Two years had passed since Rinn's parents had mysteriously vanished that night, and now at the tender age of 7 she was still living with the Uchihas. This worked out rather well for both children; with Itachi becoming older, Sasuke always had company with Rinn around and she was grateful for any friendship or family figures now that she found herself so alone in the world.
The Uchihas treated her well, and Mikoto found it very amusing watching her youngest son following Rinn around like a little puppy dog. She scolded herself for indulging in her little fantasies about the two youngsters tying the knot one day, but she could tell Sasuke definitely had a soft spot for the feisty little girl, and it didn't do any harm to entertain such notions when nobody was around!
Rinn was growing up to be a beautiful young lady; with her flowing coppery-red hair, pale skin, emerald eyes and heart-shaped face, she would surely mature into a stunning woman one day. However, one shouldn't be fooled by looks, for Rinn had one hell of an attitude and was very self-assured even at her young age. Mikoto couldn't help but think this was having a positive effect on Sasuke, who she feared was beginning to get lost in the shadows behind his brother, Itachi (from his father's point of view at least!). Since Rinn had become their permanent house-guest, Sasuke had really come out of his shell, and he and Rinn would forever be out exploring/training together which had relieved a great deal of pressure from Itachi.
Mikoto was not wrong in this deduction, however if only she realised what these mischievous children were really up to right now she might not be so enamoured with how Rinn was influencing, or rather corrupting her youngest son...
- Konohagakure Forest-
"Ouchhh are you trying to kill me or something Rinn?! You know I can't keep up with how quick you are!" Sasuke sniffed, gradually sitting up from the dirt floor clutching his shoulder.
"Sasuke that's the whole point of training! I told you before, all the ninja at the academy always have to try and kill each other when they spar. It won't be like real life otherwise, then if a bad guy comes along you won't know if you can actually kill them, right?" Rinn rambled in response.
She was sitting on a tree branch above where she had just kicked Sasuke in the shoulder. Hard. Sasuke got to his feet and shot her a glare from the ground below.
"Well how would you know anyway? All of the genin are the older kids and they don't talkto us! I bet you've made all that up just so you can get away with beating me up!" He retorted.
Rinn shot Sasuke back an even deadlier glare and jumped down from her tree to stand directly in front of him, all sass with her hands planted firmly on her hips. She leaned in towards him.
"I'll have you know I have lots of cool older friends Uchiha! And I can go and train with them any time I want if you're too much of a scaredy cat to actually try and hurt me!"
"But I don't wanna hurt you, you're my best friend!"
"Sasuke I've told you a million timesss..."
"But..."
"Come on Sasuke! Kick me!"
"But I..."
"Come on scaredy cat!"
"I'm not kicking a girl!"
"Chicken! *Makes chicken noises*"
"Rinnnnnn...!"
"How are you gonna beat your big brother if you can't even..."
*THWACK*
Rinn suddenly flew backwards into a tree. Sasuke had just kicked her in the stomach.
Well, she had tried to get him fired up and it had certainly worked wonders! She felt something drip and gingerly touched her forehead-a graze! She grinned as she dragged herself up from the floor, looking at Sasuke who smirked back at her.
Game on.
Rinn knew that her little remark would hit a nerve with Sasuke, but she hadn't bargained for quite how much she had actually hacked him off. He was relentless; kicks here, punches there-he even threw a few kunai into the mix! It was lucky that Rinn was a quick fighter otherwise she would have taken much more damage than she had done so far. She had never seen Sasuke fight this hard, and she had to admit she was quite impressed. All this time she had though he was so much weaker than her, yet he was hiding this strength and ability all that time just so he wouldn't hurt her. It was quite sweet really.
As the 'battle' gradually became more ferocious Rinn had to pull a few of her own tricks out of the bag. Already a skilled chakra user for her age, she could not only use it to heal but also to attack. However, Sasuke knew only too well what she was about to unveil and hurriedly performed the hand signs for his fireball jutsu, unleashing it on his unsuspecting friend from behind a nearby rock. Almost a little too unsuspecting...
"RINN!" Sasuke yelled, suddenly in a panic. Rin gasped as the fire engulfed her, Sasuke charging over to her as fast as his little legs could carry him. As the smoke cleared Rinn slowly came into view. Although unharmed, she was sprawled across the ground, panting heavily with a look of horror on her face-and with good reason!
Encasing her was a sphere, not dissimilar in colour to an exotic ocean, with hues of fresh turquoise and blue ferociously fighting one another as if it were a riptide. What on earth was it? Where had it come from? All these questions began to buzz around Sasuke's head as his eyes darted around looking for answers... or culprits. Rinn's eyes however were still glued to the beautiful orb surrounding her. It took a long while before one of the children managed to speak:
"Rinn are you alright? I'm really sorry I know I shouldn't have used that technique but I got carried away... whoever put that thing around you must've.."
"It was me..."
"...huh?"
"I did it. It came from me..."
"What..? You mean... you made that thing? That's so cool Rin! I wish I..." Sasuke trailed off as he heard his friend start to sob. He bent down next to her and reached out his hand to comfort her but..
"OUCH!" Sasuke cursed as his fingers were zapped by the strange aura surrounding little Rinn. Her head snapped round in horror as she reached out to him inside her bubble.
"NO! Sorry *sniff* I didn't mean to *sniff* do that *sniff* I don't know what's *sniff* happening to me!" she sobbed, finally succumbing to her emotions. Rinn began to cry uncontrollably, and Sasuke wanted nothing more than to push through whatever that weird barrier was and give her the biggest hug he could! It was torture just standing there watching the little girl cry and his heart sunk with guilt-he didn't know what on earth to do.
Thankfully the loss of control of her emotions seemed up upset the balance of the sphere and it quickly depleted. The instant that it vanished Rinn felt arms wrap around her crying figure, and she clung on to Sasuke and sobbed for a short while until she managed to calm herself down. As she gradually pulled away from the embrace Sasuke gently placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes.
"Are you alright Rinn?" He asked her tenderly, concern evident in the young boy's voice.
Rinn nodded gently in response, casting her eyes to the floor to avoid Sasuke's searching gaze.
She's Lying...
Sasuke sighed, and let go of her shoulders. He stood alongside her, taking her small hand in his.
"Let's go home and get some rest... We could play some games if you want? Or you could use my gameboy...?" Sasuke beamed a cheesy smile at her, hoping to cheer her up (He was normally very stingy with his gameboy so Rinn knew he was trying really hard to be nice!).
Rinn looked at her friend and mustered up the best smile that she could, given the circumstances.
"Thanks Sasuke... that's really nice and all but could we maybe just watch a film? I'm really tired..."
Now that he looked at her properly, Sasuke noticed his friend indeed looked absolutely exhausted - unwell even...
Sasuke quickly let go of Rinn's hand and walked in front of her, only to bend down.
"C'mon then-get on!" Sasuke chimed, still trying to cheer up his friend, "I'll piggyback you home, then we can get back quicker and you won't feel as bad?" He looked over his shoulder at the girl and flashed her another goofy grin... man he really was trying hard!
Rinn gingerly climbed on to Sasuke's back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso. He gently stood up then picked up a bit of a jog in the direction of his house; he could have gone much faster but he feared that in Rinn's fragile state she might not have the power to hold on if he sped up too much. Although when it comes to power, Rinn clearly has something interesting locked away somewhere he thought.
"Say Rinn?" Sasuke called out to his friend.
"Hmm?"
"That thing you made just now, how come you never showed me that before? You know all the justu I can do, why did you keep it a secret?"
He felt her grip on him tighten.
"I didn't know..." She mumbled.
"Huh?"
"I didn't know I could do it OK?!" she snapped, burying her head into Sasuke's shoulder. Rinn sighed. "I'm sorry Sasuke, I didn't mean to snap at you... I just... don't wanna talk about it..."
Sasuke placed one of his hands over Rinn's and patted it gently.
"OK Rinn – You got it!"
They continued the rest of the journey back to Sasuke's in a comfortable silence, soon arriving at the Uchiha compound and then Sasuke's house itself. It smelled like some tasty food was cooking, and as Sasuke gently placed Rinn back down onto the ground the children carelessly followed their noses into the kitchen where Mikoto was cooking, forgetting one important detail...
"WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED TO YOU TWO!" Mikoto yelled at the two children. "YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'VE BEEN IN A FIGHT! WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!"
A look of realisation dawned on Rinn and Sasuke's faces as they were being scolded by Sasuke's mother.
We didn't heal our wounds...
Normally Sasuke and Rinn were very sneaky little children, and as such, due to Rinn's keen aptitude for chakra control, she was usually able to heal most of their minor surface wounds so that Mikoto wouldn't even bat an eyelid. That's how they normally got away with fighting one another.
However, this time they had not only fought each other even harder than usual, but because of Rinn's little 'incident' they had completely forgotten to deal with the evidence.
And Mikoto was livid.
"SASUKE UCHIHA YOU HAD BETTER ANSWER ME OR SO HELP ME I WILL KNOCK ON EVERY DAMN DOOR IN THE..."
"Each other", Sasuke said.
Mikoto gaped at him, confused.
"We were fighting each other", he repeated, "For training..."
The two children looked at one other sheepishly, after which they averted their gaze to the floor guiltily, shuffling from foot to foot.
"Well of all the stupid things..." Mikoto began, glaring at her son. Then her eyes fell on Rinn. She had been looking after Rinn for a couple of years now, and she could tell when something was up. Her red puffy eyes, her body language, her quietness...
Something's happened. I wonder if her parents...
Mikoto's demeanour softened, and she gracefully kneeled down so that she was the same height as the children.
"Rinn dear, you look quite chilly there, why don't you go and take a nice hot bath sweetheart?" Mikoto gently instructed, brushing some hair out of the girl's face and smiling gently at her.
Rinn nodded in response.
"Off you go then sweetheart, there's fresh towels in the cupboard" Mikoto watched her as she made her way to the bathroom, turning her back slightly to Sasuke, who saw this as the perfect time to escape! He slowly started tiptoeing away when...
"And where do you think you're going young man?" Mikoto asked accusingly, grabbing his collar and firmly pulling him to face her.
"Spill!" She demanded.
Sasuke sighed awkwardly, shooting her a pleading look. Her stern face made him realise he couldn't weasel his way out of this one, and he ended up telling her everything; from the strange sphere Rinn produced to all the fighting they had been doing during the last few months, she dragged it all out of him!
After he has finished his confession, Sasuke grimaced as he awaited his mother's reaction, expecting some kind of horrendous punishment, but none came.
Instead, she was looking through him almost wistfully - her mind was clearly elsewhere.
"Umm... Mother...?" Sasuke pressed, desperate to run upstairs to his bedroom where he could hide forever...
"Hmm? Oh Sasuke dear would you go upstairs and see how Firinne is please? I expect she has finished in the bathroom. You two mustn't train so hard in future alright? There's plenty of time for that when you're older. when you'll have no choice but to fight..."
"What about Rinn? What about that... thing she made?"
"You mustn't tell anyone about that Sasuke. I will go and speak with the Hokage about this tomorrow... but for heaven's sake don't tell Firinne. I expect the poor girl is frightened enough already."
"But..."
"Off you go Sasuke! I'll call you when dinner is on the table."
Sasuke shot her a glare as she continued about the kitchen as if nothing had happened, after which he skulked upstairs to find his friend, who was sat on her bed staring off into space. He sat down next to her, giving her a gentle poke in the cheek.
"Y'know I thought we were done for when I saw mother's face..." He cautiously began, unsure of how best to break the silence.
To his surprise, the corners of her mouth twitched upwards, and she let out a snigger, which then turned into a laugh.
"BUSTED!" She laughed, whilst returning Sasukes poke (into the side of his face…).
"I know right? We will have to be even carefuller in future Rinn!"
"Sasuke that's not a word..."
Sasuke pouted.
"Give me your arm" Rinn instructed, giggling at his sulking. Sasuke looked at her, perplexed, but then noticed the green aura emanating from her fingertips. He surrendered his arm to her, and she began healing the wounds she was able to, also healing her own once she had finished with Sasuke's.
"Thank you..." Rin mumbled thoughtfully whilst tending to the last remaining cut on her knee, "Thank you for sorting me out earlier... I'm sorry we had to end our training so early..." she continued.
"That's OK Rinn! That's what friends are for silly" Sasuke replied, smiling gently. Rinn smiled back and leaned in to give him a big cuddle.
"Sasuke do you promise we can be best friends forever?" She asked, timidly.
"I promise." Sasuke said, content.
"KIIIIIIIIIIDS! DINNER'S READY!"