Chapter 47

It was mid summer.

I could never forget because of the heat, as if my calves were swelling with every move.

It was mid summer when Rin awoke with a bleeding heart, daring the pain to depart as she remembered the many times her mother would awaken her to the smell of food. It was always something new, and Rin had no way of knowing just how thankful she should have been until those normal meals were gone forever. When Anomie was nowhere to be seen, Rin was alone with her lonely thoughts.

The war continued without any signs of ending, and Rin missed everything that it took away from her. She missed just hanging out with her friends and talking about how exciting it was going to be when they became ninja. This was long before Asuma had taken up smoking, long before his mother had been murdered, long before the pressure of being the Hokage's son had taken him. This was long before Kurenai was forced to give every last dime she made on missions just to raise three brothers as if she were both their mother and father after her own parents were slaughtered on the front lines. This was before Kakashi's father committed suicide for reasons that Rin never heard.

The morning was hot enough to melt a block of ice in seconds, but Rin began to shiver as she pressed her head in between her knees. Her mother hadn't been home for so long, and yet Rin didn't feel this lonely since she held onto the hope that she would return. Tears soaked through her loose cotton pants, but she barely realized that she was crying.

"Would you feel better if I dragged Kakashi here by his ear?" Anomie's voice broke through the tension and Rin looked up to see the girl holding an wooden tray filled with food. The smell of fried tofu filtered through the air. Anomie set it down on the bed, her hair pulled over her shoulder and it dipped down when she leaned. Rin couldn't help but feel a bit plain and sloppy around the girl and she subconsciously began to notice her own ragged appearance.

"What's that?" Rin asked, attempting to hide the tears from before as she used the back of her hand to wipe them away. Anomie slightly smiled, sitting down, her sun dress creasing as the coral tint of her lips glistened when they quirked up.

"Breakfast," Anomie reminded her, gesturing to the steaming bowl of white rice that rested next to the bowl of fried tofu and wakame miso soup. Next to that was another plate of chicken fried with curry spices and a bowl of mustard spinach, egg, daikon mixed with soy sauce and vinegar.

The meal was very similar to the one that her mother woke her up with on her birthday only a year prior. "You didn't come home last night."

Anomie's wry smile disappeared and her expression became rather difficult for Rin to decipher. This made the girl sad, since Anomie often looked troubled, and it hurt that Rin wasn't trusted enough to know why. However, the white haired girl was always private about everything, so Rin promised not to push.

"I know," Anomie said, her smile coming back as she grabbed her chop sticks, taking a scoop of rice and holding it up to Rin's face. "Open up."

Rin frowned, "I don't need to be fed like a child."

Anomie raised a brow before her lips quirked into an amused smirk. "Ah? My apologies. Will you open your mouth if I make train noises?"

A small smile escaped Rin's hardened expression, and it was proving to become something only Anomie could get. Rin slowly opened her mouth and Anomie shoved the chopsticks inside with a smile. Rin quickly grabbed them before Anomie could continue feeding her and damaging Rin's already wounded pride.

"You know, if you asked," Anomie told her, leaning forward as Rin took ahold of the spoon and dipped it into the miso soup. The taste was perhaps better than her mother's and Rin felt another twinge of jealousy. "I really will drag Kakashi here by the ear."

Rin met Anomie's very earnest gaze and slowly smiled. "That would be a sight," Rin agreed and Anomie grabbed a piece of the fried chicken and slowly took a bite.

"You didn't say no," Anomie reminded her, smiling. Rin continued chewing, meeting Anomie's earnest gaze once more and wondered what kind of sight it would be to see Kakashi dragged kicking and screaming.

"I am not sure that will do much in my favor," Rin informed her, causing Anomie to giggle and lean forward. Rin's eyes widened as her personal bubble was so quickly shattered when Anomie neared her face as if she were about to whisper a secret that only they could hear.

"It's not about immediate results, Rin. It is about gaining chances," Anomie said, her breath dancing over Rin's lips. The smile was rather flirty, causing Rin's cheeks to slightly enflame. "Take any chance you can get, seize them. It's all about the game. Flirty comments, sneaking glances, all that."

"Well, I spend a lot of time with him anyway," Rin countered, causing Anomie to scoff, leaning back and stealing a piece of fried chicken. "And I'm not very good with that kind of thing." Rin's face was slightly red as she avoided Anomie's gaze.

"Yeah, that doesn't count. Obito is a major factor for that," Anomie said mid chew, using her hand to cover her mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"Okay," Anomie scoffed, glancing away before gripping Rin's cheek and pulling as if she were going to tear off her skin. Rin made a pained sound, but Anomie was already beginning to lighten the horrible sadness that had befallen upon her heart that very morning. "Pretending you don't know won't make his crush on you go away."

"You're being mean," Rin stuttered out, as it was difficult to speak when half of her face was being pulled in a different direction.

Anomie let go, her brow raising once more and Rin glanced over the girl's face. Perhaps if she looked more like Anomie, Kakashi might look in her direction a bit more. Then again, it wasn't like he took notice to Anomie too much when the girl was there.

Rin did sometimes catch Kakashi glancing that girl's direction when he thought no one was looking and Anomie would show up to watch them train or read while they trained. It wasn't too intensely, but it still set Rin's nerves on fire. Sometimes she would even think ugly and jealous thoughts when she looked in the mirror. Still, it wasn't Anomie's fault that she had the most beautiful face Rin had ever seen.

"How about you ask Kakashi for a sparing session? Just you two," Anomie suggested, causing Rin to feel slightly guilty for being so jealous when all the white haired girl tried to do was help. They were intrusive thoughts that Rin didn't want to have, but couldn't help but think.

"He'd kick my ass," Rin commented with a bright blush as she shoved a spoon full of miso soup into her mouth as she glanced away.

"You know that training isn't the real endgame. Imagine. You two, alone, slightly sweaty, breathing hard. At the end, exhausted, his guard is dropped. You may know battle, but I know boys. Make your move," Anomie said, leaning in closer, her voice husky and causing Rin's cheeks to enflame once more. "Besides, you're stronger than you think," Anomie told her, and Rin shoved more soup into her mouth.

"I'm not. I can't do anything," Rin told her, and the truth struck her senseless until she could barely breathe. She wanted to make her mother proud, her mother who was so strong and brave. Now, she would forever be memorialized in her mother's last moments as a child who didn't amount to anything.

Anomie's brows furrowed and slowly the girl cupped Rin's face in between her palms, forcing her to make eye contact. "You really don't see it?"

Rin blinked, her skin growing hot from underneath Anomie's touch. Even her heart had sped up without reprieve. "S-see what?"

Anomie smiled, her coral shaded lips quirking as she pressed her forehead against Rin's, letting go of the girl's face in the process. "That day...do you remember it?"

"There are a lot of days," Rin commented, and heard Anomie's sweet laugh. By now, Rin's heart was beating out of her ear drums and she could barely hear a word that Anomie was saying.

"That day for me was the worst. I lost everyone and everything I ever had. I lost the only home I had ever known. I fought so hard to stay alive until even that will had left me. When I laid down on that filthy ground near your camp, I was ready to die. No, I wanted to die."

Rin had never heard Anomie speak of this, and now that she thought about it, she never really heard Anomie speak of much concerning her feelings or things that she was going through. Perhaps that was why Rin always felt so alone, because the friend she had grown to care for like family wouldn't let her close or rely on her like Rin relied on Anomie. After all, it was Anomie who paid for everything and Anomie who made every meal and Anomie who sang her to sleep when Rin was feeling alone or sad. However, sometimes there was this unimaginable sadness in this girl's eyes that Rin couldn't touch no matter how hard she tried.

"I wanted everything to end," Anomie continued, meeting Rin's gaze, and once more Rin felt her heart begin to beat out of her chest as if the vibrations were gushing out her ears. "Then I saw your face. You were so desperate and..." Anomie paused, her lips quirking. "It wasn't like any expression I had ever seen. Pure generosity. It bled from you and I saw it and I felt it. I wanted to die. You didn't just heal my body Rin." Anomie leaned forward again, her gaze pouring into Rin's with clear certainty. "You don't realize the effect you have on people, do you?"

"You're speaking like I did something amazing," Rin glanced away from the intensity of Anomie's eyes with a hint of embarrassment. She glanced down at her hand, resting so close to Anomie's and slowly she pressed her palm on top of hers, feeling the coldness of that girl's skin. Anomie froze for a moment but slowly smiled again.

"You have an aura that allows people to feel at ease and a talent for medical Jutsu that I have never seen. I can't convince you how proud your mother was of you, you have to see it yourself," Anomie leaned close, her lips quirked and her eyes slanted into crescents. "After all, I was proud of you before I even met you."

Rin's gaze snapped up, her eyes wide and her lips trembling and her nose burning with the desire to cry. "You say some embarrassing things sometimes."

"I have a way with words," Anomie told her, and Rin found her skin growing slightly hot once more.

"What did you put into this chicken?" Rin stuttered out and Anomie's head tilted at the change in topic. "It's too spicy. My tongue is dry and my face is hot. I don't like spicy food, An-chan."

Anomie glanced at the chicken with an innocent blink. "I can't taste spices very well. Is it really that hot?" Anomie took another bite of the chicken, her long lashes fanning her cheeks when she blinked.

"Shut up. My tolerance isn't so great," Rin commented and Anomie glanced her way, her light pink amber eyes seemed a bit too bright.

"Are you sure you're a ninja?"

"What?"

"I'm just saying, I thought ninja were supposed to be tough."

"What? I am plenty tough," Rin told her and watched as Anomie gave her a skeptical glance as she grabbed the tray of food and set it down on the nightstand.

"I don't know, you're not exactly proving your point, are you?" Anomie told her and Rin's lips flapped open and closed.

"You were just telling me how great I was," Rin commented with a slight stutter and Anomie scoffed.

"I was talking about your Iryo Ninjutsu and character. Other than that, perhaps more training?" Anomie mocked and Rin grabbed a pillow, slamming it into the girl's side. It ended up being a bit too hard and it knocked the girl off the bed, however, Anomie quickly grabbed Rin's and they went tumbling to the ground. Rin fell into Anomie's collar bone.

Rin glanced up and saw Anomie glancing down at her through long lashes. Slowly the two girls began to laugh.

"You are so violent," Anomie commented and Rin attempted to get up but Anomie knocked her down flipping them both over so Rin was trapped underneath. Anomie's long white hair surrounded them and Rin began to wonder how this girl was blessed with hair so thick and beautiful.

"What are you doing?" Rin asked and Anomie's lips curled.

"Are you feeling better?" Anomie asked, her voice serious and her eyes gentle.

Rin felt her eyes begin to water. "Yeah. I am. Thanks to you."

"Your mother would be proud of you and the wonderful women you are sure to become," Anomie told her and Rin's lips trembled.

"She would?"

"Who wouldn't?" Anomie slowly leaned forward and pressed her lips against the girl's forehead. "Don't worry too much. I'll take care of you like you took care of me."

Rin didn't get a chance to reply as Anomie stood up began to walk out the room. Rin glanced her way, her heart pounding. "Where are you going?"

Anomie paused at the door and turned back around. "I'm gonna drag Kakashi by his ear."

"Oh god please don't," Rin staggered to her feet and almost immediately tripped over something that got caught around her ankle from underneath the bed. Anomie blinked a couple times at Rin's clumsiness but she still didn't move to help her up and instead leaned against the doorframe with a gentle smile as Rin inspected herself for damages. Slowly, she saw that the item that got caught on her leg was the strap of a camera.

"Oh? What's that?" Anomie asked, rather curiously. Rin glanced up, confused.

"Have you never seen a camera before?" Rin asked and Anomie's nose wrinkled in annoyance.

"We didn't exactly have a lot of technology in Kemuri," Anomie muttered, glancing to the side.

"It captures a moment." Rin's fingers stroked over the item in her hands with a hauntingly gentle expression. "Must of belonged to my mom."

"Do you think your mom took dirty photos?" Anomie asked causing Rin's face to redden and her eyes to narrow on the girl.

"Shut up!"

"Shut up?" Anomie slightly smiled. "Now that's rather rude. Oh my, I take it back. Your mom would not be proud of that mouth of yours." Rin went silent and it took Anomie a moment to realize that perhaps not everyone could take such a joke so soon after a death.

However she didn't get to linger on guilt too long since moments later she jumped when Rin grabbed the small knife on the tray of food, meant for cutting the bigger pieces of chicken, and tossing it Anomie's way. Anomie's eyes widened, glancing at the knife embedded in the wood next to her head before her gaze snapped back to Rin.

"That temper. Now, that needs some serious work," Anomie commented, nonchalantly grabbing the knife and dislodging it from the wood. Her fingers dusted on the hole left behind in the wood. "See, now this is how you lose your security deposit."

"You're really mean sometimes," Rin told her, standing up straight and running her fingers over the camera. She vaguely remembered her mother often taking photos with it, always so earnest and ready to capture any memory.

Anomie shrugged, tossing the knife on the bed and glancing towards the camera. "What so special about pictures?"

"I want to take some memories of everything before it could change," Rin confessed and the other girl glanced down at it, wondering if she might have enjoyed glancing back at photographs of Ohashi or her mother.

Unlikely.

"What can I do to help?" Anomie asked and Rin smiled.

"Just spend the day with me," Rin told her, and Anomie smiled.

"I was going to do that anyway," she retorted, grabbing Rin's hand. The girl gave her a rather judgmental glance, her lips set in a frown. "But first, I recommend a change in clothing unless you want the first pair of pajamas Kakashi sees of you to have a hole in the butt instead of a skimpy nighty."

Rin glanced down at her cat pajamas, seeing that they were rather worn out and ripped in certain areas. "I don't own a nighty."

"Ahh. I don't know Rin. Kakashi seems like he's more into girls with some sex appeal. You don't even own a nighty," Anomie commented, just to see Rin's face ignite in embarrassment and rage.

"How would you know what kind of girl he wants? S-se-se," Rin stuttered, unable to even utter out the word and taking no notice to Anomie's grown smile. "Anyway. He doesn't look like he would be at all interested in that. I'm not either."

"I doubt that very much. He's hit puberty by now. I know what's on a boy's mind. Especially the quiet, rude ones."

"You're being mean again."

"I'm only saying to buy a nighty, not to change your wardrobe," Anomie said, raising her hands on defense. "Besides, I think what your wearing is cute in a scrappy sort of way."

"Your compliments are always backhanded," Rin said with a pout.

"My monologue earlier was beautiful. I practiced that in the mirror," Anomie retorted with a wry grin.

"Is that why you were in the bathroom so long last night?"

"No. That was my beauty regimen," Anomie replied. "You think it's easy to stay this pretty? It takes work. I have been eating fish and cabbage as my main course for eight years."

"Gross."

"Hey, take a picture of me, I bet I'm very photogenic," Anomie said rushing to sit on the bed with a cute yet over the top pose, and Rin rolled her eyes at her arrogance, but she couldn't hide the smile on her lips. Slowly, Rin raised the camera to her eyes and watched Anomie smile at her through the lense. A flutter sound went off, followed by a flash of light when Rin pressed the button.

From the slit shaped crevice of the camera came a plastic photo, white on one side and black on the other. Anomie walked over with an excited smile as Rin took out the white photo. Anomie almost immediately frowned.

"It's white."

Rin began to laugh, "well it starts off white and slowly it begins to change into the image."

"How?"

"I don't know. It just does," Rin replied and Anomie smiled.

"Let's take one together next."

"Why the sudden interest?"

"Because it means a lot to you. Therefore, it means a lot to me."

Of course, the photos left behind weren't of much use to Anomie the day she left Konoha. Memories were a painful thing, dangerous in that she could turn them over again and again until she memorized ever touch and every spec. However, whenever she least expected it, she could still find a hidden edge to cut herself with. That being said, she hardly wanted physical evidence of what she lost.

The night she accepted that Rin had actually died, Anomie had attempted to lock away every memory she could. Some things were just too painful.

Rin looked so out of place and confused. Anomie absorbed every last detail of her face and smooth skin, molded like porcelain, into her head. Anomie took a step forward, almost afraid that the girl was going to disappear from her eyes. After all these years, Anomie had nearly forgotten what Rin looked like, but now that the girl was standing right in front of her, it was a wonder how Anomie could ever begin to forget.

Anomie took another step forward, but the moment of confusion disappeared when Rin's gaze snapped her way and she darted forward to attack. Rin performed a swift medical ninjutsu, causing her hands to appear sharp as blades. Anomie stumbled back for a moment and the Chakra scalpel pierced into her hand when she went to dodge it. If not for the quick reflexes of turning individual body parts into smoke, Anomie had a feeling the battle would have already been over.

"Please make yourself comfortable, I personally can't stay," Orochimaru chuckled and walked towards the exit, empty handed now that his research was burned to a crisp. Anomie rushed to attack him and get the ring, but had to swipe left to get out of the way from Rin's next attack. Orochimaru let out another chuckle, his cruel eyes connecting onto Anomie's.

"This wasn't going to be personal. When I see you again, it won't be a mission driving my sword through your black heart," Anomie threatened, her eyes not moving from Rin. "This is the best you can do? Rin and I happen to be friends."

"Looking forward to it, Fuyu-chan, but try to remember that you have no friends." Orochimaru walked away, and Anomie couldn't deny that she wasn't too disheartened with his act of departure since it gave her a moment with Rin.

It didn't matter that this girl in front of her was a shadow of that sweet girl she knew. It was still Rin's face. "Do you remember anything?"

Rin attacked without an ounce of recognition, and Anomie dodged, but she dared not attack back. Her hands shook every time she tried and her heart beat out of her chest with a pain that made Anomie nearly light headed.

"Rin, stop. I can't hit you. You're embarrassing me. I told him we were friends," Anomie dodged again, slamming her palm into Rin's arm, her knee into the girl's back and swiping her other hand to hold onto the possessed girl so her arms were locked behind her back. "Remember who you are."

Nothing reached her, and Rin shoved her head back so the back of her skull slammed into Anomie's nose. This forced the girl back, cupping her likely broken nose.

"Mother fucker," Anomie snapped, her nostrils dripping with blood. She wiped it away and her head turned into smoke, giving her time to realign the bones and cartilage.

Anomie dodged the rest of Rin's attacks, but the dead girl was picking up the pace and making it harder to avoid. Eventually, her Chakra scalpel slashed across Anomie's neck, creating a shallow slice that managed to make Anomie stumble back onto the ground. Rin applied Chakra into her fist and went to punch into Anomie's face, but the girl rolled out of the way and the punch left a crater into the ground.

"You're pissing me off," Anomie whispered, her fingers digging into the ground before she glanced back towards Rin. She barely had enough time to weave her Chakra into the air and cause wood to wrap around Rin like a blanket. Rin struggled against it all, while Anomie sunk to her knees in exhaustion from the sloppy wood technique, embedded with layer of her Chakra.

Rin looked like a rabid animal and this sight was more painful than the slice in Anomie's neck. She held her palm against the bleeding skin, signifying that Rin wasn't that far off from nicking an artery. Worse than that, Anomie likely still couldn't hurt her. She raised to her feet, summoning the Ho'ou, and Kokoa held out its wing and she plucked a red feather, placing it against her neck and wincing when it cooked into her flesh and cauterized the wound, leaving the feather imprinted into her skin like a tattoo.

"Thank you, darling," Anomie whispered, and the bird disappeared. Rin's struggle against the wood ended, and now she just stared, eerie and blank. "Do you remember anything?"

Rin's eyes narrowed, and slowly Anomie began to feel her hands tremble. She could feel tears threaten to pour, but such a thing would be useless to aid her. Anomie closed the distance and placed her hands against Rin's cheeks.

"Rin, don't you remember me at all," Anomie whispered, lowering her forehead onto the girl's. She felt cold at Anomie's touch, and Anomie felt her cheeks dampen as she grabbed her blade from behind her back, raising it to Rin's neck. Her hand was shaking, which wasn't something that had ever happened when she was about to kill someone.

For a moment, in the palpitation and tears, she imagined Rin as she was. Beautiful and pure and kind. She was Anomie's entire world once, and she got a glimpse of that world, so bright and peaceful, only to see it once again turn dark like everything else. Her hand shook, and she used her other to steady it. Rin's eyes were without fear as she glanced down at the blade to her neck.

Anomie gasped, dropping the katana and falling to her knees. "When you met me, I was so lost and without hope in anyone. I was selfish and tired. You were the one who brought me out and reminded me that people weren't all bad. You introduced me to everything I hold dear." Anomie glanced up at Rin with a scowl. "I'd rather you killed me than hurt you."

Anomie glanced back down into the ground, her hands still shaking.

"A-An-chan," Rin's voice brought a spark of life in Anomie's heart and the girl glanced up so fast as if she were just zapped. Anomie stood, her eyes burning as she pressed her hands onto Rin's cheeks.

For the first time, Anomie saw a twinge of recognition in Rin's wide eyed gaze and her arms flew around Rin's shoulders. She didn't want to let go, but that proved to be a mistake when she felt a blade pierce through the wood and into her chest. Anomie moved back as if she had been burned and saw Rin's Chakra scalpel had extended out of the wood and through Anomie's skin.

Anomie's fingers dusted over the wound that had begun seeping with blood and her eyes moved back to Rin, only to see that that recognition that she saw for a brief second had disappeared without a trace. Anomie took another step back, feeling the blood loss begin to lighten her head until she was seeing stars.

She fell to her knees, nearly falling onto her back if she hadn't caught her fall. Anomie's hand shook as she attempted to close the wound. "Fuyu-chan, surely you know by now, even if this child were conscious, she would hate you." Rin's voice spoke with Orochimaru's words, and Anomie felt an upheaval of disparity at every sound. "You betray and torment and lie."

Anomie felt the curse seal on her neck overtake her body, blocking out at least a bit of the pain. "How predictable. Using others to fight your battles," Anomie stood up, holding her stomach to keep her blood from spilling over her fingers. It hurt to see him use a Jutsu that she dreamed of knowing, but it hurt more to see him taint it all by bringing back someone she dreamed of seeing.

"You flatter me," Rin's hands broke apart the wood, using a Jutsu that only Orochimaru could know. Anomie should have known better as Orochimaru enjoyed extending the effort into controlling his subjects and forcing them to forget who they were. However, his words struck a cord she would have rather stayed buried in the dust of the wounds that had only just began to heal.

As if he clawed open scabs, she felt the fear slip through without warning. With that, the blood pouring out from her stomach was beginning to make her go light headed and she knew she wouldn't last much longer before she fell back down. Worse, the wound had the potential to be fatal. Still, she couldn't just retreat and allow Orochimaru to use Rin's soul like this, regardless of how much Rin did or didn't hate her. None of that mattered, or at least, none of that should matter. Anomie couldn't linger on such feelings, and if she did, she might as well have him kill her right here and now.

She had to do something and it didn't matter if it was drastic. She quickly dodged Rin's oncoming attack, already knowing that she couldn't dare attempt to use the Ho'ou in this specific time of desperation to save herself. Her soul was already theirs and if she used them to live, then she would owe yet another large sum of years. They would take full advantage of weakness. Perhaps she could even drop like a rock tomorrow. The clock was ticking and she was losing too much blood.

She couldn't think. The curse mark had took away some of the pain, but she was beginning to stagger and Orochimaru looked about ready to kill her. Perhaps seeing Rin's face was a nice way to go, especially since she was certain that where she was going to end up was quite different from where Rin remained. The Ho'ou owned her soul and she was not certain of her fate after she finally closed her eyes to rest.

Much like everything else in the bleakness of her life, death was certain to be just as bad.

Anomie glanced down at the blood gushing in between her fingers. She didn't have long.

"How about this, Fuyu-chan," Orochimaru said, using Rin's voice. He was still the only one to ever call her that and the name grated her ears into paste. "I will spare your life if you owe me a single favor."

"Eat a dick," Anomie muttered, losing her footing and falling back. Her curse mark began to retreat as she lost the concentration to properly keep it up. By now, she had lost too much blood and too much Chakra. Rin's Chakra scalpel has in fact pierced and artery and the blood wouldn't stop. If she let go to fight or summon then she would die.

"So stubborn," Orochimaru chuckled, and it sounded too strange to hear Rin's voice turn so devious. "Take the deal. I hardly want you dead."

Anomie attempted to turn her body into smoke, in order to ease the pain and stop the blood. The Chakra required to do it was immense, but it was the only way. It gave her time. From behind her was the summoning scroll, but opening it with one hand and activating it without looking was much harder.

"Your time is ticking away. What's holding you back," Orochimaru asked and she chuckled.

"I hate you," she told him and Rin's face contorted into a snake like smirk.

"So you would rather die here?"

Anomie paused, thinking it over slightly scowling. "I'm not going to die," she told him, her lips twisting into a smirk.

"How do you figure that?" Orochimaru's sadistic chuckle made her stomach churn. Her hand was covered in blood, allowing her properly summon the Phoenix. She expected the smallest one who always came to her beck and call, but instead one appeared as large as the ceiling.

"Did I mention how much I hate you?" Anomie said with a stiff and pained smile.

"I didn't come here to watch you squabble," the giant Phoenix, slightly annoying Anomie.

"Ringo, can you not disrespect me right now? You're embarrassing me," she told the bird with a rather snarky smile.

"I don't care," Ringo told her, and it's narrowed gaze snapped towards Orochimaru.

"Is that the birds of the Undying," Orochimaru grinned. "How did you find that?"

"Go fuck yourself. That's how," Anomie retorted.

"Petty and immature," Ringo said, and Anomie felt her eyesight grow blurry. Her Chakra was still being channeled into keeping her stomach smoke and keeping Ringo in this world. She was running out and soon enough she would have nothing.

"In my own form, I would have loved to dissect you both, but I'm limited on time since I also have an obligation to move bases," Orochimaru smirked. "I give up, but I'll be seeing you later, Fuyu-Chan."

"I hate you so much," she muttered and Orochimaru grinned again.

"And here I was about to leave you a gift," Orochimaru said, and before he could elaborate, Rin's body collapsed into the ground.

"You should probably release me now before you use the last of that Chakra," Ringo said with a bored gust of his wings.

"Can you cauterize this first? If I die like this, it will be incredibly embarrassing," Anomie said, her lips chapped and pale. "I mean, think how sad the citizens of Konoha will be. I'm like a hero or something."

Anomie let out a laugh, her vision was going black.

"You won't need it. I would have liked to see you suffer for this complete waste of time," Ringo stared before he went up in flames and disappeared.

Anomie wasn't sure how long past before she felt her wounds begin to numb. She blinked open her eyes, catching a glimpse of a green hue from two blood soaked hands. "Stay awake, Anomie."

The voice was familiar, but everything sounded muffled. Her breathing was ragged and she could barely open her eyes since her lids were so heavy. She attempted to lift her arms, but they were heavy like lead. The feeling of a foreign Chakra had swept over her and by the time she managed to slightly crack open her eyes, she caught sight of those oddly familiar hands glowing a bright and skillful green.

"I'm so sorry," Rin's voice uttered out, genuine and just how she remembered it.

The pain was dull and it took Anomie a moment to realize that Rin was numbing the pain with careful and precise pressure points of Chakra into her system. "It's been a while since," Anomie broke off, already out of breath.

"Don't talk," Rin told her, and the girl's eyes were watery. "I tried to fight back. I tried. He was too strong."

"Rin," Anomie muttered out, attempting to touch the girl that she dreamed of seeing.

"I'm so sorry. I really tried."

"It's not your fault. It is mine," Anomie managed to say. "This sucks."

"I don't know how much time I have," Rin whispered, and she glanced at Anomie who was attempting to the best of her abilities to stay awake. It was difficult considering everything. "Please wake up."

Anomie forced her eyes to open, and she slowly lifted her hands so she could cup Rin's arm. "I miss you."

Rin's eyes had already begun to water. "Stay awake, but don't talk. It will only make the wound hurt more."

Rin nimbly used a couple healing Jutsu, careful to inspect the wound. "Do you have a medical kit?"

Anomie felt her vision go blurry once more, but still she forced her arms to act. She pressed her fingers against her palm where the sealing mark rested on the back of her hand. She used the blood from her wound to draw a circle and careful insert a small amount of Chakra. She could barely breath when the medical kit appeared before them. Rin didn't waste any time to disinfect and stitch the wound before she used more Chakra to help mend the skin once it was together. She then grabbed onto Anomie, forcing the girl to sit up so she could bandage the girl's stomach, careful to pull up Anomie's top a bit.

"This is all I can do for now," Rin murmured, holding onto the other girl for dear life. Anomie's arms were weak, but life was slowly channeling back into her body, giving her enough strength to grab onto the girl. "I'm so sorry."

"Do you have any idea how many times I've been stabbed?" Anomie told her, reaching toward and wrapping her arms around her in a tight embrace. "Don't apologize for something that means nothing."

"An-chan," Rin pulled away, and her face was exactly as Anomie remembered it. Those feelings she tried to push away began to bubble back and Anomie could barely contain it. "You are speaking as if your life had no meaning."

Anomie's furrowed brows and thunderous heart was quick disagree. "I have done some bad things, Rin."

"I don't care what you've done. An-chan, you're my friend. My sister," Rin told her. "I love you. I don't care what you've done. You have to live. Do you hear me? When we see each other again, you better be wrinkly and old okay?"

"Wrinkly and old?" Anomie's bottom lip began to quiver, her eyes beginning to burn. She dared not tell her that their souls would never meet in the afterlife. She knew where she was going, and it wasn't that bright place Rin remained.

"I don't have a lot of time," Rin whispered, reaching forward to grab Anomie by her head, pulling her close so she could rest her forehead against her. "I miss you everyday. I peak in sometimes to see how you are."

"And you still think I'm worth saving?"

"I told you, you are my family. I don't care what you've done or who," Rin said, and Anomie slightly laughed.

"Kakashi?"

Rin laughed next, but it was slightly strained and tears were seeping through her eyes. "I want you both to be happy."

"I love you," Anomie whispered as Rin slightly smiled. "I really love you."

"I know. I'm sorry. Please, just try to live," Rin's eyes were glossy and Anomie could feel the Chakra that was keeping her alive begin to fade out.

"No," Anomie pulled the girl close as Rin's body gave out and she sunk into her arms. "No. I'm not ready. Please come back." Her hands shook when she felt the coldness of Rin's cheeks, like ice to touch. "Come back."

Anomie didn't remember crying nor how long. It was the rumbling of the earth that forced her back to life and she felt a cold dread as she quickly let Rin go and jumped out of the way just as a familiar coffin emerged from the ground and swallowed up the body Rin's soul once resided. She placed her hand against her bandages, kneeling down to her knees and letting her hair cover the redness of her cheeks and the moisture dripping down into the ground.

She made a vow to herself, promising to not just kill Orochimaru, but to destroy him.

Author's Note

Yellow Rose (Kiiroibara, 黄色い薔薇)Japanese meaning:jealousyWestern meaning:friendship, devotion

This chapter was a bit more difficult to write this time around since it required me to show an insight to Rin this time around, which kind of broke the perception of her from the beginning since she was just dimensional in a way cause she wasn't alive long enough to develop a real personality with faults.

I hope it turned out okay, I tried not to make it cheesy or quick paced since Rin had a huge impact on Anomie's life. They had an incredibly close relationship, even though Anomie obvious desired more. I think every gay girl had that one friend who they wanted but could never have, lord knows I have. However, I did hint at some confusing feelings that Rin had for her friend, but for the most part, it was one-sided.