Chapter Twenty One: Homebound

Admittedly, there was a lot on their minds as the four ninjas leapt through the forest in the Land of Fire. But as the only non shinobi present, Ichika, from Kakashi's back, spent most of the journey staring at the landscape in awe and constantly badgering them with endless questions.

There was an unspoken agreement that the four of them would take turns to answer Ichika's question. Currently, it was Itachi's turn, but it turned out that Itachi didn't have an answer for Ichika's next question.

"Ne Kakashi san, how do you get your hair to defy gravity like that?"

The other three members of Team Ro couldn't help but exchange curious glances of their own. It was just something they accepted as part of Kakashi, just like anyone who met him for the first time accepted his mismatched eyes, but now that Ichika brought it up...how did he get his hair to do that?

Shisui kept his hair short enough to stick into the air and Itachi's long hair was certainly not gravity defying as it fell to the middle of the back. Kakashi's hair on the other hand…

"It just happens," was Kakashi's short, clipped response. A very disappointing response, but Kakashi had never been one to give direct answers. If Rin didn't know how Kakashi got his Sharingan, she would have been on the receiving end of "It just magically appeared one day." Yeah right. Any ninja worth a salt knew better than to believe a word that came out of his mouth.

From there, the interrogation began.

"Where did you get the scar from? It looks so cool!"

"Ah, an angry kunoichi and a kunai is never a good combination."

"Why is your left eye different?"

"Because I was born special."

"Do you always wear your mask? How do you eat? What's under the mask?"

"Allergies," Kakashi answered offhandedly. Neither of them seemed to care that he had only answered one of Ichika's questions.

"What's that tattoo on your arm supposed to be?"

"Not sure. I was drunk when I got it."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty."

"Really? You look a lot older than that. It must be your white hair."

"It's silver, not white," Kakashi corrected, like he always did. White hair was for old men, like Jiraiya and Kakashi certainly wasn't old.

"Ne, do you have a girlfriend?"

"I suppose not."

And so on. Kakashi didn't seem a bit irritated, in fact he looked like he enjoyed having the opportunity to make up vague, bullshit answers and having someone so readily accept it. On the contrary, there was a nagging feeling in Rin's chest as Ichika continued to ask questions about every aspect of Kakashi's life.

For Ichika to so easily get answers out of him, even though it was vague, while Rin spent ten years in his presence to learn all of that information...Ichika was getting it all in under ten minutes.

And for Kakashi to be the first to volunteer to carry Ichika when he normally would have been the first to avoid all extra responsibilities…

And for Kakashi to act so friendly to Ichika when it had taken her so many years to finally get Kakashi to open up to her…

And for Kakashi to suggest camping for the night when the sun was barely setting because Ichika yawned while Rin had been on the receiving end of "you need to work on your stamina" or "deal with it" so many times…

And for Kakashi to authorize a campfire on the account that they were in the Land of Fire when they never lit a fire on an Anbu mission regardless of location because he had seen Ichika shivering…

And for Kakashi to offer up his sleeping bag and cloak without Ichika even having to ask…

And for Kakashi to announce that he would stay by the campfire while Rin, Itachi, and Shisui were sent off to gather edible berries, firewood and hunt for fish to ensure Ichika's safety when he was normally so averse to socializing with strangers…

And for Kakashi to assign watch schedules, skipping right over Ichika when he would normally claim that everyone should get equal treatment...

Did Kakashi like her?

Okay, maybe the last point hadn't been entirely fair since Ichika wasn't a ninja so having her on watch would equate to not having anyone on watch, but all the other points still stood. It was astonishing to see how Kakashi's attitude towards the woman was a complete 180 from how he treated everyone else. Perhaps, Kakashi did have a softer side after all.

Except his soft side was directed at Ichika.

Rin plopped down next to Ichika, handing her a stick with roasted fish on it. Ichika accepted it gratefully and began to nibble on the skin of the fish, like she wasn't sure the best way to go about eating it. Taking pity on the woman, Rin showed Ichika the method to eat it, to make the most of the meat and avoid having bones stuck in their throats.

"You're so knowledgeable, Rin chan!" It had taken many reminders for Ichika to break her habit of addressing her as Princess Yuki and finally as Rin. Just Rin, like she had been most of her life.

"It had taken a lot of trial and error on our part when we were younger." That was mostly true although it was mainly Obito who struggled. Kakashi, the genius he was, had long figured out to eat fish properly on the first try. And Rin? She just wasted a lot of meat in her efforts to avoid swallowing the bones.

"So what are your other teammates doing?"

"Setting up traps around the perimeter."

"Traps? That's so cool," Ichika exclaimed. "What kinds of other cool things can you do?"

Rin gave her a very brief list of the jutsus least likely to trigger questions. Yet Ichika seemed to be very talented at finding questions to ask with just about everything. And so Rin found herself explaining the intricacies of the substitution jutsu, clone jutsu, and the various ninja tools that they used.

By the time that Kakashi announced for them to get to sleep, Rin was exhausted from all of the explaining she did. With a yawn, Ichika bid them a good night before going to sleep. Itachi and Shisui strategically placed their own sleeping bags on either side of Ichika, able to guard her from danger in case of an attack.

The only belonging that Rin had been able to retrieve was her mother's flute - thank Kami, Rin wouldn't know what to do if she lost it. Everything else was replaceable, so it didn't matter that much to her. Except that left her without extra clothes, forcing Rin to deal with the stupid dress. It constricted her movements so much that she had gotten annoyed and hacked off the sleeves and the skirt of the dress. It left her with a makeshift top and shorts that she wore underneath...definitely not material to fend off the cold.

Not to mention, her sleeping bag, blanket, and cloak was all gone. Anything to keep her remotely warm had been buried under the ice.

Rin found a spot under a tree, resting her back against the trunk of the tree. She pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. It was still cold, but it would have to do. At least it wasn't nearly as cold in the Land of Fire as it had been in the Land of Snow…

The feeling of something landing on her back jerked her out of her thoughts. Her fingers reached to grab blue material, her mind slow to register that it was a blanket.

"If you sleep like that, you'll catch a cold." It was Kakashi, staring down at her.

"Thank you." She shifted her body, pulling the blanket all around her so it wrapped around her like a cocoon.

After giving Rin his blanket, Kakashi had gone back to his post, a spot that he claimed in the branches. To help pass time, Kakashi pulled out one of the books on fuinjutsu and began to study it once more. His eye crinkled in amusement every time he saw one of Rin's notes written on the border of the pages. She had given each of the random squiggles a name, claiming it was easier to remember a sequence than having to draw from scratch and constantly labelled them throughout the book…

They were close to figuring out sensei's Hiraishin technique. The only thing left for them to do was somehow alter the formula seal to apply to their own chakra. That was still a work in progress, but he had faith that between the two of them, they would be able to figure it out. Eventually. Not to mention Kakashi still had the Rasengan to complete…

Peering away from his book, he eyed the sleeping campsite only to find that Rin had fallen asleep, sitting up. Kakashi sighed, jumping down from his spot in the trees. If he didn't do something about her sleeping position, Rin would certainly wake up the next morning sore all over.

Kakashi gently pried the blanket from Rin's grip. Propping her sleeping form with his right hand, Kakashi reached to slide his backpack at the base of the tree. Gently lowering her until the back of her head made contact with his backpack, Kakashi released his hand from her back. Draping the blanket over her once more, tucking in the edges to preserve the warmth in her cocoon, Kakashi gazed at her sleeping form. His lips curled up into a soft smile underneath his mask as he went back to his position.

Throughout the rest of his watch, Kakashi kept the corner of his eye fixated on her. And her watch, as Kakashi decided that he wasn't cruel enough to wake her up from her peaceful sleep to take over.

He covered her entire shift. By the end of both of their watches, Kakashi moved to wake up Itachi. If Itachi was surprised to see it was Kakashi waking him up instead of Rin, he didn't show it. Instead he dutifully moved to take watch as Kakashi finally got the chance to relax.

And to sleep, finally.

When Rin woke, the sun was already up. In a panic, she pushed herself into a sitting position so fast that she swore that she heard some sort of crack in her neck from whiplash.

Oh no, I slept through my watch! Kakashi is going to get on my ass for it…

The man in question appeared in front of her, holding his hand out like he was expecting something. Like a dumbass, Rin merely stared at his outstretched hand for a couple of seconds before realizing he wanted his blanket back. Quickly pushing herself to her feet, Rin shoved the blanket into his hands. Kakashi took it, but didn't move.

Oh god, is he going to lecture me about falling asleep on watch?

"I'm sorry I slept through my watch!" Rin blurted. Kakashi merely raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Ah that, don't worry about it. I was wondering if you were willing to hand me my bag that's right behind you…"

A crane of her neck confirmed that indeed, his backpack was behind her? How had it gotten there in the first place? And she was off the hook for being careless on her watch?

With all of those questions reeling in her mind, Rin absentmindedly grabbed Kakashi's backpack from the floor, wordlessly handing it to its owner. Kakashi unzipped the bag, hand fishing for something.

The object landed on her face as Rin had been too out of it to catch whatever he had thrown her way. Grabbing the object away from her face, Rin stared down at the navy blue long sleeved shirt that every jonin was issued upon promotion.

"Might be a bit too big on you," Kakashi was saying casually as he stuffed the blanket back into his backpack. "But I think you would prefer to wear it rather than have old men leer at you when we get back to the village."

With that, Kakashi turned away, leaving her completely dumbfounded as her fingers clenched against the fabric of the material.

When Shisui called her name, Rin finally snapped out of her stupor, quickly pulling Kakashi's shirt over her head. To say it was just a bit too big was a complete understatement; it practically dwarfed her frame, the hem ending a bit lower than midthigh. The sleeves covered the entirety of her arms, including her hand. She had to roll up the sleeves so many times that she lost count until the end of the sleeve rested right above her hand.

When Rin finally joined the group, her observant eyes didn't miss the way that Itachi and Shisui exchanged amused glances. Luckily, they both refrained from commenting on her new wardrobe. Kakashi didn't seem to notice anything different, treating her like she was dressed in her normal attire.

And Ichika? Well Ichika immediately launched into a rant at how unfashionable it looked on her. And spent the next five minutes helping her straighten out the rolled sleeves and tying her messy hair into a ponytail so that Rin looked somewhat presentable.

Keyword being somewhat.

Rin was sure she still looked like a trainwreck, but the moment she signed up to become a kunoichi, all thoughts of vanity were thrown out the window.

Kakashi pressed a kunai to the palm of her hand. "So you can defend yourself."

Then he gave the signal to move.

This time, it was Shisui's turn to carry Ichika, much to his annoyance. Kakashi merely pointed out he had already carried the woman yesterday. Itachi pulled rank as clan heir and casually mentioned how Fugaku would react if he walked into the village with a random woman on his back. And well Rin? Rin's build was even smaller than Ichika so she had been given a pass on the account that she was too small to be carrying anyone.

Normally that would have irked her, because that was the polite way of saying she was short and weak, but Rin would take the free pass.

Shisui lost the fight and thus had to carry the chatty woman on his back.

Itachi and Rin even joked along the way that Shisui was close to using genjutsu to keep Ichika quiet.

Shisui had never looked so relieved to see Konoha's gates come into view. Immediately at the entrance, Shisui let Ichika climb down from his back, muttering something about a back ache under his breath. A slap to the back from Itachi confirmed that Shisui was just being dramatic as he didn't even react to the hit.

The fifteen minute walk to the Hokage Tower had taken a lot longer as Ichika insisted on stopping to look at everything. Shisui offhandedly suggested to just leave Ichika behind, since she wasn't needed for the mission report, but Kakashi countered that by stating that she was an integral part of their mission.

Eventually, Kakashi managed to tear Ichika's eyes away from the trinket she was studying by promising her there would be plenty of time to explore afterwards. Preferably without the four of them being dragged along with her. Ichika agreed, allowing herself to be steered by Kakashi to the Hokage Tower.

To say that Hiruzen was relieved to see them was an understatement. Ichika had been the first to recount her side of the story, before she was sent to wait outside while Team Ro gave their own accounts.

Rin was the first to go, starting from the beginning of her supposed C ranked mission, detailing all the way up to her capture. She glossed over the details of what she saw in her genjutsu, but she was almost sure that the other four in the room had a thorough understanding of exactly what she saw. At that part, she let the others fill in the gaps in her memory.

"Wait, I attacked you guys?" Rin interjected halfway through Kakashi's account. He shot her a wry look.

"You even attempted to use a sword. Your grip and stance was very poor, might I add." She wanted to shrivel up in embarrassment; she hadn't recalled any of the fight happening.

Rin was the one to finish up the report. For the duration of the account, the Third remained silently, nodding all the right intervals.

Finally when they finished, Hiruzen let out a long sigh. "I suppose I couldn't keep your heritage hidden from you forever."

"You knew who I was? Who my parents are?"

"Were," Hiruzen corrected gently. "Your mother was good friends with Sakumo. Imagine my surprise when Sakumo showed up in my office one day with you in his arms. Sakumo told me that Yua had entrusted your safety to me. To keep you safe in Konoha. But I suppose if you don't want to stay in Konoha, that's understandable."

Rin frowned. "Why wouldn't I stay?"

"Perhaps you wish to return to your homeland."

"My home is in Konoha," Rin insisted stubbornly. "As long as you don't kick me out, I'm not leaving."

The Third smiled softly.

When the debate came up as to who would be Ichika's guide around Konoha, all three males of Team Ro pointed fingers at Rin.

You have more patience than the rest of us, was Kakashi's argument.

Ichika is your kin, so you should spend more time with her, was Itachi's argument.

Shisui didn't even need to say anything; his displeasure of spending another moment in the bubbly woman's presence was written all over his face.

And that was how Rin found herself showing Ichika around Konoha and housing her until a more permanent housing situation was worked out. Ichika talked her ears off, but the good thing was that Ichika never expected a response. She was just happy to talk about anything, point out all of the cool things that she saw, and ask numerous questions to satisfy her curiosity.

And all things considering, it was nice to be able to spend time with the last of her known kin. If this was what having a family felt like, then Rin supposed having to deal with a chatterbox was a small price to pay. Just like dealing with Kushina nee's occasion whack to the head at her stupidity and her smothering…

All was fine until Ichika had to go and make the conversation awkward.

"You're Kakashi san's teammate, right?"

Rin nodded.

"Have you seen his face without his mask? What is he like? I mean even with the mask on, he's so handsome, so I imagine he's even more handsome without it, eh?"

"I guess," was Rin's only response. What else was she supposed to say? That he looked ridiculously hot without his mask? That the dimples on his face when he smiled was the cutest thing ever? That the mole on his face was always her go to place to stare when he took off his mask?

"Ah, so you have seen it!" Ichika exclaimed.

"I've known him for over ten years now. I guess he figured it was pointless to hide it anymore." But really, Rin had been hoping it was because he had gotten comfortable in her presence to not wear the mask.

"Say, do you know what kind of girl he likes?"

To which Rin promptly spat out all of the water in her mouth all over the table and onto Ichika. Flushing from the humiliation, Rin apologized to Ichika and began to wipe down the table with nearby napkins.

"He doesn't really date, so I wouldn't know."

"Really? He seems like a good man, so I wouldn't imagine him to stay single for too long."

Maybe part of the reason that Kakashi wore his mask was to prevent the female population in Konoha from jumping on him.

"Well, he's a bit emotionally stunted," Rin mused. "Childhood traumas and all. Now the only things he cares about are missions and training." Then Rin proceeded to rant of all of the times that Kakashi invited her out to do something "normal" like eating dinner, only to want to pour over the mission report. Or visiting her apartment late at night, to tell her about his latest breakthrough with his jutsu. Or picking her up from the hospital after her shift, only because he had a burning question about fuinjutsu he had to ask her.

Ichika clapped her hands together. "I approve of you two to date."

"Wha-?" Wasn't Ichika the one who liked him?

"Sorry if I ever gave you the impression that I was interested in him," Ichika stated, laughing lightly to herself. "Since I'm your only family left, I just wanted to see if he was right for you. And I approve. Like I said, he's a good man."

"And you concluded that how…?"

"Good men like him don't stay single for too long, but it's obvious that he's waiting for the right one. I think that's cute," Ichika began. "Besides, you don't see the way he looks at you when you're not looking. You didn't see how tender and careful he was when he moved you to a more comfortable sleeping position. And from your stories, it seems that Kakashi san might be a bit dumb when it comes to emotions, but he has the right intentions.

"Have you ever thought that he's not sure of how to interact with you? I know you think that he seeks you out only to talk about training and boring things, but perhaps that's the only way he knows how to spend time with you without making it awkward. After all, you have to remember this boy is awkward when it comes to emotions."

"Before I left on the mission, Kakashi told me that he didn't love me. That...I belonged to someone else. That someone else was our friend in the past who liked me, but he has passed away since then."

"I think it's just his dumb way of dealing with his emotions. Kakashi san thinks he has a valid excuse, so he can remain in denial, but sooner or later, his true feelings will come out. You shouldn't push him."

"I guess, but it's just been such a long time that I'm starting to think I would be better moving on."

"And why is that?" Ichika questioned. "Is it because you see your peers already finding love and you think you are falling behind?"

Rin nodded.

"When it comes to love, there's no timeline," Ichika told her. "If you are right for each other and when the right time comes, it will happen. It could be now, five, ten, or twenty years into the future. You'll never know if you give up on him."

"I see. Thank you for your wisdom."

"Being locked up for so many years gives me a lot of time to think," Ichika joked. "In all seriousness, I think it's time that I go looking for my future."

"You won't stay in Konoha?"

Ichika smiled. "Konoha's great and all, but it's not my home. There might not be a village in the Land of Ice there anymore, but there's another town close to the border. I think I'll go stay there and maybe one day I'll rebuild our village."

"But-"

"But what? You can always come visit me if you miss me. Besides, I've already taught you everything that I know. The rest is up to you to master ice style jutsu."

"I understand. Thank you."

"No," Ichika cut in. Happiness was shining in her eyes. "Thank you for saving my life and giving me another chance to live again."

"Believe it or not," Ichika continued softly. "You are a great Queen. Don't let those stupid fake images convince you otherwise."

And when Rin saw Ichika off at the gates of Konoha the next morning, she felt surprisingly content as she waved Ichika goodbye.

Content that she had gotten a chance to know her family.

Content that the three males of Team Ro had grudgingly showed up to bid farewell to Ichika as well, even if they kept a considerable distance between themselves and Ichika.

Content that she was home.

A/N: Hi again!

Sorry it's a bit late, told myself I was going to post this morning but then I kept remembering things that I needed to do. So here it is now!

Ichika was a random OC that I made for the sake of this story, but it turned out that I really loved her character. Not sure if you felt the same way, but I think Rin needs a motherly/older sister figure in her life, since RIP Kushina :(

This is sort of a fluff chapter, also to serve as a transition to the next arc (this is probably the one that you've been waiting for).

Next chapter is called Day and Night.

As always, thanks for reading! Until next time!

-MM