach you a defensive technique."

Rin stood in shock after Kakashi's sentence, the trees creating shade for her and Kakashi. "...You want to teach me a technique?"

"I copied it on a mission a year back. I was thinking of teaching it to you, but I wanted to try it out and make sure it was safe enough for you to use..." He murmured softly, looking away.

"Oh."

"It's a genjutsu technique, but I think it's important that I teach it to you." Kakashi told her before he walked forward and grabbed her hand with his own, holding out her hand so that her palm was facing up. He carefully traced patterns with his finger on her palm as he explained, "It sucks chakra out of you with each minute you hold onto it, but it's very effective. By using your chakra, you can make them feel that they are in a real earth quake just by transferring your chakra from the palms of your hands into the ground."

His hands were soft and warmer than they had ever been before. The way he looked at her made her feel strong, that she really was worth something as a medic nin - that she wasn't so weak anymore.

"Someone would have to be crazy to not want you on their squad."

Had he read her mind?

Kakashi smirked. "This jutsu can also let you read your opponent's mind if you're close enough. Take a look, Rin."

She looked down and saw Kakashi's chakra entering into her hand and traveling up to her head, allowing him to read all of her thoughts. Just as she started feeling dizzy, he released the jutsu and caught her when she couldn't support herself. The Jounin propped himself against a tree and leaned her head against his shoulder, her fragile body beside his.

Once she felt better and was no longer dizzy, she was standing in front of Kakashi again and listening to his instructions. He motioned the hand signs slowly for her to catch them, and then told her to try it. Carefully, she flipped through each hand seal before she stood back and waited for Kakashi to tell her whether it worked or not.

She saw the Jounin stumble backwards, falling slowly to the ground when he tripped. Rin sprinted forward to catch him, but just as her hand grabbed his he called out, "No Rin!"

Suddenly she was no longer standing on the wet grass anymore, but instead on carpet in a cold, dark house. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence she realized she was in Kakashi's old house, standing directly in the kitchen in front of the sliding glass doors that led to his large backyard, but was facing the room instead of the glass doors.

"Hello?" She called out softly, shivering slightly when the room grew cold suddenly. Her voice echoed through the chilly house, growing softer each time. "...Kakashi?"

This time she heard faint crying of what sounded like Kakashi, but since when did Kakashi cry?

Her feet suddenly moved, taking her into what she remembered to be the living room. This time it wasn't the same smell, instead the aroma of blood clouded the air just as Kakashi's cries got louder. Why were his cries so child-like, though? Of course she wasn't insulting him, it just sounded like he was suddenly six...

"Father." The boy sobbed, pounding the floor with his fist furiously. Rin looked up and gasped at the sight - his father's corpse lying on the floor lifelessly, eyes closed and blood spewed all over around him. Kakashi was drenched in blood too, his hands red and blood stains on his shirt; it looked like he had just gotten home since his backpack had been thrown onto the couch and Kakashi was crying helplessly there.

People passed by, but paid no heed to the child yelling help.

Doesn't anyone care?' Rin asked herself, watching a young couple shoot hateful looks towards the house from the living room window. Did anyone notice that Kakashi was stained with blood? Or was it because she was there?

Before she could think twice, she was beside the boy who was cradling his father's corpse. Rin slowly wrapped her arms around Kakashi's sobbing figure, hearing a gasp from Kakashi before she pulled him closer to her, ignoring the fact that Sakumo's blood would soon be drenching her.

At first Kakashi squirmed, trying to break loose from her, but she fought against him; in the end she won when she twirled him around and pulled him closer to her, wrapping her slender arms around his waist while he hit her to break loose.

It was almost two minutes of fighting with him that he suddenly fell against her chest and sobbed. Soon yelling out furiously, "It's my fault!"

She let him sob into her chest uncontrollably as she whispered softly, "No it's not, Kakashi."

Before her vision swirled together into one massive mix of colors, she felt Kakashi hug her tightly and lay his head against the side of her neck and murmur softly, "Thank you..."

Rin's vision suddenly swirled around and brought her back to where the present was. She stood strong on her feet trying to catch her breath before she fell onto her knees from shock, breathing heavily. Unable to support herself any longer, she slumped before almost falling sideways when Kakashi caught her swiftly and laid her gently in his lap. "Rin? Are you alright?"

It took a minute for her mind to adapt to the sudden change, and for the capability to hold herself up on her own to come back. "...Yeah. I think so, Kakashi."

He seemed embarrassed to voice his thoughts. "...What did you...see?"

Deciding it was best not to tell him and bring back anymore pain than he already was experiencing, she quickly said, "It's nothing."

She moved to get up, not wanting to be a burden, but Kakashi pushed her back down. She didn't fight against him like always, but he still kept his weight on her abdomen to keep her in his grasp. "What did you see?"

His voice was slightly colder and was sterner, but it was still soft. Her soft eyes locked with his empty ones when he forced her to look into his; he asked the same question, knowing he could easily read her like a book.

It was a few moments later, when he seemed to be remembering something that he accused softly, "...It was when I found my father's body, wasn't it?"

"How did you know?" She asked him softly, looking back at him.

"Because..." He said simply, trailing off as if unable to explain to her. He suddenly asked her, his weight holding her underneath him, "Rin, did you by any chance look at your mother's book?"

"I looked at a couple jutsu, but they were difficult ones...yet they seemed..."

"What?" He asked when she trailed off.

"...Simple, and easy to mistake for another jutsu."

"Do you have your book on you?"

"I think..." She said softly, trying to remember if she had it in her backpack or not.

He moved his arms off of her, pulling her up before she could react. She slowly walked over to the tree that her backpack was leaning against, unzipping the main compartment when suddenly something black and white jumped out onto her. She let out a gasp as she was thrown back into Kakashi's lap, not hearing the Jounin's surprised grunt before grasping her shoulders to hold her upright.

"Kaka-chan!" She gasped out softly, ruffling the panda's fur before noticing it holding a white sheet of paper in its mouth. "What's that, Kaka-chan?"

As if knowing what Rin wanted, the panda let the paper fall out of its mouth onto her hand. She blinked when she saw that the paper had no teeth marks on it at all, and looked like a normal sheet of paper.

She unfolded the piece of paper to find that it was a picture of their whole squad on it, but it wasn't posed. Obito was the only one posing for the camera - the newly Genin at the time was attempting to make moose ears behind Kakashi's head, who in return was glaring at the camera without satisfaction. Arashi was grinning at Rin, who had an uncertain look on her face as he helped her put her hita'ate on.

"...Wasn't that back when you two received your hita'ates?"

"Yeah...but I haven't been able to find this picture since I moved, so where did Kaka-chan find it?"

"Better question: 'Is she reading you like a book'?"

"What do you mean, Kakashi?" Rin asked after blinking at Kakashi puzzlingly.

"Kaka-chan, she's almost like a dog that's part of the Inuzuka Clan."

"I guess there are some similarities..."

"Your real father was an Inuzuka, wasn't he?"

Rin's eyes softened into a saddened expression as she looked up at a bird sitting in its nest up in a near by tree. "...Yeah."

"Did the Hayata Clan by any chance interact with animals as well?"

"They often befriended their favorite animal." Rin told him softly, looking back at him.

"What's your favorite animal?"

"Pandas."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So she befriended a panda, and got the same abilities as a normal Inuzuka could with their dog?"

Kakashi nodded. "I think so, Sensei. The panda is not only hooked with her, but it knows her better than almost anyone else."

The young Jounin raised an eye brow at his former sensei when he snickered softly with a smirk. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing."

He knew his Sensei wasn't telling him the truth by the smirk that was covering his face. It was obvious his Sensei was aware of something that he wasn't, and he was deciding to use it to pick on him until he was begging him desperately. Of course that plan had never worked before, but this time it actually seemed more amusing to Kakashi then it would've been for him a year or two ago.

Sudden curiosity over took him, though. "How's Kushina doing?"

The older man was struck with confusion and shock. 'Did he just...ask me what I think he asked me?'

"...She's doing...fine. Did you just ask me that question, though?"

"Rin was busy, and she asked me to check up on how she was doing." Kakashi lied, keeping his emotionless expression.

"I see." The man had to hold back a smirk. 'He wasn't helping Rin out; he really was curious but was trying to cover that up. I'll have to get him for that...'
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rin blinked at the scroll that had been dropped off at her apartment a few minutes ago. The words that had been scribbled down on the paper from the Hokage made no sense, although she couldn't say she wasn't curious, and it answered her question. '...Is he pranking me?'

Rin read over the message once more, just to confirm that she really wasn't reading it wrong.

Rin,

Kakashi told me your message today and I thought I'd send the details in this scroll in case Kakashi's unable to give you the details right away. Kushina-chan is expected to go into labor around three months from now - the gender is still unknown, however. She believes it's going to be a boy; then again you're the one who guesses these things correctly...

Also, Kushina wanted me to ask you since she's been busy setting up the nursery room for her 'boy', but she also wanted me to ask you if you'd be the one to...err...help deliver our baby?

-- Arashi

P.S. Did I word that question properly?

Rin smiled softly at that last statement. Of course he didn't care about whether he worded it incorrectly or not, but he was really only trying to pick on her like he'd always do.

Yet it wasn't the same anymore. Before he did it by commenting on how her and Obito made a cute couple (and then smirk when her face turned the color of the slide they used to play on while Obito's turned redder and he'd whine out 'sensei' loudly), or do the same with her and Kakashi (only Obito choked on his noodles and Kakashi glared at him before insisting that she wasn't his type).

Then again, she probably could never be his type. He liked girls who were gifted and strong, talented; but she was just the medical nin on his team that was always messing up missions. The kind of person he was most likely to fall for was someone she could never be, no matter how hard she tried.

Rin ruffled Kaka-chan's fur softly before she left her small apartment, but before she closed the door behind her she took one last look at their squad photo that was taken a week after they became a team that was still whole.

It was probably time that she moved on with her feelings for Kakashi.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Here's the book that belonged to my real mother you wanted to see, Sensei." Rin said softly, sliding the thick book across her former sensei's desk.

"Sorry about that note, it was Kakashi's turn to pick on...you weren't offended, were you?"

"Of course not." She smiled. "Anyways, I'd better get going. I promised the Harunos' that I'd watch Sakura for a few hours tonight."

He seemed slightly concerned about the time she was most likely to get off of baby sitting. "Do you need me to send someone to take you home? Nine o'clock is a little late for a girl like you - not saying that you're weak or anything, it's just that--"

She cut him off gently. "It's alright, Sensei. Her father takes me home."

"I see."

The man opened the book and began reading. It was nearly three minutes later that he realized Rin was still there. "Is there something..." He trailed off before realizing why she was there. "Oh! You're dismissed!"

She smiled softly before bidding good-bye and heading towards the doorway, but before she left the room she turned around and smiled at her former Sensei.

"By the way, I'll do it, Sensei."

Author's Note: Thank you for all of the reviews!