Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anything or anybody except Tomoko, her family, and Nagareboshi Cafe. Any concepts/ideas mentioned in this fanfiction that seem to be borrowed from another media/piece of continuity - note that I don't mean to plagiarize anything or anybody in any way! This fanfic was made for entertainment purposes, not for pissing off others! So yeah!

The theme for this chapter is Qonell's orchestrated version of Colorful from Madoka Rebellion. I know the third movie is controversial, but I found that the music and specifically this theme stood out in conveying the emotion I want to highlight here. Kannabi may be over, but the emotions will still be coming.

On the other hand, for those of you who still appreciate piano covers, I'll refer you to the shorter cover done by Pianoime of the same song. It works!

Please enjoy!


Chapter 45: Slow Road to Recovery

It felt like a dream.

A happy, but strange dream.

But sure enough, it was reality.

My friends — Kakashi, Obito, and Rin — were all back home. Mostly in one piece, but still home.

The fact that Kakashi had yet to let go of my hand on the way to the hospital with the rest of Team Minato said more than enough.

Without meaning to, I looked up at him. He was getting taller by the day, and I knew I wouldn't be reaching his full height at adulthood no matter how much I wanted to. I currently went up to the middle of his neck, but how long would that last?

Then he turned his head to meet my eyes.

Lub-dub. My heart leapt in my chest, and I found heat flooding my face before I took a step closer, bumping shoulders in what I hoped was an attempt to hide it.

He couldn't see it…right?

Beautiful lies, my dear. Beautiful lies.

Hisako was still cooing.

I closed my eyes to ignore her teasing.

"Hi," I said simply.

A snort sounded above my head before my shoulder was bumped in return. "Hey," Kakashi echoed quietly. "You alright?"

I squeezed his hand a little tighter. "A little worried, relieved, and all that, but I'm good." I then made sure to make eye contact for the sake of not mincing any words by accident. "You?"

Even with one eye, I could see my best friend roll it almost like nothing had changed, his next step allowing him to bump my shoulder once more. His smile was hard to miss even through his mask. "Debatable, but fine. Don't worry, Tomoko."

Huh. I found myself deadpanning, "I always worry, Kakashi. Get that in your head already."

Behind me, I could hear Obito start to snicker. Rin's giggles followed soon afterwards.

Unintentional burn, much?

Waaaah!

I found myself turning red.

But before I could say anything, another familiar snort sounded. "Alright, alright, I get it," my best friend mumbled, the same smile on his face. "It's been in my head for a while now."

My heart beat a little harder in my chest.

Lub-dub, it said.

I squeezed his hand a little more before leaning in to rest my head on his shoulder. He stopped, clearly caught off guard before glancing at me. "Tomoko?"

"I'm just…" A long sigh left me as I could feel the nerves leave to slowly loosen my shoulders. "I'm just happy you all are home."

A wind passed through the clearing.

"I…" Kakashi breathed shakily, and I found myself blinking. Then he squeezed my hand in return, adjusting it so that we could intertwine our fingers. "I'm happy to be back too," he said finally.

Lub-dub.

"O-Oh," was all I could find myself saying, turning away to hopefully hide what heat was flooding my face. Kakashi only squeezed my hand again.

"Oiiiiiii, you two~" Minato-san's voice broke through what little ice was standing between us with a cheery tone, and I found myself jumping alongside Kakashi. "We're all still here, so no getting into your own world, alright?"

Heh. I like this guy now. Knows my style.

HISAKO!

My heart wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon either, it seemed.

I let go of Kakashi's hand to properly cover my face with both of mine, huffing shakily. "M-Minato-saaaaan! Don't say things like that!"

Obito was outright laughing like it was his birthday now.


Once everyone started filing into the hospital, the silence that I was already growing to hate was coming back. Maybe it was the faint scent of medicine that had Obito and Kakashi stand on edge, or the plain white of all the walls in whatever direction I looked.

Heck, maybe it was Rin-chan's stiff figure when walking in and signing the entry forms for the entire team since everyone needed a hospital visit and check-up alongside Minato-san.

But for once, no one was attempting to make conversation while waiting for someone to check in on us after all the paperwork was put away. It made me feel a bit out of place, considering I was basically the only unscathed, civvie person in the entire group.

From what I could see, everyone I knew was hurt in some way.

Rin? Battered by dirt with the occasional fleck of blood and wearing a face that showed just how much the mission took its toll on her.

Minato-san? Probably the only one aside from me that didn't show any visible injuries, except for the same dirt as Rin, but his stoic demeanor didn't help the situation.

Obito? His…what was left of his left arm was more than enough to explain his situation. And the bandages over his left eye. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to know that he's still in Konoha with us and not in…well, some other cave with another Uchiha that could easily bring about the end of the world (cough cough — Madara — cough) with the help of a zombie tree, but that didn't mean seeing him with one arm was any less reassuring.

I couldn't even imagine the pain Obito was going through right now. And it wasn't right to assume or make any decisions for him.

And Kakashi? Even with his tight, reassuring grip on my hand, the fact that his hitai-ite was covering his own left eye didn't give me any good feelings.

A part of me was really wishing for Mama, Papa, or heck, even Kushina-nee or Uncle Sakumo to show up. Because this tension was not healthy and I had no clue how to break it.

I glanced over at everyone, only to catch somewhat despondent looks on all their faces. Even when they all went about making eye contact with me by the time they noticed me looking at them, the smiles varied. Minato and Rin were clearly faking it, Obito's was forced but still genuine, and Kakashi was the only one who really had any sign of happiness in his eye when smiling at me.

Thankfully, a reprieve came in the form of a woman who walked up to us with a clipboard and a warm smile. I could say her smile was a lot more welcoming than the ones some of my friends gave off earlier. "Are you all Team Minato?"

"…Yes," Minato-san answered slowly, blinking. "And you are?"

"Ayukawa Emi-sensei, one of the doctors at this hospital," she bowed her head, and the incoming sunlight made her magenta ponytail stand out quite a bit. If not for my living in what Vy used to know as an anime world, the color would've weirded me out a little more. Nonetheless, her warm grin helped the atmosphere. "I'll be seeing to you all, that is," she paused, glancing at everyone for at least a few seconds. But she stopped at me, recognition of some sorts blooming in her gray eyes.

Huh?

Don't think on it too much, dear. She's nice at least.

"That is, if you're okay with me," Ayukawa-sensei finished quietly, turning back to Minato-san. And judging by the Jounin's smile, he seemed more than okay with it.

Hisako was too, so why not? She was nice...

"Of course," Minato-san said immediately, grinning a bit brighter. Then he glanced at the team again, and I didn't miss how he looked in my direction with an unknown shine in his eyes. "How do you all feel about that?"

"Yep," said Obito.

"I'm good," added Rin.

Kakashi, on the other hand, stayed silent, only nodding while gripping my hand a bit tighter.

"I'm fine with anything, Minato-san, Ayukawa-sensei," I finished with my other hand raised in the air.

Ayukawa-sensei smiled again before looking down at her clipboard, scribbling something that we couldn't see. "Should I see to you all one at a time, or would you all like to come in together?"

I honestly wasn't sure if it was the time for me to answer or even speak up, so I instead looked in Minato-san's direction. From the looks of it, the Yellow Flash was in deep thought, having a hand on his chin before anything was said.

Then, Obito was the one to break the silence. "Then, err, Ayukuawa-sensei?"

"Yes?" the woman said immediately, glancing in his direction with a softer smile. "What is it?"

"Could…" Obito fiddled with his left sleeve, and I forced myself to not focus on the bloody bandage that was left in place of that arm for the sake of really looking at him. At my friend that unknowingly got out of a villain's hands, but suffered nonetheless. At Uchiha Obito, who could see how he could be revered as a hero. "Could we go one at a time then? It's…it's been a long few weeks."

The way he seemed to have forced a smile on his face said everything.

What did he see…no, feel out there?

I knew better than to ask aloud and simply smiled in Obito's direction when he glanced at me. "Go ahead, Obito-kun," I said quietly. "We can wait out here."

'You need care way more than us,' was left unsaid. I couldn't say it. It felt way too rude and insensitive to say it anyways.

Kakashi loosened his grip on my hand to glance up at Obito with understanding. "You go first, Obito."

The Uchiha still looked unsure. "Are you…" and instead of completing his sentence, he turned to Rin. I wasn't surprised to see the medic still be tense, and another few seconds of silence passed before she turned her head to the side to meet Obito's eyes.

"Obito…?" Rin prompted softly.

"Rin, are you…" Obito trailed off, his remaining hand going up to rub the back of his head. "Will you…"

Cat got his tongue, much?

Hisako.

My other self immediately went silent.

Another pause. Then Rin reached over to put her hand on his left knee, smiling. From my vantage point, I wasn't sure if the smile was genuine or not, but her actions were supportive enough. "Go ahead, Obito. I'll be fine."

"…" Obito stared at her for a few moments before reaching over to take her hand in his, squeezing it softly. "You sure?"

Rin nodded, smiling a bit brighter.

Obito hung his head before sighing, letting go of her hand with much hesitance. Then he stood up, pushing himself off his seat with his remaining hand before glancing at us with a small grin. "Okay," he agreed finally with a warm thumbs-up. "I'll be going then."

"Do you want me to come with you, Obito?" Minato-san asked.

Obito blinked, clearly about to take off with Ayukawa-sensei before turning around. Judging by his red ears, he wasn't expecting the question. "Um," he started, hand flailing before turning to the doctor behind him. "Then, uh, Ayukawa-sensei, can Sensei— "

"Of course Minato-san can come with you," she answered immediately. "Whatever makes you feel more comfortable."

Obito huffed out a sigh of relief before glancing back at Minato-san with a shaky smile. "Please?"

Minato-san was already grinning in return and getting up from his seat before responding. And even then, I knew his answer. "Of course I will."

And with a few steps, Ayukawa-sensei, Minato-san, and Obito all disappeared down a white hallway.

Leaving Rin-chan, Kakashi, and I all in the waiting room.

The silence had come back, but deeper. I'm not sure how else to describe it, because for once, despite every part of me insisting otherwise, it felt like a silence I wasn't supposed to break. Maybe it was the simple fact that everyone else in the vicinity was minding their own business, not even chattering because of the hospital atmosphere.

Or the way Rin-chan was covertly glancing in my direction.

Kakashi's continuous grip on my hand helped, but how long could we stay here…?

And then a breath that I knew wasn't mine sounded. It was a shaky and nervous one, but it was still an inhale of air that I knew someone needed. So, who—

"Tomoko-chan?" Rin's voice.

Huh? Hisako paused from her cleaning out some book scraps.

I looked past Kakashi's hand and shoulder in the medic's direction, blinking. "What is it, Rin-chan?"

For some reason, the medic wasn't meeting my eyes, despite my attempts to try doing so. It looked like something was on her mind, so why…

"C-Could..." Rin gulped, shaking her head. "Could we…Could we talk for a bit? Alone?"

Ooooookay then, Hisako said duly, resigning herself back to her job of cleaning once more. There's something else going on here.

Hisako.

Hey, I'm just saying. Rin in canon did have a crush on Kakashi after all, dear. You probably might have to deal with that.

Really?

I didn't want to believe it despite the signs hinting at it already.

Call it heavy denial all you want, but after all the hell my friends just got through, I didn't want to unload another potential bombshell if I could.

Instead, I glanced at Kakashi. Even without him returning my stare, his grip on my hand loosened. "Go ahead, Tomoko," he said finally after a few moments. "I can wait here on my own."

"Are you sure, Kakashi?" I gripped his hand a bit more, already feeling the doubt swirl through me. The hospital atmosphere didn't help. "I mean…"

You were gone for so long, and now we have to separate again?

The thought didn't seem nice no matter how many times or angles I looked at it.

My best friend finally turned to look at me with that one silver eye, and it softened immediately when focusing at me. If I didn't know any better, I could barely make out a reflected outline of myself in Kakashi's pupil. "I'll be fine, Tomoko. Just go with Rin." He squeezed my hand one last time before letting go. "I can wait alone for a while."

"…Thank you, Kakashi," Rin said from over his shoulder.

I forced myself to get up from my seat to walk in front of my friend and give him one last hug. It didn't feel right leaving otherwise.

A hand reached over to touch my shoulder. "Tomoko…"

"I'll be back as soon as I can," I whispered immediately. "Promise."

Kakashi sighed before reaching over with his other hand to pat my back. "Alright."

It was enough for me to let go, smile one last time in his direction before following an already standing Rin out of the waiting room.


A part of Obito already knew that his life had completely changed. With the almost hanging emptiness from what was left of his entire left arm and the fabric covering his left eye, he wasn't sure of what to think. Even with Minato-sensei in the room with him, as Ayukawa-sensei glanced over his current state while unwrapping the bandages covering the stump, Obito felt tense.

What was she going to say?

Hell, what would Minato-sensei say?

The mission was over, and he was home, so then why did it feel everything but all that?

Everyone was safe.

Kakashi was alive, Rin was alive, he was alive.

Team Minato had all come back home, safe and sound.

So then why—

"…Oh my," Ayukawa-sensei said finally, the last of the bloody bandages falling into the trash can near her feet. "It was a clean cut, wasn't it."

The Uchiha already knew that the last sentence wasn't a question. If anything, he was just grateful that the woman had yet to look up at him, because he wasn't sure what he would say otherwise.

On the other hand, Obito didn't miss how Minato-sensei tensed in his chair behind the woman.

He knows too… Obito held back the urge to give out a resigned sigh.

Nonetheless, Ayukawa-sensei didn't even pay attention to Minato's reaction as she touched the area where Obito's elbow cut off almost gingerly. The tingling feeling left from her touch made Obito shiver. A blue glow surrounded Ayukawa's hand moments later, allowing the touch to fade in exchange for the flow of chakra to go around the area. "Thankfully, your medic teammate did a good job in healing what cells there are." With the slightest movement, the woman continued to use her chakra, almost tickling the spot where his lower arm once was with its warm and welcoming nature. Despite its prodding, Obito felt himself relax at least a little, because it was a reminder of safety.

The blue chakra was a reminder of Rin.

"However…" the chakra then faded as Ayukawa-sensei looked up at him with solemn gray eyes. "I don't have much good news, Obito-kun. You are very much lucky to be alive, but staying on the combat roster right now may as well be…"

She didn't have to finish her sentence. Obito already knew that his ninja career was going to be radically different once he came back.

He already knew this. Staying as a ninja seemed far off...

Heck, everyone of Team Minato, Tomoko-chan included into that group, probably already knew to some degree of his current situation as soon as they got a glimpse of the residual arm.

"…I know," Obito interrupted, stopping the doctor from saying anymore while touching his left eye. "I know. That's why I gave up this left eye to Kakashi."

"To…" Minato-sensei spoke up, and Obito looked past the doctor's shoulder only to tense at the Jounin's wide blue eyes. "Obito, you gave one of your eyes to Kakashi? Your Sharingan?"

He nodded. There wasn't much else to it.

It was his choice, and he was okay with it. Kakashi came back safe and sound, and he was happy with it.

He protected his friend. His comrade.

So then why was his only hand shaking—

PLOP.

Wetness covered his right glove. Obito glanced at it, only to blink at the small, circular stain covering the fabric.

Tears? But who…

Another one plopped down, and as soon as Obito reached over to his cheek, he already knew.

The wet feeling on his skin had already registered itself in his brain with a quiet, telling entrance.

Even with his goggles placed to the side, there was no excusing this.

He was actually crying.

Real, no-dirt-in-his-eye, tears. Actual, genuine tears.

Why? Why…

It felt like a bunch of rocks was pelting him all at once, and he felt his nose start to clog as the first sniffle started leaving him.

Now it made sense.

So much had happened, and it felt like there was nothing he could do. The adrenaline had done its best keeping these feelings at bay, but now? In this white room?

He couldn't do anything.

He could do absolutely nothing.

His left arm and his left eye was gone. There was no way he would ask Kakashi to give said eye back, and his arm was probably already rotting in a faraway forest.

He and his friends were alive, but at what cost?

How…How could he be Hokage now?

How could he face Kakashi and Rin now?

Hell, how could he face Judai-san and Tomoko-chan again?

Obito didn't even realize he was sobbing until Ayukawa-sensei was gone and Minato-sensei was in his face, looking at him with warm blue eyes. "Obito, Obito, it's going to be okay. Shhh, shhh." A calloused hand reached over to the back of his head, bringing him into a warm hug. "You're with me. You're going to be okay."

He wanted to believe that. He wanted to…so much.

And then all Obito could do was cling onto his sensei with his remaining strength and just bawl.

Bawl for everything he couldn't bawl for back then.


Once Rin had found a quiet spot in a corner of a nearby hallway, she took a deep breath to steel herself. One would think she would be facing another life-changing mission with how the medic was going about things, but it was a lot simpler than that.

Rin just wanted to honestly face the person across from her.

Tomoko-chan, whether she knew it or not, seemed to recognize that something was going on and fidgeted quietly, not meeting her eyes. "…So," she said finally. "What is it that you wanted to talk about, Rin-chan?"

So, the civilian decided to get to the point. Honestly too. Rin wasn't sure whether to be happy or miserable about that part of her friend, and instead took another breath. "Just a minute, Tomoko-chan," she mumbled softly, before starting an old breathing exercise for the sake of really staying calm.

It had been only a month and a half since she had last seen the civilian, so then why was she feeling so nervous? It shouldn't be this bad…

Then, whether for better or for worse, Rin blurted out the first thing that had come to mind.

"Tomoko-chan, do you like Kakashi?"

A long pause followed. The civilian immediately stopped fidgeting with the hem of her pink skirt, instead starting to turn a pink hue of her own, before blinking. Her face was frozen in what could only be described as a fish-like face. "…W-Wait, what?" Tomoko squeaked out.

Rin opened her mouth, fully intending to repeat her statement, only to be stopped by the civilian's raised hand. "W-Wait, Rin-chan, wait."

The medic closed her mouth, and waited.

Then her heart had to stop as soon as Tomoko-chan spoke up again, looking at her with wide blue eyes. "Rin-chan, by chance…" she gulped. "Do you…do you like Kakashi too?"

Oh no. Oh no. This can't be happening.

Rin opened her mouth again, found nothing to say, and closed it only to nod and hang her head.

What should I do?

Rin lightly fingered her Wayfinder bracelet in the hopes of finding some form of verbal answer.

"Oh dear…" Tomoko-chan said finally.

A long pause then followed.

Rin currently found her sandals to be much more interesting than the mood of the whole conversation, but every single part of her knew that someone had to talk. The two couldn't sit here forever, especially when factoring Obito and Kakashi into the equation.

But who...

Then Tomoko spoke up again. "Rin-chan, I don't want our friendship to be broken up over this… this love triangle, okay?"

HUH?

Rin wasn't expecting that, and found herself looking up at the civilian, who was still blushing, but now had a determined frown on her face. "You're more important to me than some kind of love life, Rin-chan, so to get this out of the way, I'm not making this whole thing a competition, alright? You're still going to be my friend, so—"

"Wait, wait, wait, Tomoko-chan!" Rin flailed with her hands, feeling her own face heat up from the honest words. "When did this turn into—"

"But Rin-chan!" Tomoko squeaked, shaking her head in a clear mix of discomfort and determination. Apparently, she wasn't done speaking yet. "I don't want to lose you over some kind of love mix-up! I love you too!"

The butterflies flying in Rin's stomach combined and transformed into a large vulture which shrieked and died almost immediately.

"T-Tomoko-chan…." Rin found herself covering her mouth. "Y-You…"

"Um, well…" The civilian proceeded to trail off, having just realized the weight to her previous words before shaking her head. "For one thing, R-Rin-chan, I love you in the platonic way, okay? You and Obito-kun are like family to me! I-I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable if I did!"

"N-Not at all!" Oh great, now Rin herself was fumbling too. "It's just…I mean…"

Another silence followed.

"…I'm sorry," Tomoko finally squeaked out, her voice quieter than before. "I didn't mean to make such a huge mess of things."

"No, Tomoko-chan," Rin shook her head while meeting the civilian's eyes. "I'm sorry for making things uncomfortable for you."

"Mm…" Tomoko inclined her head while lightly reaching over to fiddle with her Wayfinder necklace. The soft blue and green colors shined almost comfortingly from around the civilian's neck, and Rin found herself relaxing at least a little. "So…"

"So?" Rin prompted.

Tomoko gulped while playing with her Wayfinder some more. "What…what should we do now?"

That's a good question. That's a really good question that I wish I had the answer to.

Rin decided to speak honestly. "I'm…I'm not sure, Tomoko-chan," she said slowly, trying not to fidget. "I mean, when did you start…"

'Liking Kakashi,' was left unsaid — instead hanging in the air.

She couldn't finish it. Even if she wanted to. Her heart was beating way too hard for her to even say the last words.

Was it in fear of something going wrong? Or was it something else? Rin wasn't sure.

Tomoko gulped again, inhaling shakily while glancing away. "... I'm not sure, Rin-chan," she said finally. "I-I…I started loving Kakashi like family too, y'know? After everything we've been through, and the whole thing with Uncle Sakumo, he was my bestest friend in the whole world…"

Rin didn't miss how Tomoko gripped her Wayfinder a bit tighter. "He was always there for me when I needed him, and I always said, 'I love you,' as a way of expressing my thanks for him being there…that was really it. But…" Tomoko hung her head, hugging herself with her arms. "Th-these days, especially before Team Minato's most recent mission, it's been getting stronger. Whenever I said, 'I love you,' it seemed to be more…more than just family speaking. And…"

"…Did it scare you?" Rin finished.

Tomoko shook her head. "Surprise me, really." A soft, shaky laugh left her. "What really scared me was…was the idea of hurting someone because of these feelings." Her other hand touched her chest, landing right above her heart. "Hurting you, really."

Rin found herself taking in a sharp breath. "You…you knew?" she said.

"I-It was kinda obvious, Rin-chan…" Tomoko laughed again, more shakily this time while raising her head to look at her with murky blue eyes. "And…" she shook her head again. "I-I didn't want to trouble you, or ruin anything, if at all. Rin-chan, you, Obito-kun, and Kakashi are all still my best friends. I-I didn't want any feelings ruining that."

"I…" Rin gaped, exhaling. Ohmigod, this is just — "I don't want this whole thing to ruin our friendship either!" she blurted out, the weight on her heart lessening at least a little bit. "But…but I…"

I don't know what to do. I don't know what we as friends should do.

Tomoko took a deep breath. "I think…I think the main problem here is that…that…"

Rin was already dreading the answer, but nonetheless spoke up with a quiet, "That what?"

"…I have to say it, huh?" Tomoko deadpanned. Once Rin nodded, the girl sighed, shaking her head. "Oh dear…" Tomoko took another deep breath, exhaling moments later before fidgeting with her hands. "The thing is that…well, we're the ones not making the choice here. It's…it's Kakashi who's going to be making that choice when the time comes."

"Yeah…" Rin hung her own head, glancing in another direction. "That's true…"

"Then, Rin-chan?" At the sound of her own name, Rin turned her head back to meet Tomoko's eyes. "Think…Think we could just…Oh dear…" Tomoko shook her head again, more fiercely this time. "I-I wish I had a solution to this, but this thing looks messier than a bowl of udon!"

Without meaning to, Rin found herself giggling. The butterflies in her stomach were back again, but much calmer and amused this time. "U-Udon? Out of all the things you could've compared this whole thing to, you chose udon, Tomoko-chan?"

"Hey, the noodles kinda clump up on your chopsticks and if you're not careful, the soup can get everywhere!" The civilian crossed her arms to pout before blinking. "A-And, sometimes, the udon can get so tangled up to where you don't know where to poke it to start eating."

Huh. Rin never thought about it that way, but Tomoko had a point. Along with the analogy.

The civilian then sighed, slumping in on herself as she leaned against a nearby pillar. "…Still, I think I have an idea that can untangle this…this 'udon,' but it sounds really personal for the both of us."

At least you have something.

Rin tried to smile outwardly, keeping her insecurity to herself. "J-Just say it, Tomoko-chan. One idea is better than having none."

Tomoko raised her head to give her a questioning glance before exhaling. "O…Okay. Just, um, don't be angry or something when I say it, alright?"

"Wh-why would I be angry?" Rin found herself laughing a bit again from the shock, the weight on her heart lessening significantly. "Tomoko-chan, this conversation is supposed to help us. I don't think I could ever get angry now."

The civilian's eyes widened before she hung her head, and then nodded to herself. "... Okay, okay. Well…" Tomoko then fiddled with her Wayfinder necklace again. "The important thing to consider here is that we shouldn't try pressuring Kakashi into making a choice too early or something. What I was thinking was…um," she gulped. "This sounds so awkward," was the quiet mumble before Tomoko went about shaking her head again. "But we could actually go about telling Kakashi in our own ways. N-Not fully telling him outright if it's too uncomfortable, but really spending time with him and figuring out this whole thing on our own terms so that when the choice happens, we both can leave this situation behind without too many regrets. Because the whole thing here is that he's the one making the choice, not us." Tomoko took in another deep breath, trying not to fidget. "And no matter what we do, someone will get hurt eventually. What we can do is at least mitigate said hurt before it gets to be too much."

"…So, wait, Tomoko-chan?" Rin tried not to shiver at the thought and instead took a step forward so that the civilian could look at her. "Are you saying to try taking from this conversation and thinking on our own?"

Tomoko nodded. "I don't want to force either of us into confessing to him in a time-limit or something. Or just attempting to stop the other from saying something. Because I'm not going to stop you from what you might want to do, Rin-chan," she shook her head, gripping her Wayfinder a bit tighter. "Kakashi may be the one making the final verdict, but that doesn't mean we aren't affected either. So…" the girl flailed a little with her hands. "It's alright if we need time to ourselves. Taking care of others is great and all, but your own well-being and heart is important too!"

Rin blinked.

Is…is she serious?

A long, shaky sigh left her as Rin let her hands drop to her sides. "O-Oh…"

Tomoko proceeded to tap the floor tiles with her sandal, breathing shakily. With her gaze on the floor, Rin could tell the civilian was nervous. "Is…is that okay, Rin-chan?"

"Y-Yeah…" The weight on her heart was finally leaving her with another sigh, and Rin could've sworn said heart was almost floating in her chest. "Yeah…"

Everything is starting to look a little better now…

Tomoko looked up at her again, a steadier smile on her face this time. "Th-Then, Rin-chan?"

"Yes?" Rin breathed.

Tomoko inclined her head, fingers waving in the air. "C-Could I hug you? All that tension and stuff kind of…um…" she then gestured to her feet, and Rin looked down only to nearly take a step back from the sight of Tomoko's knees shaking. Whoa. "Yeah," Tomoko concluded duly.

Rin found herself smiling. "Of course you can…"

And Tomoko took one step forward before falling towards Rin's shoulder, and the medic took most of her strength to heft the civilian up in a supporting hug. The faint scent of rosemary tickled her nose, but Rin didn't care and focused on holding Tomoko up, even if it meant the two of them slumping to their knees on the hospital tiling.

"Thank you, Rin-chan," the medic could faintly make out past Tomoko's black hair as shaky hands reached up to touch her back. "Thank you…"

"No, Tomoko-chan," Rin shook her head while tightening the hug. "Thank you."

They had a lot of time to consider everything now.


Kakashi wasn't sure how long he was sitting in the hospital waiting room. With Obito's departure and Tomoko leaving with Rin, the Jounin tried to busy himself with deep breathing exercises for the first few minutes.

Then it turned to browsing the various books and magazines lying around the area. The colorful covers and page spreads were nice and all, but they didn't really compare to a good novel. Another reminder to visit the library and/or the bookstore once everything was settled.

But once the clock ticked thirty minutes since he had seen any familiar faces, Kakashi went about lightly pacing.

Both to ease his mind and to ignore the tingling in his left eye.

Before the Kannabi mission, the Sharingan was something Kakashi only heard about from other Uchiha and Obito himself.

Not something that he ever fathomed having on his own. Even if it was Obito's eye.

The Sharingan was powerful, sure, but the amount of chakra it sapped in mere moments from one use in battle was telling enough. Despite its immense help in dispatching so many enemy shinobi before Minato-sensei arrived. Hell, Kakashi still didn't feel all that confident in removing his hitai-ite for the impending medical examination, but at least he could cover it up and conserve his chakra that way in the meantime.

At this point, Kakashi was inclined to believe that maybe only the Uchiha were prepared to handle the immense power, because the amount of residual soreness and exhaustion going through him was nothing to laugh at.

Kakashi was still surprised he could walk around and catch Tomoko during one of her infamous tackle-hugs after all that.

But Tomoko. It had only been a month and a half, and yet almost everything on his mind went away as soon as she originally came into view. Smiling and running towards him with tears in her eyes.

It was almost like he could forget everything that had ever happened as soon as she showed up.

Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub, his heart beat in agreement.

Kakashi came to a stop in front of his original chair to lightly tug at the silver-black Wayfinder pinned to his shirt.

There was no denying it now.

I…

And, ironically when thinking of the so-called 'devil'…

"Kakashi?"

He looked up at the sound of his name, only to be taken aback at the sight of the civilian girl leaning against Rin in a tired slump, waving in his direction. "Tomoko?" It took everything he had to not run over, especially when considering his own injuries, but he still found himself pacing to her side nonetheless. "Tomoko, Rin, what happened?"

"Long talk, too long to fully explain…" Rin giggled nervously, scratching her cheek. Kakashi didn't miss the slow movements his medic friend had to her actions either. "But everything's okay, Kakashi."

Yeah, no.

Even with his teammate pitching in, Kakashi still found himself glancing towards Tomoko. The civilian blinked, noticing his stare before waving again, a bit more lethargically. "Just out of it~" Tomoko proceeded to hum before slowly letting go of Rin's shoulders to stand on her own. The swaying AND thumbs-up did nothing to help her case. "Doing great…!"

"…Huh," he deadpanned, already shaking his head before reaching over to poke what was exposed of the girl's forehead between her bangs. As expected, Tomoko got pushed back from the poke, wincing.

"K-Kakashi…!" Yep. Tomoko was pouting now. And more awake.

He found himself snorting before poking the girl's forehead again, a bit harder this time.

"Waaaah! Quit it!" The civilian continued in the same protesting squeak, flailing to push his hand away.

He considered. Then…

POKE.

"KAKASHI!"

Rin burst out laughing long before he could say anything.


Minato could only stare after his other two students with what he could barely describe as nostalgia and weary happiness flooding him all at once.

Even in a hospital, they still seemed to be young and bright, doing something or another.

"Kakashi, what is it with you and my head?! Could you—"

Poke.

"Stop—"

Poke poke.

"Doing that?!"

Flick.

"Hehe."

"KAKASHI!"

Even with one eye, the new Jounin of Team Minato looked happy while childishly avoiding Tomoko's grabby hands. Years of bonding time with the boy allowed Minato to know that Kakashi was smiling, and...

"K-Kakashi…"

Rin. She had yet to check in with Ayukawa, but she at least looked so much brighter than how he found her and her team when coming back from the front lines.

And…

"…Sensei?" His last, usually cheery student said quietly, blinking from his position looking past Minato's elbow. "What… what are they doing?"

Hm. Minato hid a snort of his own while stepping out into the spotlight with Obito in tow.

"Having fun, Obito. We should be joining them too."

This was how it should've been. And how it should always be.


Author's Notes: So, I know what a lot of you are thinking. "Why did this update take so long?", or "What happened to the whole Kakashi-Tomoko talk that pre-Kannabi was building up to?"

First answer: Emotion. Sure, Chapter 44 may have ended on a happy note, but things still happened that made Kannabi bittersweet. Obito lost his arm, Kakashi still got a Sharingan, and Rin has to deal with all the emotions that comes with coming back. When writing this chapter, I wanted to convey that unsteady feeling of adjusting to life back home from a long trip in general, only adding in ninja stuff and hints for future plot threads.

Second answer: the talk WILL happen. I haven't forgotten it - just needed to handle some of the other plot threads that were tied to this specific bombshell before letting it hit you.

Recovery can be a long process for anyone. And for 13-year old ninja who have just come home after nearly risking their lives, things can happen. Even with a civilian girl to help them adjust to home life again.

Nonetheless, a warm thank you (with lots of hugs) to everyone who reviewed Chapter 44, shout outs especially being lunamoon531, Deathnotehyperness, NeoFireKitten, dragonnarus, I'veLostMyPride, and littlewave500. Your reviews really made my work on Kannabi worthwhile. :)

As of September 11, 2017 (of this chapter's publishing), CP has 897 reviews, 1,258 favorites, 1,498 followers, and 344,624 hits! It's thanks to everyone who has read and supported me that I came this far.

This is Writer-and-Artist27 signing out to sleep and brainstorm Chapter 46 and onwards.