Once again, Rin was awoken from her stupor by Minato repeatedly calling her name, accompanied by a slight jostle of her shoulder. And once again, she watched as the same sequence of events pan out again: Minato sensei asking her if she was alright, Rin assuring him that she was fine, his slight skepticism towards her answer and then turning to Obito to make him recite the details of the mission.
As if being in the same exact location, her teammates wearing the same exact clothing, and all of the same dialogue happening again didn't tip her off what day it was, then the damning words "Kannabi Bridge" flowing from Obito's lips did.
None of her teammates noticed the ghostly expression on her face as an onslaught of memories poured in. However, unlike the first time, there were two sets of memories, layering on top of each other.
Obito crushed underneath the boulders. The jagged scar over Kakashi's left eye. Team Minato arriving home as a three man squad.
The three of them never ventured near the boulders. No one was crushed underneath a boulder, none of them lost an eye, and Kakashi's arm injury was non-existent. As a three man team, the three of them had successfully made it to the bridge, yet that was when everything started falling apart.
The gleam of the sword, driven through Obito's gut. Kakashi, refusing to go down without a fight even with scores of injuries that riddled his entire body. And her, lying helpless in her own pool of blood. Wanting to shout at her teammates to get the hell out of there, yet the words remained stuck in the back of her throat.
Team Minato returned to the village as a one man team; the mission failed.
Rin had been too naive, too oblivious of the things that could have gone wrong with her recklessness. Of all of the things that had gone wrong. Too focused on wanting to prevent the event that led her team to the cave-in, Rin neglected to consider the other possibilities.
The Iwa nins that retreated must have warned their squad. Instead of getting held up in the cave from attempting to extract information from her, they had the time to summon reinforcements.
Alternatively, the squadron had always been there. Team Minato's delay to the bridge as a result of rescuing her and Kakashi passing out in the process could have drawn out enough time that the Iwa nins decided that the threat wasn't coming.
Or, Minato's flee on sight orders had done wonders in making the twelve man squad scatter the moment they caught a glimpse of yellow.
Rin would never really know. Yet having seen the same event pan out two different times now, Rin was determined to make up for the tragic ending of the last two times.
Kakashi and Obito both deserved to live.
In the distance, a silhouette was standing in the center of the entrance at Konoha's front gates. The sun had only barely started to rise, the rays breaking through the layer of bleakness. The three of them ambled slowly towards their home.
Kakashi favored his right side, his left foot trailing behind him as he continued to limp forward towards Konoha. Streaks of blood stained the silver color of his hair, the dried, crustiness of the substance matting down his gravity-defying hair slightly. His tanto was tucked away in its holster, which he held with his right hand as the leather strap had been cleanly sliced through during their battle. Battered, bruised, and lightly bleeding, Kakashi was operating on sheer adrenaline to get himself home on his own two feet.
Rin wasn't faring much better. Although her physical wounds were much lighter, the emotional wounds that had been inflicted would scar her for the rest of her life. Rin would never forget the way that Obito had gone down a third time; this time not to save Kakashi, not because he had been outnumbered, but to take a blow that was meant for her.
A blow that she would have gladly taken if that meant the two of them would live to see another day. But Obito had refused to let things pan out the way she wanted and jumped in the trajectory of a spiked earth jutsu. The sharp edge of the earth pierced straight through his stomach, narrowly missing a vital organ.
She'd never forget the way the stream of blood that dribbled down the slab of earth at an alarming rate. She'd never forget the way that no matter how much chakra she seemed to pour into her hands, no matter how strong the glow of green was that the muscles refused to knit together, the bleeding refused to clog itself up, the wound refused to close. And with Iwa nins closing in from all directions, there were simply too many of them for Kakashi to hold them off by himself.
Rin had to make a choice: allow Obito to die and help Kakashi fight off the Iwa nins with a slim chance of survival or allow all of them to die, while using her last breath to save Obito. The seconds counted down in her head and Rin knew which choice she had to make, which choice was the right one.
And then a briefest flicker of memory flashed through her mind.
No matter how much it pained her to do so, Rin gathered the courage to pull away from Obito. The heel of her foot digging into the dirt, Rin launched herself at Kakashi. Taking two more leaps to get to him, she yanked the weapons pouch from his backside. Her hand dove in to feel for the familiar three pronged kunai. In her haste, her grip on the kunai was on the sharp edge of the blade. The blade pierced through the skin of her fingertips as Rin hurled it with as much strength she could muster…
A flash of yellow appeared and within the next second, everything was already over.
And now they were heading home, with their team completely intact. Obito was currently out of critical condition, sleeping soundly on Minato's back, but with the kind of injury he sustained, he'd be out of the field for at least two weeks. Kakashi probably needed a week's worth of rest, but they'd be lucky for him to listen to their orders for three. As for her, Rin needed a good night of sleep.
Completely chakra deprived, Rin felt like she could collapse at any moment and sleep through the next twenty-four hours. Yet even in her drained current state, Rin still found the energy to crack a smile when Kushina pulled her into a bone crushing hug, muttering her thanks to Kami that they had made it back alright.
Rin was thankful too.
They wouldn't be carving anyone's name onto that memorial stone this time.
A year had passed since the dreadful Kannabi Bridge mission. Since they hadn't lost a team member this time around, they were assigned to more missions than they had been the first time around. Each time they embarked on a mission, Rin couldn't curb the anxious feeling that rolled around in the pit of her stomach.
From the moment that she changed the timeline, the future had completely become unknown. With no way of knowing what would happen next, Rin could only hope that they would make it out okay.
On their first mission after Kannabi Bridge, Rin had almost thrown up when she saw Obito stuck in a precarious situation, once more. The pressure had forced his Sharingan to activate; the timeliness of it had narrowly saved Obito's life. After they managed to fight their way out of the bind, Rin hugged Obito like her life depended on it.
Obito had been confused, but he didn't question it.
Rin wasn't sure if she could even explain what his death would mean to her.
Five missions. Ten missions. Fifteen missions. Twenty missions. More often than not, Minato wasn't there with them, which made Rin fear for the worst. Yet with more and more missions under his belt, Kakashi had become more confident, more strategic in his approach when he led their missions. Although their differences remained, the Kannabi Bridge mission had taught Obito the severity of A and B ranked missions that he learned to respect Kakashi's decisions.
Everything was fine. Their team made it out unscathed each time. Arguments between Kakashi and Obito on the field had lessened considerably.
And then Rin was pulled from Team Minato to be stationed at one of the outposts as a field medic. Despite the destruction of the Kannabi Bridge, Iwa refused to surrender. Less than three months after the explosion of the bridge, Kiri had entered the war, bolstering the opposition's manpower. Now, Konoha was attacked from both sides, with no help as Suna was unable to make up their minds on whether or not they wanted to become involved.
Konoha always had a shortage of medical personnel, especially medics that were field qualified, so it hadn't come as a surprise when Rin had been reassigned. Although she was reluctant to leave her team without a medic, orders were orders.
Besides, Kakashi and Obito were probably better off without having the burden of protecting her on every single mission.
It had been six months since she had last seen the two of them, even longer since she had gotten a glimpse of Minato sensei. From the news that traveled through each of the outposts, Minato was currently stationed on the western front as Konoha was determined to eradicate Iwa forces for once and for all. Meanwhile, Rin was stationed at the backend of the eastern front, tending to the shinobis injured during their skirmishes with Kiri.
During the last six months, there had been little activity here. A few skirmishes here and there when either Konoha shinobis ventured too far into their territory or vice versa, but no outright attack or ambushes had happened yet. That fact put almost everyone at the camp on edge, giving them the feeling that they were sitting ducks waiting to be picked off. Yet with Konoha shinobis spread thin across multiple battlegrounds, they hardly had sufficient manpower to launch a large-scale attack first.
To be honest, they'd be lucky if they had enough strength to defend their borders.
Although it unnerved them, for now, it was just a waiting game. Waiting until Minato could take care of the Iwa nins before regrouping to attack the Kiri nins at full strength.
For the first time in months, excitement buzzed through the campground. It hadn't taken her long to figure out the source of the excitement: reinforcements were coming.
The news of reinforcements arriving was already exciting to break up her dreary and monotonous days, but that energy grew tenfold when Rin realized that Obito and Kakashi were among the squad that had been sent. For the first time in six months, their team was finally whole again.
Obito and Rin spent the entire first night catching up on what had happened since they separated, with Kakashi lying on the cot pretending like he wasn't listening, but his body language betrayed his disinterest. Obito told her of all of the cool missions they embarked on, the new teammates they had, and the progress he made with the mastery of his Sharingan. Meanwhile, Rin shared the stories that she heard floating around the campground, since gossip was usually the highlights of their lackluster days.
Kakashi didn't offer much to the conversation, but knowing that he was listening intently to everything that the two of them had to say was enough for her.
Rin was content.
Everything felt alright again.
Three streams of dark smoke were billowing in the distance, clouding and polluting the air to suffocate the sunlight. Every ten minutes, the ground beneath their feet rumbled. The more forceful shockwaves knocked over tables and cots, sending patients careening to the ground. The weaker ones were simply a disruption to their healing flow, causing their hands to shake as they tried to make an incision or sew up a wound.
It was hardly comforting to know that the rumbles were getting closer to their post with each minute that passed.
Beads of sweat rolled down the side of her face as Rin tended to an amputated leg that had been caught in the crossfire of one of the many explosions. For the past hour, she had been shifted from one patient to the next, leaving her absolutely no headspace to think about the fact that Kakashi and Obito were out in the frontlines.
If Rin had the time to think about it, no doubt she would have rushed out there just so she could be there with them.
The ground beneath her feet split into two. Rin had jerked herself to the side, just barely landing on the other side of the crack while her hands reached out instinctively to grab for the patient who had fallen victim to the trench. Her fingers curled around the ledge as Rin stared helplessly into the abyss.
Her moment of paying respect was broken when the cover of the tent had been ripped out of the ground from the impact of a tidal wave crashing into the fabric of the cloth. The force of the water pulled her down under for a few seconds before her strength kicked in. Chakra pooled at the sole of her feet, before the blast of chakra in the water served to propel her straight to the surface. Feet sticking against the tumultuous surface, Rin barely had the time to brush a strand of hair out of her face when a blur charged at her.
Her kunai was raised just in time to block the razor sharp edge of the sword. The women smiled at her, showing off her shark-like teeth before she backflipped into the air, twin swords twirling around in a majestic movement.
An onslaught of information washed over her, Rin sorting through all of her memories of Kiri ninjas to figure out where she had seen those swords before.
When it finally dawned on her, Ameyuri Ringo was already advancing on her. With each strike, Rin felt herself take another step backwards to stay out of the reach of the deadly electricity-charged twin blades.
Ameyuri Ringo. One of the famed Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist. Unlike most other Kiri nins, Ameyuri's proficiency was in her deadly lightning jutsus. And having suffered a Chidori to the chest before, Rin knew exactly how lethal lightning jutsus could be.
First, Rin needed to get out of the water. A water and lightning combination…was not a situation that she wanted to be in. Unfortunately, Ameyuri knew it too because she suddenly stuck her lightning charged blades into the water. With a boost of chakra to the soles of her feet, Rin managed to jump into the air when the electricity shot through the water medium. Digging into her weapons pouch, Rin had just fished out a piece of wire when Ameyuri flew towards her in a circular arc.
Ameyuri was coming at her too quickly for Rin to yank herself out of the way with the piece of wire, so she had no choice but to go down. Gravity took over, sending her careening towards the treacherous waters when Rin felt a strong zap of lightning shoot over her head.
The tip of her foot touched the water. Rin braced herself from the shock that was bound to course up and down her nerves. Despite the burning sensation that coursed through her entire body, Rin managed to muster the strength to run towards the nearest tree branch. Black dots danced around the edges of her vision; her consciousness began to slip but Rin held on to the last bit of it for dear life.
With a burst of chakra, Rin jumped onto the tree branch, continuing her momentum to swing around the tree as one of the twin blades lodged itself into the trunk where she had been moments before.
Rin managed to hop over to the next tree branch before her wobbly legs gave out underneath her, sending her knee ramming into the branch. Ameyuri took her time fishing out her sword from the trunk, stabbing its tip into the branch as she stared at Rin, like she was sizing up her next meal.
Ameyuri cocked her head to the side. "Much stronger than I expected out of a fragile little girl like you. My lightning voltage is strong enough to knock out even the toughest men, so imagine my surprise that you're still standing." Her black eyes zeroed in on Rin's kneeling state. "Or, at least you were standing."
Rin was breathing heavily through her mouth, having no energy to respond to the other woman's quip. What was the point of dragging out her death?
The irony. Maybe she was able to save Obito and Kakashi's lives, but it seemed that Rin was always bound to die. Was this the price that she had to pay in exchange for theirs?
If so, Rin would gladly pay it.
Ameyuri's lips were moving, but her ears weren't registering a single word. One moment Ameyuri was standing on the branch and then the next, Rin's spotty vision registered a flash of red whirling towards her.
And then, everything had gone dark.
There it was again. The echoing noise in her head, like there was something else there. The relentless force that constantly pushed against the seal that kept him contained, wanting to forcibly break free. The tingling feeling that ran all over her body as she adjusted to the foreign entity trapped inside of her.
History had repeated itself.
She had become the Sanbi's jinchuuriki once again. She had become a threat, a ticking time bomb. Any moment, completely without warning, Rin could be the perpetrator of dozens, if not hundreds of innocent deaths.
The thought had thoroughly sickened her to the point where Rin found the courage to end her life by Kakashi's hand.
But this time…this time Rin was determined to end it herself.
Neither Kakashi or Obito died trying to save her.
Her death wouldn't haunt Kakashi for the rest of his life.
Rin wouldn't go berserk and accidentally kill anymore.
This was the best outcome for everyone. The only outcome that she would allow.
Even through chakra-binding handcuffs, Rin forced dredges of her chakra to move despite the suppressing force on her chakra network. Bit by bit, Rin gathered droplets of chakra in her right hand until she mustered enough to form a sad resemblance to a chakra blade. The blue hue flickered on and off, barely sustaining its shape.
Hurry, Rin's mind urged. You don't have long.
No, she didn't. Activating the edge of a sharp blade had already sapped a substantial amount of energy from her, sustaining it was draining her reserves faster than expected. Right as Rin was going to put pressure on the blade that was held to her neck, a cold hand clamped around her wrist. The blue chakra dispersed. Even in the dim lighting of the tunnel, Rin made out Obito's concerned look and Kakashi's silver hair.
A chill raced down her spine.
"Rin, Rin? Can you hear me? Are you okay?"
Rin could only find the energy to muster a head nod.
"Phew, good thing we arrived in time. You were under a genjutsu to kill yourself."
Inwardly, Rin was desperately shaking her head, wanting to convey to him that she hadn't been under a genjutsu, that Obito needed to let her kill herself before the bomb exploded on all of them. Yet the furious shaking of her head came out to be no more than a miniscule of her head movement. The tape around her mouth prevented her from shouting at Obito to get the hell away from her.
Another forceful push from the inside of her stomach knocked the air out of her. It also reminded her exactly how little time she had left before Rin killed them all.
Obito wasn't getting her message, so Rin tried to make eye contact with Kakashi, hoping that he would be a little less oblivious and read the fear in her eyes. Yet, the other teammate was too focused on guarding their backs while Obito unbounded her that Kakashi didn't even look in her direction, once.
And finally, when Obito ripped off that damning tape from her mouth, the words came out as a jumbled mess.
"You have to get away from here. I'm dangerous. I could kill you at any moment. Go. Run!"
Confusion was etched all over Obito's expression. "Rin, what are you talking about? I'm not leaving a comrade behind. We snuck into enemy territory to save you-"
Placing both hands on Obito's backside, Rin shoved him towards Kakashi. "The two of you need to go. Kiri planted a bijuu inside of me. The seal could come undone at any time and once that happens, I won't have control over my own actions. Now leave."
The first time around, Rin hadn't understood what happened to her; all that she knew was that death was the only way of preventing the creature from wreaking havoc on their village. But now that she had a better explanation this time, Rin hoped Kakashi would understand the severity of the situation and get Obito out of here.
"What's a bijuu-" Obito never had the opportunity to finish his inquiry as Kakashi's hand wrapped around his wrist and yanked him along as he sprinted towards the exit.
A sigh of relief escaped Rin's lips. Kakashi understood.
This time, he understood.
Kakashi tossed a forlorn look over his shoulder, ignoring Obito's shouts that they needed to go back to get Rin. The two of them made eye contact, Kakashi slightly dipping his head in respect towards her sacrifice while Rin managed to muster a small smile, as if to thank him for preventing another tragic ending.
That look was forever burned into her memory - the last thought that registered through her mind before the seal had come undone.
And then Rin lost all control. Her mind went completely blank.
She didn't know how long it had been since the Sanbi had taken over her body or how long she had fallen unconscious from the exertion of the Sanbi's rampage. All Rin knew when she had woken up again was that everything had been flattened to the ground for as far as she could see. Her brown eyes swept the vicinity in a slow arc, seeing nothing other than piles of rubble and upturned roots of a tree.
Rin froze. A lone tear slipped from the corner of her eye. Her jaw quivered, teeth knocking against each other as she tried to stop herself from hyperventilating. But how could she be okay?
How could Rin be okay after seeing through blurry tears Obito's hitai-ite lying less than a meter in front of her? After seeing Obito's goggles utterly destroyed, the orange shards lying next to his prone body? After seeing that Obito was lying face down in his own pool of blood, his arm torn out of his socket?
Rin didn't even need to see Kakashi's face to know that the hand sticking out of the rubble belonged to him. Crushed, trapped underneath the destruction, experiencing the feeling of having every single bone in his body shattered before death claimed him.
Rin glanced down at her shaking hands. Other than the dirt trapped underneath her fingernails, her hands were completely clean. Completely unblemished by the blood of the lives that she had taken.
The story that the evidence told was that she had been an innocent bystander who had the misfortune of being caught in the crossfire. The perpetrator had long fled the scene, leaving behind the bodies of two young Konoha nin, who died too soon, too young.
Yet no matter how clean her hands were, Rin couldn't unsee the phantom blood that dripped from her fingers.
Drip. You did it. Drip. Drip. You killed them. Drip, drip, drip. How does it feel knowing that they died by your hands? Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip.
NO, NO, NO. Rin screamed back at the voice, yet no matter how loud she raised her voice, the whispering voice broke through her defenses each time.
Rin killed them.
She killed the very people that she had so desperately tried to protect.
And Rin couldn't live with herself knowing that she had.
A/N: Hi again!
Hope that you enjoyed this chapter despite it being on the angsty side - I have never read a time loop fic that didn't have angst haha. What did you guys think about loop 2?
Thanks so much for reading and I loved hearing from you! Until next time.
-MM