Chapter 2: Disturbing Her Rest

"I was the only one who didn't get you a gift..."

Stop it.

"I've finally thought of something..."

Shut up.

"This Sharingan."

Obito's once bright, mirthful eyes had dimmed – their light was fading quickly. He didn't have much time left. Rin was desperately clutching her friend's hand, tears running in rivers down her bruised and dirty face. Kakashi could only stare in shock at this proposition.

"Rin, do it quickly..." Obito had said. The girl choked back her sobs and obeyed, steadying her trembling fingers so she wouldn't bring him more pain.

"Come here, Kakashi." Her voice was weak as she spoke to him. Perfectly understandable. The Jounin obeyed and laid down on the spot she motioned to. Right next to Obito. The young Uchiha coughed violently, spraying Kakashi with his blood. The silver-haired boy winced as if acid had been thrown in his face, but something was keeping his ruined eye open. Rin had made sure to place her fingers there – ensuring that this part of him wouldn't move.

There wasn't much pain. The kunoichi's Shousen no Jutsu was perfect – the surgery flawless. It took less than fifteen minutes to transfer the Sharingan into Kakashi. Rin had always been so talented, he remembered. Mastering such techniques at such a young age...yet, her lack of combative skills had only brought forth his scorn instead of praise.

"You're weak," he'd said to her one day after training. "Perhaps you should train more instead of burying your face in those ridiculous books of yours."

Obito had called him an idiotic bastard – Rin was a genius medical nin. Without her, they'd all have died many times over. The silver-haired boy merely gave the kunoichi an icy stare as she shakily rose to her feet and dropped into a fighting stance once more. "Cut it out, Rin-chan. This dumbass isn't worth it."

"I'm not weak." Her eyes had narrowed, though not in hatred. Kakashi could faintly see tears forming at the corners.

"You can hardly spar with Obito, let alone me."

"Perhaps it will make me stronger."

"What? Being beaten to the ground again?"

"If that's what it takes..."

Obito stepped in between the pair at that point. He'd grabbed Rin by the shoulders and told her that Kakashi was a moron and had no sense. She'd only said, "No, Obito-kun. He's a genius...much smarter and stronger than I will ever be." The tears of defeat were blinding her – it was true, Kakashi thought now. He really was a moron. If she'd abandoned her books as he'd suggested, this would have never worked.

Then the warmth of her touch was fading. He was no longer with Obito or Rin. There was only this dark void...it was choking him. Smothering him. He couldn't breathe. Kakashi tore at his mask, desperate for air. Suddenly something grabbed him from behind. He spun, ready to exterminate the enemy who had decided to—

"...Rin-chan..."

His breath hitched in his chest as she stared up at him with those eyes...those beautiful brown eyes that could look into his very soul if they wished. Her arms were still slightly extended – oh yes, that's right. She'd just attempted to embrace him, but he'd torn himself away. Again. The girl looked hurt. Pain leaked out of her being like water overflowing from a dam. "Kakashi-san..."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

Without warning, her hand was at her throat, a knife tearing into that soft flesh. Kakashi gaped in horror as she merely stood there, crimson liquid flowing freely from slender neck. Rin slowly looked up to meet his stare, the Sharingan in both her eyes. "You promised to protect me..." she whispered hoarsely, her voice gurgling and choking on the gore filling her throat. "You couldn't though, could you?"

"Rin...chan..." he faltered. Why couldn't he breathe? His head was swimming, his knees felt weak. "No..."

She smiled sadly, invisible tears flowing from her like this blood. Oh God, there was so much blood! Why wouldn't it stop?!

"I'm tired of remembering..."

"No...stop. I'll change. I'll protect you..."

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-san."

"Stop it, Rin!" He cried, latching onto her shoulders in desperation. "Heal yourself, damnit!"

Her face was pale as Death, but Rin only smiled that broken smile of hers. "I can't anymore. I...can't..." she trailed off, the light finally fading from the blood-red irises.

Kakashi froze. "No..." He shook her gently. "Wake up, Rin-chan." Her head only lolled back limply in response. She was dead. "Shit! Wake up! Wake up, Rin!!"

"Kakashi?"

"Wake up, damn you!"

"Kakashi, wake up!"

The silver-haired man shot up, eyes bloodshot and vision blurred. His breathing was rapid and unsteady, silver hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat. "Rin-chan..." he breathed into the tense air.

Tsunade stood uneasily next to his bedside. Her worried look told him that perhaps he'd been a little too loud again. "Kakashi-san, I'll be frank with you."

"Sorry about that," he cut in. The Jounin rubbed his eyes tiredly and attempted to wipe away the sheen of sweat that had covered him. "Was I noisy?"

"I'm worried about your mental state right now. Perhaps some therapeutic assistance and a few sessions might—"

"Hokage-sama, really. I'm fine. A bad dream doesn't constitute me being institutionalized."

The blonde woman narrowed her eyes icily. "Perhaps one dream wouldn't, but when you've been having the same dreams night after night after night – I would say that something might be wrong."

He raised a silver eyebrow warily. "And how do you know it's the same dream?"

Tsunade turned and began to head out the door. "Because," she stated matter-of-factly. "You always say the same things."

Kakashi's stare hardened. "And what 'things' might I be saying?"

The Hokage paused. Her look was pitiful – how he'd always hated that expression... "'Wake-up, Rin-chan'...'Heal yourself, damnit.' Those are the most frequent ones we hear, Kakashi. Seriously, I don't think it's healthy."

He turned away and stared blankly at the white hospital walls. "So everyone can hear that?"

"Yes. Quite well in fact."

"Sorry," he mumbled quietly. "It won't happen again. You have my word."

She only stared skeptically in response, not sure whether or not to believe him. After a moment of tense silence, the Hokage sighed heavily and threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine. But if this keeps up, I'm going to do something about it. Got it?"

He nodded.

"Well, the brat and Sakura wanted to visit you later. Are you up for it?"

He nodded again.

"I'll send them in an hour or so. Jiraiya also wanted to see you. He was ranting about some kind of intel that he'd found – probably more of that pornographic shit you two read..."

Yes, it was pornographic. And yes, it was shit. But all the Jounin said was, "We all have our vices, Hokage-sama."

She rolled her eyes and stormed out, muttering something about "typical men".

The young man sighed heavily, returning his gaze to the empty walls. So, Jiraiya had done it, eh? Well, that wasn't exactly surprising, Kakashi supposed. He was a Sannin after all.

The Jounin's memories momentarily drifted back to the River Country. He could have sworn that...no. No, whatever it was, it wasn't that. This was only a vain hope, a fleeting wish that his mind refused to let go of. He'd seen a girl yes, but it wasn't her. It could never be her, because she was dead - buried in the ground just a few miles from the Memorial Stone.

"But those stripes", half his mind argued stubbornly.

"Anyone could tattoo themselves like that."

And who had that man been? Another Akatsuki member perhaps? His face had been hidden by a strange mask so his true identity might be hard to uncover. The pair had been standing in the middle of a clearing, talking and laughing together. Just like old times... "Stop it."

"Oi! Kakashi!!" The old man burst into the room with a flourish. Could he be any louder? Kakashi silently cursed, but held up a hand in friendly greeting.

"Yo."

The Sannin made his way over to the Jounin's bedside, waving a manila folder in the younger man's face. "Looky what I got here!" he practically sang.

Kakashi stared blankly at his visitor, eyebrows raised.

"C'mon! Guess!"

For crying out loud... "Research?"

"No, dumbass! It's that intel you wanted!" Jiraiya shouted, spraying spittle all over Kakashi's tired looking face.

He casually wiped it off, then reached out for the folder. "Thanks," was all he said.

Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest as the Hatake began flipping through the reports and miscellaneous photographs. "So... 'Tobi' is what he's called?"

The older man nodded. "Yup. And apparently, he's one of their newer members. Used to be a bounty hunter, see."

"Interesting...Any known origin?"

"Nope. There's not too much more we know actually. What you see there is all we've got."

Kakashi sighed in defeat, rubbing his temples in frustration. Damn. "The Akatsuki don't usually associate with 'outsiders'...so why was he with that girl?"

"Girl?" Jiraiya's eyebrows waggled in excitement. "Was she hot?"

"I think it was...her."

The Sannin suddenly grew serious, eyes narrowing slightly. "Kakashi, you and I both know—"

"Yes, she's gone. But..."

"Kakashi, stop it. You can't seriously believe that she's still alive?"

The Jounin shook his head. "No...That's an empty dream."

It was silent for a moment. Kakashi could sense the Sannin's scrutiny bearing down on him. It was stifling. "I know how it is..." the elder sighed after a moment. "It's driving you insane – tearing you apart from the inside out."

Was it? Kakashi didn't know what he felt anymore.

"I don't know whose got it better between you and I. Our loves...Both of them are...unattainable, Kakashi."

"I know."

"Do the books help at all?"

"Not much. They do however," he smirked sheepishly beneath his mask, "manage to fend off all the other suitors. They always say something about a 'pervert'."

"'Atta boy!" Jiraiya bounded over and ruffled Kakashi's hair with a prideful grin.

The Jounin accepted the "affections" with an indifferent tolerance. He was too tired to make much protest at the moment. The old man said a few parting words, then left...finally. What a relief. Kakashi flopped backwards onto his pillow, earning himself a loud creak from the old mattress. Ah, Konoha had spared no expense to ensure the comfort of their wounded.

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Across the village, the ANBU head crashed into Tsunade's office. His panting was loud and terribly uneven – she could hear it through his mask.

"Hokage-sama!"

"Report, Shinobi," she demanded. "What's the matter? What's wrong?"

"Akatsuki. At the border."

"Have they infiltrated the border?"

"Well..." The group shuffled uneasily.

"Spit it out!" the Hokage barked viciously. "Don't just stand there wasting my time!"

The head lowered his voice and took a small step forward. "There's only one. And..." he paused uneasily, earning an impatient glare from Tsunade. "He's got someone with him."

"And who would this 'someone' be? Don't push me, Shinobi. I am in no mood to play games today."

Another ANBU who had being hanging back now stepped forward, producing a simple manila folder marked 'DECEASED' in red lettering. Tsunade accepted it and flipped open the cover. The ANBU were not surprised when she nearly dropped the paperwork – a horrified gasp escaping her painted lips. The panic written plainly on her features might have been amusing in any other situation, but this...this was no laughing matter, was it?

The Hokage's expression suddenly hardened into one of anger and determination. "You're sure?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. We all witnessed it. There could be no mistake – we sensed no genjutsu in effect."

Tsunade's grip on the heavy paper tightened until she was almost crushing it. Her eyes burned in a cold fury that could send children crying to their mothers. The group was in absolute shock when she announced, "We're digging her up. Call the Inazuka."

O - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O

The lone eye widened in what might be fear...perhaps anger. "She's what?!" he hissed.

Kakashi's self-proclaimed "eternal rival" nodded and slipped out the door, though not before poking his head around the frame one last time. "Just thought you might want to know..." he whispered loudly, then disappeared. An angry Hatake was not someone to mess with.

The silver-haired man threw his covers off and practically jumped off the bed. Screw recovery – he wasn't about to let someone desecrate the grave of his latest teammate...even if that someone was the Hokage. Damnit, this was more ridiculous than if she'd proposed scratching Obito's name off the Memorial Stone! How could Tsunade even consider doing this?!

"Hatake-san! You mustn't act so rashly! Please, don't strain yourself so much!"

The nurses' desperate pleas fell on deaf ears. All Kakashi could think about right now was saving Rin. It was his last chance after all, wasn't it? This time...this time he wouldn't leave her. This time, he'd prove she mattered to him.

With a speed thought impossible for someone so injured, Kakashi flew to where he knew Rin's resting place to be.

O - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O

"You want him to...what?" asked Kiba warily, his gigantic beast of a dog sitting next to him. "Seriously?"

Tsunade tapped her foot impatiently, eyes narrowed in a leer. "Yes, I do believe that's what I said. Now do it, Inazuka, before I really get irritated."

The boy shrugged and patted Akamaru's shoulder. "Alright, boy. You heard her. Get diggin'." The dog snorted and began to ruthlessly tear into the soft earth - paws flying, tail beating the air in anticipation of what long-forgotten prize he might find. The group waited in the chill November air, shivering in what could either be cold or perhaps even excitement.

Then Akamaru barked.

"What is it, boy?" asked Kiba, sauntering over to the massive hole. "Find somethin'?"

The dog whined and climbed out of the mud, tail tucked between his legs. It seemed he didn't quite find what he'd been hoping for. Instead he'd found a coffin. Tsunade practically glared at the rotting box and motioned for Kotetsu and Izumo to lift it out. The elite Chuunin grumbled in silence – to do so audibly would mean certain death. The coffin was nearly half-way out when the deafening silence was interrupted by a bitterly cold, "What the hell is going on here?"

Izumo and Kotetsu froze, unsure who they should be more afraid of – the psychotic woman or the seriously-pissed-off Jounin.

Kakashi looked like he was ready to murder someone (which was quite unusual considering he was usually too lazy to be so emotional). The Godaime nodded to her subordinates, signaling they should continue.

"Hokage-sama!" croaked Kakashi hoarsely, growing desperate. "Please! This is madness! Why is it necessary to disturb the dead in such a crude fashion?!"

Tsunade eyed him warily. "Kakashi-san, do you realize what's going on here?"

Was that a joke? She was digging up his friend after eleven years with no kind of explanation at all – hell no! He had no fricken idea what was going on!

Coolly, he replied, "No. I would, however, appreciate an explanation."

The blonde started to hand him the manila folder she'd received not too long ago...then hesitated. Was it really a good idea to do this? He was still recovering from using the Mangekyou Sharingan against Akatsuki member Deidara. Could he really handle this? It was against her better judgment, but...

"Here. The report was filed less than thirty minutes ago."

Kakashi accepted the papers with an almost hungry look in his eye - scanning them, searching them for some kind of answer. She wasn't surprised to see his curiosity suddenly morph into stupefaction. The Jounin reread it, trying to comprehend these claims. Then he reread it again. Then once more for good measure.

"I don't believe it either, Kakashi-san. That's why—"

"Will her coffin not suffice?"

"Kak—"

"Do you really have to—"

"Kakashi!"

He closed his mouth and weakly looked away. So, she really did plan on going through with it...but then again...No. No, they were wrong. He'd seen her body. He'd held her in his arms. Her blood had stained his clothing as he carried her to the hospital, screaming for someone to save her... Then he'd buried her. Covered her with dirt. And said his goodbyes.

He couldn't do it again.

"I am going to make sure, once and for all, that Rin is still here and not wandering around with some Akatsuki! Now, leave if you can't handle this, but it's for the greater good. Understand?"

Oh, he understood alright. He understood that this woman had no idea how to leave things alone or go about things with the sensitivity he yearned for. People were so Goddamn cold...and he truly hated them for it. Yet, Kakashi couldn't help but smirk. He was the same way. He always had been, and probably always would be. Maybe...maybe if Rin had stuck around...she might have taught him how to feel. How to truly love.

The coffin creaked as the Chuunin attempted to force it open. The silver-haired man had to look away. It was torture watching this, but he couldn't just leave now could he? He had to be here...he had to comfort her once they'd disturbed the rest she'd so desired. A loud CRACK signaled they'd finally pried it open; the wood had splintered beyond repair, but it didn't matter. Tsunade had her evidence. There, in the bottom of this crude little box, lay a small skeleton – Rin's tattered robes hanging off the decayed bones.

Kakashi narrowed his good eye at the Hokage. "Are you satisfied, Hokage-sama?" he asked icily, his tone just short of disdainful. "She's still here."

Tsunade didn't look convinced. She stepped forward and reached into the coffin (much to everyone's horror), her hand reemerging with a piece of bone that had chipped off due to aging. "We'll know for sure once this has been genetically analyzed. I want to be absolutely sure."

"Eh, should we put her back in then?" inquired one of the Chuunin casually.

Kakashi shot him an icy glare, causing the younger to straighten up and clear his throat uneasily. "Not until she's been given a proper coffin," growled the superior.

"Er, right. Of course, how foolish of me..." came the stammered reply.

Tsunade muttered something along the lines of "be back soon" then took off. Kotetsu, Izumo, Kiba, and Akamaru all made their hurried excuses to leave as well. It was obvious that Kakashi was very jealous of Rin – unwilling to let anyone intrude on what precious little time they had together. He merely nodded it off as they retreated from his presence. Finally...they were alone again.

Kakashi thought about letting Obito see Rin too, but... "Right now," he thought selfishly, "I just want her to myself."

The man gazed for what seemed like an eternity at the ruined box that held her remains. If he got any closer, he was afraid something might happen – though, he had no idea what. The silence between the pair was crushing him from the inside out. How he wished he could speak to her, if only for a moment – explain himself, beg forgiveness for abandoning her. But he remained unspoken. The Jounin was afraid not of her reply, but the lack thereof. It would only confirm her death once again.

"Rin-chan..." he said quietly into the frigid breeze. This was strangely familiar, thought the man. Here he stood at her grave, the wind his only companion. Oh yes, it was all too familiar for his liking. Kakashi turned away bitterly, only to find he was no longer alone. A certain Godaime stood not five yards from him and Rin, watching the man curiously.

"Kakashi-san..."

He straightened up, the lazy expression settling itself over his features once more. "Hokage-sama? That was...fast."

"I was able to analyze the genetic material with an enhanced set of equipment they just brought in from Sunagakure. What I found was most...disturbing."

He raised an eyebrow expectantly, keeping his calm façade with extreme difficulty at this point. "Hokage-sama, all I want is to let her rest in peace ag—"

"It's not Rin."

Kakashi nearly choked on his own breath. "...Excuse me?"

"This...person, it's not Rin."

The Jounin was at a loss for words. He wasn't sure whether he should be overjoyed or heartbroken – Rin was alive! He should be ecstatic, but right now...all he felt was misery. Absolute, devastating misery. So she'd left him...she'd let him believe she'd died...she'd played one piss-poor joke on Konoha. Kakashi's hand involuntarily clutched at his chest, tugging on the black undershirt that hugged his torso. Something felt wrong. It was all wrong. This was so Goddamn wrong!!

"Damnit..." he breathed. Why did it feel like there was no air? Why did his chest feel like it was going to explode? Why, why, WHY?! "Why, Rin?"

Tsunade's expression softened slightly. "Kakashi-san, we'll find her. Don't worry."

He desperately clutched for the nearly-forgotten reports lying on the grass. Where did it say they'd seen her? On the border? What were the exact coordinates again?

"Kakashi..."

His icy blue eye hardened suddenly. "I'll find her," he murmured, flipping through the pages. "And I'll bring her home, back where she belongs."

The Hokage shook her head sorrowfully, pity written all over her face. There would be no rest for this man until he'd found that which he'd lost so long ago. Until he found his love. His Rin-chan.

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Hello again, and 'sanku for the reviews! I very much appreciate them. ;D

Sakra-chan: Why, thank you! I was personally rather pleased with that first chapter myself, but I don't know if I can keep it up. xP And thanks again! So far, so good.

Tisha-Lilliane: You flatter me! Better stop before my head explodes! xD

Eldr-Fire: I'm glad you liked it! This chapter wasn't too angsty, but...it'll get better later on.

Um, not much to say on this chapter other than it takes place right after Team 7 gets back from defeating Sasori/Gaara revived, etc. It's when Kakashi's still hospitalized. Anyways, I think that's about it!

- Hikari