The Girl Who Wasn't Rin

Chapter 2

Who are you people?

Summary: In which Not-Rin discovers Rin had a life, and that includes interacting with other people. Sure she expected Kakashi, but who are all these other people? And do they matter?

So far Not-Rin didn't need to sleep, or eat really. Kushina ended up cooking for them and Not-Rin ate because it tasted good if muted, and going through the motions of eating made Not-Rin feel good. Eating made Not-Rin happy, so damn it, she would eat. Also, Kushina was a great cook. Minato popped back in while they were eating and he joined them, watching Not-Rin carefully as Kushina happily mothered her.

When it was time for bed Jiraiya was outvoted that Not-Rin got his bed, with Kushina saying Not-Rin was a lady and had just gotten home after being declared dead. Of course Not-Rin deserved the bed more. Minato had sided with Kushina, and Jiraiya complained that it was his room and he should get the bed, not be forced into a vote over it.

Not-Rin felt only slightly bad as she meditated on the bed, arms crossed across her chest and drumming on the cloth filling the hole in her chest. She felt less bad as Jiraiya snored from the makeshift bed on the floor under the window. He had gone out like a light as soon as he had laid down, so Not-Rin's sympathy for him dried up fast.

As she laid there, Not-Rin wondered further about her body's limits. Did she have blood flowing? Her chest hole wasn't oozing blood, and she didn't have a heart to pump her circulatory system. Her skin had regrown when Isobu had exuded his chakra when Minato scared them. She couldn't sleep, only exist in her mind meditating. She didn't need to eat, although she did so anyway because she wanted to (Where did it go? What happened to it? Did Not-Rin have to go zombie-number-two? Many pressing questions, Not-Rin thought of). Most sensations were ghosts of what they had been when Not-Rin had been alive. Kushina's food had been delicious but muted, the feeling of brushes strokes across her skin had tingled and were satisfying if she focused on them, but didn't tickle like they would have on a living body.

Did Not-Rin need to breathe?

Not-Rin held her breath. And then kept holding it. Isobu stopped meditating to see what she was focusing so hard on.

'Okay, I don't need to breathe.' Not-Rin noted, 'But it's weird to not go through the motions of breathing.'

"Fascinating." Isobu remarked, "So your body exerts energy to breathe despite not needing to?"

'I think my mind just freaks out that I haven't gone through the motions of breathing after awhile more so than my body itself goes through the motions.' Not-Rin thought for a moment, 'Humans do a lot of things on auto-pilot."

"A-to pai-o-to?" Isobu attempted.

'Auto-pilot. It means humans don't need to do some things manually, breathing as an example. We don't need to think about breathing, our bodies just do it, or our brains just do it.'

Isobu hummed, "Interesting."

'Does your body not work that way?' Not-Rin inquired.

"There are autonomous parts of me, but I am a construct of pure chakra. I can control every part of my being. When taking a physical form in the world I must take natural attributes to myself, but otherwise I am in command."

Not-Rin was absolutely fascinated, 'What! How does that work? How does that feel? Does that mean you can rearrange your cells? Your molecular structure?'

"Not entirely-" Isobu began a lengthy explanation.

And the two spoke all night long. Not-Rin's mind was focused on her conversation and her body breathed peacefully and evenly through the night. Jiraiya listened at some points, having been noting any changes in Not-Rin. Any spike in chakra had Jiraiya's eyes opening, any sound or change in breath had Jiraiya listening, and any movement from the bed had Jiraiya tensing, waiting to see what would happen next.

But Not-Rin didn't notice Jiraiya was a faker. She was too enraptured in her conversation with Isobu to think anything of Jiraiya when his snoring faded into nothing for the rest of the night.

.

Not-Rin had a vague recollection that Rin was an orphan, so she wasn't surprised that when Hiruzen cleared her to go out the next afternoon, Not-Rin didn't have a family to go home to. Rin's memories floated about like bubbles that Isobu occasionally reached out towards to peer into, yet Not-Rin found them slippery and elusive. Sure, if something sparked her memory then it would be there, somewhat obtrusively, but otherwise, Isobu knew more about Rin than Not-Rin.

Isobu was also the one to point out they had a shadow guard, in the form of a full hidden ANBU squad.

'Protection for me, or for others?' Not-Rin wondered, a smile at her lips as she leisurely paced through the streets of Konoha. It was a lovely place with interesting architecture. Some areas were distinctly more traditional Japanese, and other places slightly more modern. Most buildings seemed to be made up of woods and stones, along with there being some sort of plasters and cements. There were traditional Japanese compound-type housing further away from the streets that Not-Rin walked along, and she was rather interested in seeing one up close at some point.

Not-Rin's exploring was cut short though, as someone gasped, "Rin-chan?"

Staring, or rather, squinting rather intently at Not-Rin was an older woman with dark hair that was graying far out from the roots now. She had a sharp yet motherly face, with crows feet that indicated she smiled frequently.

Isobu dutifully pulled up an associated memory, "It appears that she interacted with Rin frequently as a shopkeeper."

Uchiha Tomoe, Rin's memory quickly revealed, seemed to be a baker on the edges of the Uchiha district. She spent time peddling her treats both inside and outside the compound. Rin had frequently bought treats from her that, after Isobu further investigating some memories, seemed to usually go towards Obito. Not-Rin wondered what Rin did after Obito's death, but had to react soon so that it wouldn't be awkward.

'Isobu, keep googling!' Not-Rin requested, which received a confused "Guguruin?" in response. Not-Rin greeted the elder, "Good morning, Tomoe-san!"

"Rin-chan, it is you!" Tomoe gasped, coming closer to inspect Not-Rin. The elder pat her cheek and pulled her face down to look into Not-Rins personal space. Not-Rin got a close up look of black eyes that appeared a little cloudy and unfocused. Not-Rin wondered if the woman had forgotten her glasses, because she seemed to need them as she squinted at Not-Rin even up close.

"After Obito's disappearance, Rin bought treats from her and brought them to the hospital with her for her patients." Isobu informed Not-Rin, "It appears that Rin's most frequent interactions with her were with Obito."

'Gotcha.'

Having apparently inspected Not-Rin enough, Tomoe suddenly let go of Not-Rin's face to pull her in for a motherly hug. Not-Rin's arms weren't really sure where to go, and Tomoe sighed, "Rin-chan, it's so good to have you back. After Obito... and then you..."

"I couldn't come back until now." Not-Rin said awkwardly, "I'm sorry that I worried you."

Tomoe wiped at her eyes, and squinted more at Not-Rin. Then she nodded, "Yes well... come with me. You look like you need some sweets."

"I definitely do." Not-Rin agreed, and Isobu sighed, "Your body does not need to eat, so why do you insist?"

'It tastes good, and do you realize that Tomoe probably makes banging homemade sweets!'

Isobu frowned, "You described Kushina's food as 'Delicious but muted'. Is that a result of Rin's body dying?"

'Probably.' Not-Rin internally shrugged at Isobu.

Not-Rin kept pace behind Tomoe, glad that Tomoe was walking like a woman on a mission. People got out of her way and Tomoe didn't even bother signing Not-Rin into the Uchiha district once they passed the exterior shops. The on-duty gate guards had began to harass them about signing in, but when Not-Rin looked at them, the guards appeared shocked. The older, grumpier looking one with a crutch had even dropped his jaw when he saw her.

Tomoe cackled lightly when they were out of hearing range, "Those stuffy benched guards looked like a ghost walked past."

Not-Rin supposed that, in a technicality, a ghost did walk past them. Isobu sighed as Not-Rin considered that as a valid joke.

Tomoe lived close enough to the shopping district, and let Not-Rin in behind her. Tomoe slipped her sandals off easily, and Not-Rin struggled for a moment. She almost tripped and Tomoe smiled fondly. The kitchen smelled wonderful and the warmth of an oven hit Not-Rins skin as she took a seat at the table counter when Tomoe gestured. Tomoe dropped the basket she had been carrying on her kitchen counter and opened the oven. The smell of fresh sweet bread smacked Not-Rin in the nose.

"That smells wonderful!" Not-Rin gushed.

"Your sense of smell seems to have not been affected by death."

'I think it got better, like a lot better, to be honest.'

"I expect you to eat as many as you need to get your weight and color back, young lady." Tomoe fussed in return as she put a large pair of spectacles on her nose, "My, look at you! The shinobi at the gate certainly saw a ghost!"

Not-Rin cracked a giggle at that, and Isobu sighed again because he didn't find it nearly as funny as Not-Rin.

.

Tomoe had been a pleasant encounter, Not-Rin thought as she meandered back out of the Uchiha complex. Her tummy was full of excellent sweets and she had a dull but pleasant warmth in her body that put a perk in her step. Returning to her exploring, Not-Rin made her way towards the Hokage monument that loomed ominously over the village. Three heads adorned the mountain, which Not-Rin gazed at. It was really a magnificent feature, expertly carved and there was a great likeness between the real Third Hokage and his over-sized rock look-alike.

"A rather good idea." Isobu rumbled, and when Not-Rin prompted him to explain, he added, "With a large, overbearing monument of your military dictator staring down, would a human like you as easily consider treason?"

Not-Rin considered that, 'They're just stone heads.'

"But they compliment the feeling of being watched quite well."

Not everyone had shadow guards though, Not-Rin thought as she felt a prickle that chilled her skin. She was aware of her observers, tailing her, although they had backed off to a further distance when she had entered the Uchiha compound.

Not-Rin conceded, 'You have a point, it does feel like Big Brother is always watching.'

Isobu didn't get the reference, but understood the point of it. He questioned, "You noticed they backed off inside that district, as well then. Why, is the question."

'At this point in Canon I suppose,' Not-Rin considered as she continued towards the monument, 'There is unrest and uncertainty due to the war. The Uchiha were always mistrusted, but perhaps the war heightened the rumblings of fear and judgement.'

"This begs the question then, what will you do? Your memories hold an event, a massacre, of these dark haired humans. Last night you decided that you would change the future to your own whims, starting with something as petty as wanting that woman to make 'pretty red-haired babies'. You hold foreknowledge which grants you more capabilities than anyone else, yet, have told powerful figures of this. I am strong, but your body, while trained, is weaker, and your mind is disconnected. Thus, the question also becomes, what can you do?"

'You're very negative Isobu.' Not-Rin hummed. She found the steps to the monument and began her ascent. Rin's body was trained, and dead, and Not-Rin felt no exhaustion as she climbed the steps. In her past life, Not-Rin would have felt tired after hardly beginning to ascend the tall stone staircase, 'You haven't had the time to go through all my memories, nor all of Rin's memories. And with this new seal upgrade, you need my help and will to access at least my memories. So while you have seen a massacre, you don't know the underlying connections that massacre comes from and creates.'

Isobu sounded pleased, "You would let all these humans die, to keep the future you saw as preserved as possible for your own benefit."

'Not necessarily. I have no connection to them, but Rin held a connection to Tomoe, and who knows who else. The massacre is likely directly influenced by an event that has yet to take place, that is, Kushina and Minato's death, and the sealing of Kurama into their infant son, after he rampages through the village.' Not-Rin smiled, 'Of course, I am confident I can change that. Rin, indeed, is weak. But her death was a point of a downward spiral for our... main villain who held an emotional attachment to her.'

"You may fail, if you rely on something as petty as human emotion."

Not-Rin reached the top of the monument, and she leaned out on a rail to stare over Konoha. In the sunlight the rooftops, despite being painted opaque, glittered as the light reflected off the shinobi gear as they traveled across the rooftops.

'Emotion isn't human, Isobu.' Not-Rin delivered her words seriously, 'I'm not.'

"Poor taste in humor, and bad timing." Isobu snorted.

Not-Rin grinned outwardly, 'I'm dead serious.'

Isobu did give a chuckle at that one, and then immediately hated himself for it.

'In seriousness,' Not-Rin added, closing her eyes as a breeze rustled her hair, 'You have a valid point. Rin died because she was weak. So I need to reconcile that. I'm confident that I can't be a medic like her anymore, I don't have the training, and I have you. So I will make an effort to become an unstoppable monster. But this does beg for an experiment.'

"Oh?" Isobu reacted to the tone Not-Rin used.

Not-Rin nodded slowly, 'If I am a zombie, can I die again? How far can we take this body?'

"A dangerous experiment."

'But a fun one.' Not-Rin's eyes glittered as she opened them, 'I intend to live fully the way I want to, in this death, Isobu. I hope you'll enjoy the ride.'

.

Not-Rin was relaxing on top of the monument. Isobu was rather grumpy, as Not-Rin had decided to end the conversation he had been enjoying because she wanted to in her words, 'chill and enjoy the moment'.

"I had been considering you to be a more intelligent creature, but clearly my initial judgement was closer." Isobu sniffed.

Isobu was salty, Not-Rin concluded. Isobu wanted to spend the day talking about the future, and gossiping (Isobu growled, "I do not gossip!") about what she knew, and how she was going to crush her enemies beneath her. Training was obviously important, and Not-Rin agreed with that, but it was only her first day in Konoha! She was in a legendary place seen only in anime and manga in her previous life. So for now, Not-Rin wanted to enjoy the view and breeze that felt faint against her skin.

And they did that for awhile.

That is, until Isobu suddenly jumped inside her mind, "An active chakra signature is incoming; heading directly for us, quickly. It's being repressed but is agitated."

Not-Rin blinked, 'Are we under attack already?' That didn't quite make sense. She had an ANBU shadow guard; if anything attacked them, then the ANBU would be there within a second.

Isobu tried to force his chakra through Not-Rin's system, but with a pout from Not-Rin and help from the newly upgraded seal, it got stopped at about her abdomen and peeled back into the waves of her own chakra where it belonged. Isobu grumbled, and snarked that she deserved whatever attack was about to happen. Not-Rin forgave him for being snippy, Isobu was probably still grumpy that she didn't want to extensively discuss how they were going to act in the future.

And then, a familiar person touched down in front of Not-Rin. She thought it was rather dramatic, how he used a shunshin and appeared perfectly in front of her, only a meter or so away, on the other side of the guardrail. There was a faint blue glow to his feet that attached him to the curve of the Hokage head he was standing on as he stared at Not-Rin. Even with the cloth mask covering his face, Not-Rin could see an outline of where his mouth was partially gaping. His dark eyes were perfectly rounded, and open in shock and disbelief.

"R-Rin...?" Hatake Kakashi questioned, and Not-Rin was confident that of everyone who was seeing her ghost recently, Kakashi was feeling it the most.

Not-Rin smiled, "Hi."

Kakashi reached a tentative hand forward, the gloved fingers coming close to her face. They stopped about an inch away, and then Kakashi retracted his hand, whispering, "Is it really you?"

"In the flesh." Not-Rin replied, "Things are a little... weird, but I'm here."

He looked like he couldn't believe it. But Not-Rin stood there, watching. Kakashi looked like he wanted to touch her, to make sure that she was genuinely there and not an illusion. But his hands twitched at his sides, and he fought them down each time they tried to drift upwards.

Not-Rin held out her hand, palm up for him. Gingerly, Kakashi brought his hand up to place his in her palm. His fingers gently closed around her wrist, and Not-Rin smiled. Kakashi closed his eyes. He inhaled deeply, the impression in his mask suggesting his mouth was parted still.

"It's definitely you." he said after a moment, "But... what happened to you? I... I killed you."

"You didn't kill me." Not-Rin replied cheerily, "I'm standing here, aren't I?"

"You smell like a corpse and dried blood." Kakashi whispered.

Not-Rin blinked, but kept the cheerful smile, "You sure know how to make a girl blush."

"Sorry." Kakashi did sound sorry, but his remorse was definitely for other things. Not-Rin hummed, "I could go for something to eat, what do you think, Kakashi?"

Kakashi nodded slowly but firmly.

.

Ichiraku Ramen was a newer ramen stand from the looks of things, or at the very least refurbished. The wood was freshly lacquered and the bowls not yet tarnished by overuse. The owner, Teuchi, looked to be younger than Jiraiya but older than Minato, and he was rather busy, skillfully cooking in view of the customers sitting at the booth. He also had a small helper, his daughter, who appeared to be just barely old enough to consider a toddler.

"Order for me, Kakashi." Not-Rin said as she perused the sign of flavors, "I can't decide."

Kakashi did as prompted despite the fact Not-Rin was the one who dragged him here, and the two sat calmly as Teuchi prepared their food. Over the noise of the cooking, and the muffled sounds from the street behind, Kakashi leaned over to ask, "Will you tell me what happened?"

Not-Rin grinned down at her hands, Kakashi sure had manned up rather quickly.

"He's had time to think and analyze. His chakra suggests he is a practiced shinobi." Isobu offered.

Well of course, he was Hatake Kakashi, after all. But he was a teenage Kakashi, and Not-Rin figured she could handle him emotionally. He would, without a doubt, mop the floor with her in a fight right now. But this wasn't a fight-it was an emotional battle.

Not-Rin observed her nails for a moment, to leave Kakashi in suspense, and then she quietly said, "Things have been hard. My body, and my mind, aren't... quite the same."

Kakashi sounded alarmed, as he asked, "What does that mean?"

"I probably can't be a medic anymore." Not-Rin admitted, trying to force a tone of sadness but she sounded more bitter than sad, "And my memories are... jumbled."

"But you remember me." Kakashi sounded relieved, "And sensei, and Kushina-san? And... Obito?"

"Of course." Not-Rin chirped, "My memories are all there, but they're a little lost sometimes. I have the gist of my life, but specifics come back randomly."

Their ramen was placed in front of them and the conversation stalled as Not-Rin took her first taste of a famous anime food. Slurping up the noodles, Not-Rin was glad that even if her taste was kind of dead, it was still there. Because ichiraku ramen was heavenly. It was rich in flavor, and the pork belly was so tender it melted. Her favorite part was the soft boiled egg that had been left to soak in the broth and had amassed a lot of flavor within. The broth of course was the special part, and Not-Rin wondered how Teuchi made such a rich flavor in a rather small ramen stand.

The bowl was large enough that Not-Rin was content with just one, while Kakashi ordered a second.

"That was delicious." Not-Rin sighed leaning back and trying not to fall off her stool and into a food coma.

Kakashi, adjusting his mask, eyed her from the corner of his eye, "It feels like I'm in a dream."

"Oh?" Not-Rin hummed.

He nodded, leaning an elbow on the counter to hold his chin in his hand as he observed her, "You... I killed you with my own hands, and held you as you died. But here we are, eating ramen, and you tell me that your mind and body are different."

"Instead of questioning my return," Not-Rin suggested to try and change the topic, sounding far more serious than she had so far, and far more somber, "Perhaps, you should welcome my presence, as you never know when I could die again."

"That won't happen." Kakashi stated, hand slamming onto the counter and making Not-Rin jump, "This time I'll protect you."

"Humans." Isobu grumbled, "So sappy and emotional."

'Would you not want to protect someone important to you, Isobu?'

"My siblings are I are not close, and I do not want to see them suffer endlessly, however I have never felt the need to protect something other than my own being."

Not-Rin supposed that the tailed beasts were powerful enough that they didn't really need someone to protect them.

"Indeed." Isobu sounded smug.

Of course, Not-Rin also supposed, all nine of them were currently trapped in a cycle of being sealed away into unwilling human prisons, so Not-Rin figured there was some leeway. Isobu went back to grumbling at Not-Rin's point.

Not-Rin, pretending she hadn't briefly spaced out after Kakashi's statement, smiled, "Thank you Kakashi, and I'm sure you'll do your best."

"I promised Obito. And..." Kakashi looked away, "I mourned for you once. I don't want to again."

"Understandable." Not-Rin put a hand on his arm, and Kakashi let her. She pulled back when Kakashi's ramen arrived, and Kakashi let her steal the egg with her somewhat unsteady chopsticks. When the egg split in half, and Not-Rin let out a gasp as half fell back into the bowl, Kakashi's eyes crinkled in what appeared to be a smile.

.

Not-Rin found herself followed by Kakashi for the rest of the day until the late afternoon when Kushina, bright red hair streaming in the wind as she hurried towards Not-Rin, suddenly kidnapped her.

"Sorry Kashi-chan!" Kushina gleefully shouted as she chucked Not-Rin like a sack over her shoulder, "Rin-chan needs to see some other people!"

Kakashi gave a retort, but it was lost in the wind as Kushina carried her for about a block despite the strange looks they got from the civilians. Then she dropped Not-Rin, and said, "I'm not supposed to be doing a lot of physical work, doctors orders dattebane."

"I think you just wanted to see Kakashi's reaction." Not-Rin accused lightly.

Kushina grinned, "Maybe. Now, we have a long list of people to go see, but luckily, most of them are in the same place."

.

First and most important on the list was the Hokage, who stood with his arms behind his back in a hospital room as he peered outside a window. Of course, getting into the hospital had been a little awkward for Not-Rin. Rin had been a medic, so most of the nurses and medics had known her.

They all paled when they laid eyes upon Not-Rin, because she was a walking ghost for them.

Not-Rin... felt bad. She smiled at all of them, and those who managed to escape their shell shock were able to get brief greetings in as Kushina walked down the hallway like she had business.

That business, rather seriously, was the Hokage. The Hokage of course looked and was important, but he had decided not to wear his fancy hat into the hospital, but he did have his robes properly and neatly worn. Standing with him was one ANBU guard with some kind of rodent mask if Not-Rin had to guess what it was, as well as a woman in a doctor's coat, and a man with skin slightly whiter than Not-Rin's ghastly zombie complexion.

Golden, almost reptilian, eyes regarded Not-Rin critically, "She does appear to have an unhealthy appearance to her. But sensei, really, undead?"

Hiruzen ignored his student, and gestured towards Not-Rin, "Rin-chan, if you would remove your shirt."

Not-Rin unbuttoned her borrowed shirt and tugged it open, revealing the gaping hole that hadn't changed a bit since the night before. Kushina made a noise that sounded strangled, while the already pale doctor's jaw nearly unhinged in her shock. The white man, who Not-Rin was confident was Orochimaru, only raised an eyebrow, and remarked, "I understand the undead hypothesis, now."

Orochimaru's presence was a little worrisome, Not-Rin decided.

Isobu did the mental equivalent of raising an eyebrow, and Not-Rin deemed him worthy an explanation, 'In Canon, Orochimaru kidnaps and experiments on children, and generally ruins lives. He searches for immortality and power. Rin, while we are a prime target as an orphan teen, is a bit old for his usual targets, and is rather high profile with the attention of the Hokage, Kushina, Jiraiya, and Minato on her.'

Of course, this Orochimaru looked nothing like the Orochimaru that she recalled from Canon. He seemed rather normal, if awkward looking. His long black hair was tied back, and he wore lab clothes and gloves that suggested he had been dragged away from his work to come here. A pair of spectacles rested in his coats breast pocket, which was rather laughable if the great Orochimaru required glasses to read or see.

The doctor finally managed to reclaim her jaw, "Impossible!"

"Clearly not." Not-Rin chirped back.

The doctor looked like Orochimaru if she was a boring, normal lady. She also had long dark hair that had been swept up into a thick bun, but had normal dark eyes and normal pale skin, along with what Isobu described as a normal chakra capacity.

"This Orochimaru is a formidable human." Isobu rumbled after a few moments, "A great chakra pool, with what appears to be decent control for a human and a strange mixture of natural chakra."

Not-Rin figured, if they were going to have problems, then there were two obvious options. There was the Orochimaru problem, who Not-Rin hadn't realized... was still in the village.

The other problem, of course, was the one she had been betting would be finding a way to bite her in a more political way. That being the Danzo problem.

But, to deal with Orochimaru. Who was now coming closer to inspect the hole in her chest while the doctor leaned back and started to mutter fanatically to herself as she scribbled in a notebook.

"Oh, that doctor appears in here." Isobu offhandedly said, batting a few memories to Not-Rin.

Yamamoto Yukako, a distant relative of the Shimura family whose branch had gone mostly civilian, except for Yukako who became a talented medic. She wasn't Tsunade, but she was the current best the hospital had, and she had been overseeing Rin's training before Rin had gone and died. Yukako had treated Rin to lunch quite a few times, and seemed to be on good terms with her. Not-Rin felt slightly guilty that this woman, who had a relationship with Rin, was someone that Not-Rin had no idea who she was.

"Tonight, go through Rin's memories to try and remedy your lapses in knowledge."

'You say that like they're little holes, not gaping abysses.'

Orochimaru put on his spectacles-which Not-Rin stifled a giggle at-and he inspected the gaping chasm in her chest. Yukako, who appeared to be recovering, questioned, "What, what does Rin-chan's chest cavity look like, Orochimaru-san?"

With half a grimace as he prodded a bit, which shifted things awkwardly and Not-Rin almost giggled from the feeling, "Rib-cage is a mess in its upper portions with the breastbone being shifted strangely. Lungs appear to be functioning normally from an initial view, shockingly, and nothing seems to have pierced them. The strike missed the spine barely from this angle, and there is evidence that something... cauterized the internal portions."

Yukako stepped forward somewhat shakily, and offered over her tools. Orochimaru listened to Not-Rin breathe, checked her throat, checked her for fever, and then tried to take her pulse. Orochimaru shook his head, "I wouldn't call this a pulse."

Taking hold of Not-Rin's arm and neck, Yukako frowned, "I will use my diagnostic jutsu to take a closer look."

Closing her eyes, Yukako ran through a short few hand signs before placing her hands over Not-Rin as they began to glow a pale aqua color. Yukako narrated, "Lungs are at 93%, with slight damage from impact site. No medical attention needed currently. Blood flow is unnatural and following chakra pathways with all veins, arteries and capillaries in support. There is no heart in this body, and chakra appears to be coming from two points, the head and the lower abdomen. We may need a Hyuga to map out her system further."

Yukako opened her eyes. She frowned down at Not-Rin, "Cauterization sealed off the chest cavity wound, and major arteries have been moved to accommodate the hole. Rin-chan's skin appears to be in a strange state that I hesitate to call rigor mortis. Muscles have not atrophied, and forgive me Rin-chan, but this diagnosis shares more similarities with a cruel autopsy than a medical exam."

Not-Rin grimaced, "That sounds about right."

Kushina spoke between her hands, which had been held to her mouth the entire time, "Rin-chan, do you have any idea what happened to your body?"

"Well," Not-Rin looked over to Hiruzen who nodded slightly, "I gather that I died. And something brought me back for some purpose."

"Impossible." Yukako and Orochimaru decided together, although Orochimaru looked thoughtful. He conceded, "Impossible at first glance. I'll need to further test Nohara-san to disprove any hypotheses."

"Do you have any hypotheses?" Not-Rin asked curiously.

Orochimaru regarded her with half a look, "There isn't enough data to form one yet." then he turned to the Hokage, "Sensei, may I work with Nohara-san further? Yamamoto-sensei also had an excellent idea on consulting a Hyuga."

Hiruzen breathed as if he wanted to exhale from his pipe, which he logically didn't bring into a hospital, and he shifted to look at Not-Rin, "Due to Rin-chan's special circumstances, her chakra system is volatile and should not be tampered with. Yukako-sensei, would you be interested in attempting a mystical palm technique on Rin-chan?"

"Sealing the hole would be an idea." Not-Rin remarked, although she didn't care either way.

Yukako reached forward and the chakra this time was a deeper green. Not-Rin thought it felt different from when Rin's memory had led her through her own jutsu to check on her heart when she woke up. Not-Rin's jutsu felt familiar, and it was like taking a peek into her body with her own eyes. Yukako's chakra felt foreign, itchy, and uncomfortable. Almost like a chill was working its way into Not-Rin's chest hole.

The chakra disappeared and Yukako shook her head, "The mystic palm doesn't work well once death has had time to affect a body."

Kushina frowned, "But Rin-chan isn't dead!"

"For all intent and purposes right now," Yukako said somberly, "Rin-chan's body is a walking corpse."

.

The silence in the room was a little uncalled for, in Not-Rin's opinion.

"That's not news." Not-Rin said, "We suspected it."

"It's difficult to comprehend." Hiruzen replied evenly.

Orochimaru, who had looked grumpy when the Hokage said no Hyuga, looked up, "Would we be able to conduct an autopsy, then?"

Yukako and Kushina were nearly in sync, both yelping, "Absolutely not!" The pair looked at each other, and Kushina frowned, then balled her hands into a fist, "Absolutely not, dattebane. Rin-chan is alive."

Not-Rin was of two minds. First of all, an autopsy was probably not the worst idea. And it could help her figure out her body's limits. On the other hand, they had no idea what her body's limits were, and Orochimaru was definitely far too interested in performing an autopsy on her.

Removing his glasses, Orochimaru turned to glance at Kushina, "Then, instead of an autopsy, a similar surgery perhaps. A visual look at Nohara's... internal situation would help us understand."

"I don't know my limits." Not-Rin spoke up and everyone turned their gazes to her, "I don't have a heart, my body is mostly dead, but clearly I am alive in some way. I am... interested in testing how far my body can go."

Orochimaru's face lit up, and Not-Rin amended, "That being said, I don't want to die again from experimenting with my body."

"That would be unfortunate." Isobu agreed, "A boring way to end this."

Hiruzen cleared his throat, "I am willing to allow controlled, minor examinations. However, Rin-chan is in a precarious situation so we will have to consider these options at a later date when Rin-chan is settled in further."

The, meeting? Appointment? Whatever that had been, ended promptly after that with Orochimaru looking grumpy that he didn't get a fun new thing to experiment on, and Yukako hurried out behind him.

Kushina looked at Hiruzen with wide eyes, "Hokage-sama... will Rin-chan be okay?"

Hiruzen really wanted his pipe now, Not-Rin could absolutely tell. He closed his eyes, "I can't answer that question, Kushina."

.

Kushina and Not-Rin walked slowly from the hospital. Not-Rin figured that Kushina was still processing the meeting, since she had been hit with the news that Not-Rin was a Jinchuuriki the previous night, and now she had the new news that Not-Rin was also a zombie. Not-Rin was sure that was an interesting way to discover that news, anyhow.

They ended up in what Not-Rin assumed was Kushina's home. It was a quaint little house, settled in the shinobi district rather close to the Hokage's tower. Not-Rin, who was getting used to slipping her shoes on and off now, managed to not trip following Kushina into the house. As soon as a seat was available, Kushina sank into the nearest one. Hugging a throw pillow that had been on the couch, Kushina patted next to her.

"Oh Rin-chan." Kushina whispered as Not-Rin sat beside her. Kushina put an arm around her, "Things will be okay. I can help you with your tailed beast, and I don't know much about... being undead, but..."

"I'm not worried, Kushina-san." Not-Rin said with a smile to try and assure the older woman, "I trust that you'll be a wonderful teacher. Are you still willing to show me Fuinjutsu?"

Kushina nodded, resting her head in Not-Rin's hair, "Of course. Minato was getting his mastery from teaching Kakashi-kun, so I'm glad you took an interest."

"Mastery?" Not-Rin questioned, tilting her head. Isobu was also listening quietly, somewhat interested in the subject.

"Fuinjutsu is an art that almost requires a master-student relationship because of its volatile, unpredictable nature, and the lack of concrete information written on it. If you've heard the term Fuinjutsu master, then that is someone who has successfully taught a student in Fuinjutsu." Kushina explained, almost dreamily, "That being said, learning Fuinjutsu is a tedious, expensive, and time-consuming task."

Kushina held out her hands, and traced various scars in different shapes and sizes up her arm, "Explosive tags are found everywhere, yet they are the number one reason there are very few Fuinjutsu users."

Not-Rin blinked, "Because if you mess up it explodes?"

Nodding grimly, Kushina remarked, "Death is the best outcome, other than success. Losing limbs or vision is a dangerous possibility, but that is also a likely outcome in other seals. A storage seal could rip an arm off, or a barrier severs through your friends torso when you miscalculate. Fuinjutsu is dangerous, Rin-chan."

She turned to look at Not-Rin with her eyes looking like storm clouds, "Are you sure you want to learn?"

"Yes." Not-Rin said firmly. Although she perhaps now didn't curse Rin as much for not taking Minato up on learning it when she had been alive. Not-Rin had a little less to worry about, what with already being dead. What would happen if she blew an arm off? Could they reattach it?

Isobu snorted, "If you blow yourself up, I will laugh."

'If I die again, won't you die with me until you reform?'

"A few years to reform is a blink of an eye to me, not to mention I would be free. Do feel free to blow yourself up, I will mourn your amusement for a few moments."

'Aw, you care.' Not-Rin internally snickered.

Kushina seemed to have pulled herself together now and she stood up firmly. She rustled through an ink stained cabinet and then threw several scrolls at Not-Rin, and more gently put down a wooden inkwell and some ink brushes.

Isobu sounded gleeful, "Calligraphy."

"We'll start you right now with the basics; calligraphy. You will need to know the ins and outs of every, single, stroke, in every kanji, symbol, or character that you want to use. I expect you to-" Kushina continued to lecture, and Not-Rin looked in horror at the amount of scrolls in that cabinet. Holy hell, was that entirely calligraphy?

In the ocean in her mind, Isobu had found himself an island that made for a calligraphy table that his conjured brush, held between his awful digits, was sized for. He seemed to be enjoying it far more than Not-Rin.

"I enjoy calligraphy." Isobu reminded her.

Not-Rin frowned.

Not-Rin was rather confident that she was Not going to enjoy calligraphy.

AN:

Not-Rin was supposed to meet more people in this chapter, but it got Long. Please don't come for me on the medical stuff, I am Bad at science. I decided the story should mostly be Not-Rin's perspective, so I cut the part where Kakashi discovered Rin was 'alive'. Maybe I'll do that for an interlude later? This chapter ended up more serious than I wanted and I entirely blame Medical Stuff.

Thank you so much to those who reviewed! (:

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