Rin was wondering why her brother had called her to go out with his team of students today. He had said that he needed her help in training one of his students, and so she agreed. But it had been so long since she had guided any newbies that she was wondering if she was still up to it. He had said that it was something that he wasn't able to coach her in, so he would need her help to do it. So, it was the female student. What was her name again…Sakura? Yes, that was probably it, but still, she had never heard of Jounin asking another Jounin for help to teach their students. Perhaps it was supposed to be another way to persuade her to stay…?
"Ya, shou kun, ohaiyo…" Kakashi greeted his students, and was told off by them that he was late.
"What time did you ask to meet them?" Rin asked him.
"7 am," Kakashi replied very calmly, and Rin could only sigh. She knew that her brother had a terrible sense of timing, and he probably always will.
"Huh? O ne chan, why are you here?" Naruto asked her, and she answered him with a smile.
"What do you think?" Rin said, but Naruto was still confused.
"She's here to help me with something," Kakashi interrupted and turned to face her. "Want to introduce yourself?"
"Ok. I'm Hatake Rin. Your sensei's younger sister. Yoroshiku." Rin introduced.
"Eh?" All of them said at once. "Sensei, since when did you have a sister?" Naruto ventured.
"Since a very long time ago," was all that he was going to say. "Anyway, for today's lesson, we will be doing some rather specialized things. Which is why I've asked Rin to help me." The students still looked confused.
"Help you with what?" Sakura asked.
"I need her to teach you some specialized assassination techniques," Kakashi said, and Rin raised an eyebrow at him.
"But why can't you teach me those techniques? Why will we have to be separated?" Sakura demanded to know, while 'Inner Sakura' said that there was no way in hell that she would be separated from Sasuke.
"Because… these are specialized techniques that only female nins learn to use." Kakashi explained.
"Sakura, all will be clear when I actually tell you what it is, trust me." Rin said, and with that Kakashi led the 2 male students to another location, while Sakura could only look despondently at being left behind.
"So…sensei?" Sakura started. "What are we going to do now?"
"First of all, don't call me sensei, I'm just Rin," at Sakura's nod, she continued. "How's your history?"
"Eh?" Sakura was confused at the sudden change of topics. Is this going to be one of those boring history lessons again? She remembered when Iruka sensei was giving them at the Academy and she had barely managed to keep awake for them.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to be giving you a lecture on the history of the Shinobi," Rin reassured her.
"Then why are you asking?" Sakura asked her.
"Because, it has some facts about how a female nin operates, and it will probably be useful to you too." Rin told her, and led her to the town's shopping district.
"Why are we here?" Sakura asked her.
"It's your objective for today! I want you to observe me, and see if you can spot me using and hand seals and jutsu, while we go shopping." Rin told her.
"What? Shopping?" Sakura was confused. 'Is she more crazy then Kakashi sensei or what' Inner Sakura commented.
"Exactly," Rin said. "Oh, and by the way, try to follow the real me. I'll be waiting for you at the Ramen stall down by the North side of town, block 63, at 12:30 pm, ok?"
"Follow the real you?" Sakura was still dazed when Rin took her into the heart of the shopping district and started to window shop. Sakura noticed that she had actually bought very little things, but in the crowded streets, it was easy to get lost, and she had almost lost her a couple of times, but had managed to find her again. It was 12:30 and Sakura's stomach growled a little indicating what time it was.
"Eh?" Sakura looked up and saw Rin, wait a minute, it wasn't Rin, it was… it was…a kawarimi…?
What she saw instead, was a cute little cat, staring intently at her. "How did I…where is she?" Sakura then remembered the instructions and went to the pre-arranged location to meet up with Rin. When she got there, Rin was waiting for her.
"So, how was it?" Rin asked her. "How about discussing it over lunch?" Sakura was at this moment, a little hungry, angry and tired to actually argue with her. It was a small shop that only had counter seats. They seated themselves and ordered their food. Halfway through the meal, Rin asked her.
"Sakura, do you even know why you were asked to do this exercise with me?" Rin asked her.
"Well, no," Sakura replied honestly. "I mean, I understand that ninjas have to be good at camouflage and all that, but why are we in the streets, shouldn't we be doing something else?"
"I know exactly how you feel," Rin sympathized. "I was just as confused when my sensei got another female instructor to teach us about such things. I couldn't understand why we had to go shopping!"
"So why are we?" Sakura asked her.
"Ah…you see, the objective of this exercise is to teach you that even when you are walking the streets that you think are safe, spies are everywhere. There are probably people out there that are so well disguised that you don't even realize they're there." Rin told her. "So, what are the jutsu that I've used today?"
"Jutsu?" Sakura asked her, all the while thinking about the time she had spent out in the streets with her. "I guess you must have used the replacement technique, but that was about it." Rin took a slurp of her noodles, and Sakura did the same.
"Yes, but did you see when I used it?" Rin asked, and Sakura tried to think back again, but only came up blank.
"Did you remember when I bought the makeup?" Rin hinted. "Try to remember the scene of me bargaining with the owner. Sakura closed her eyes and tried to remember what she had seen. They had stopped at a shop that sold make up, and Rin was not only trying on colors for her, but also bargaining with the shopkeeper about the price of the makeup.
"Ah! I see! You made the hand seals while you were bargaining the price! I remember you taking up the compact powder and then… and then…"
"Exactly," Rin said. "You see, female nins can sometimes be sent on some rather dangerous missions on their own. We don't exactly have the strength that the guys have, but we can still overcome that, with subtlety. Imagine this scenario. You are sent to a town to assassinate the Lord that resides there. The lord already knows that people are after his life, and has already stepped up his guard. The only possibility to complete the mission would be to send someone in alone."
"Hmmm….." Sakura seemed thoughtful on that scenario.
"Let's say that he is someone who needs female company and the best way to kill him is in his private chambers. As a female nin sent in alone, you must remember that you don't have anyone to back you up, and the people whom the Lord has hired is probably already on the lookout for ninjas. Using your jutsu openly would only endanger your life, so, by learning how to incorporate hand seals into your daily movements, is very important." Rin explained.
"Hand seals in your daily life?" Sakura echoed and her eyes widened suddenly, seemingly making sense of it all. "Does that mean that the biggest subtlety that a female nin has in these situations is to be able to use jutsu without anyone knowing that you've used them, even among other ninjas?"
"Exactly!" Rin exclaimed, smiling. "My brother had said that you were really bright, now I know why." Sakura flushed a little with pride. So, Kakashi sensei HAD been impressed by her analytical ability, though he hasn't said a word. "Ok, ready for your next lesson?"
"Huh? There's more?" Sakura asked, after they had finished their meal.
"Of course! Much more!" Rin said. "Shall we go?"
"Hai!" Sakura said, and left the little shop with Rin.
"Ne, Rin san," Sakura started to say. "How is it that you know so much about these things?"
"You mean the subtle hand seal usage?" At Sakura's nod, she continued. "I used to be from the Anbu assassination squad Division 5."
"Sugoi!" Sakura admired. "You must be really experienced then, huh?"
"You could say that." Rin answered.
"Are you still there now?" Sakura asked.
"No, you see, due to some circumstances, I've had to leave the Village. I was only back last week," Rin told her, and wondered what was it with talking to kids about her problems anyway? "I was away for 2 years."
"I see," Sakura seemed like she had something to say, but hesitated. So, Rin just went on ahead, while Sakura followed. At the end of the day, Rin brought Sakura to the meeting place that her brother had told her to meet before Sakura could be dismissed. Kakashi was in charge after all, and where Sakura was concerned, he still gave the orders. She went there late, knowing her brother's sense of time, and found him waiting there, surprisingly enough. She had told Sakura to get used to the idea of wearing makeup, and so as a first lesson, actually made her wear some lipstick, light eye shadow and blush when they went to meet up with Kakashi's group. It was amazing to see the look of surprise on the face of all the boys, including her brother. Rin couldn't help but laugh, and Sakura joined in too. She had never seen Sasuke stunned like the way he was now.