Author's Note: Hello everyone! I hope that those of you who have March/Spring Break have gotten a good start to it! This chapter is inspired by an actual event called the Inside Ride. The details of the event are in the fic, and the only thing different is that in reality you need six members on a team. For all those who can participate in the Inside Ride or any yearly event similar to it, I encourage you to do so. Not only is it really fun, but it's also a really rewarding experience and it gives you a chance to help out the global community. Most of us here are probably lucky enough to have enough food, a fairly normal/healthy lifestyle, shelter, parents/family who loves us, a good education, and other things that we take for granted. By partaking in events such as the Inside Ride, we can display our appreciation for what we have and help others to acheive their dreams and gain opportunities in life. For more info on the Inside Ride please google it for it won't let me post the website. The power you have to make a positive difference in someone's life is greater than you can imagine. Don't just apply it to helping the poor, or homeless, or sick: help all those you can, whenever you can. We all need somebody to lean on and we all need love and support. If you make at least one person breathe easier knowing that you're around, why wouldn't you?
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Inside Ride.
One thing that seemed to be specific to Konoha every year was an event called the 'Inside Ride'. To participate, you needed to form a team of at least 3 people (up to 6), get others to pledge you money, and on the day of the event, you would ride on stationary bikes to support helping children with cancer.
Rin, having spent quite a bit of time in the children's ward at the hospital, decided that this year, she too would participate in this event. Most of her day was spent thinking about whom she could get to pledge her, and most importantly, whom she could get on her team. By the end of the day, she had figured the latter out; now, if only the two people she was going to talk to about joining would do it. First thing after her shift finished, she went straight to the place of residence of her first ideal teammate and knocked on his door.
"Rin!" he answered, a smile on his face. "What brings you here?"
"Well, you know about the Inside Ride?" she questioned.
"Of course; it used to be an obligatory activity back when I was in the academy. It was instead of all this Olympic event stuff."
"Ok. I was wondering if you'd be interested in doing it this year again and being on my team. I'm telling you, I've spent an abundance of time with the kids in the cancer ward and they are just really deserving of all the money in the world. It would be so nice to see them smiling!"
"Yeah, sure," the male grinned, "I'd be happy to do the event with you! Who else is on your team?"
"I wanted to recruit Kakashi. With him on the team, there's no way that we can lose the competition."
"Kakashi, eh? That's good. Well, I need to get back to my work Rin but I shall see you on the day of the event, alright?"
"Yeah! Thank you so much; you have no idea how much this will mean to the kids!"
Pleased that she had convinced her first recruit, Rin proceeded back to her and Kakashi's apartment to recruit her roommate for the team. As far as she was concerned, Kakashi definitely had one of the most physically fit bodies of any Konoha citizen and if that helped her win the competition and please the kids, she was more than happy to exploit that fact.
"Kakashi?" she called through the apartment. "Are you home?"
A grumble was heard in response to her question and she walked into the bedroom to find him asleep on his mattress. "Did you just get home? I could have sworn you were here last night too," she questioned.
He frowned sitting up. "No, I was on a mission last night; I just got back. Why? Did you feel someone's presence next to you?"
"Relax Kakashi, I was only kidding."
He sighed tiredly and exasperatedly, leaning back under the covers. "Geez Rin, don't scare me like that."
"Sorry," she apologized, "I've got some exciting news for you though!"
When he didn't show any signs of life, she continued on with her explanation. "How would you like to be on my team for the Inside Ride next week?"
"The Inside what?"
"Inside Ride! Basically, you get people to pledge you money and you pedal on stationary bikes."
"That sounds stupid. Why did you think I would do it?"
Rin frowned, obviously upset that he didn't agree off the bat. "It wouldn't kill you to participate in something social once in a while! Besides, it's for a good cause. You'd be riding to support kids who have cancer get better."
"Sorry, still not interested."
"Oh come on! It's a competition too! There'll be awards and nearly everyone in our age group is going to be competing! Do you want them to think you're a chicken?"
He sat up and threw her a look. "Does it seem like I care about what they think?"
"No, but doesn't it matter what I think?"
"Not right now. I'm tired, leave me alone."
"Hmph. I don't like you very much right now."
"That's ok," he told her, "as long as you silently don't like me, that's ok."
Rin looked like she was ready to blow her top; how could Kakashi say no to helping sick children? It made even people like Orochimaru look benevolent. Ok, so maybe she was exaggerating but still! How could he just refuse to help young kids get better? "Argh! Kakashi, you're such a-a-argh! This isn't some D-rank that has no merits; it's an even specifically planned and organized to help sick children feel like they have a chance at leading normal lives!"
"Fine, I'll do it," came the muffled voice from under the covers. "Now let me sleep."
"Thank you!" she chimed, smiling at him. "Guess who else I recruited?"
"I'm not guessing. Just tell me."
"Fine," she huffed, whispering the name in his ear.
Kakashi looked at her, confused. "Doesn't that give us some sort of an unfair advantage?"
"Technically no, because shinobi and civilian events are separate and you're not allowed to use any Ninjutsu to speed yourself up."
"Hm, ok. Time to sleep now."
"Goodnight!" she chimed, pleased that she'd managed to convince him.
The next morning, when Kakashi had decided to finally wake up, he had surveyed the house and decided that he should have just stayed asleep. Rin was telling him (or at least trying to) all about the Inside Ride but for Kakashi, it fell on deaf ears. After hearing Kakashi mutter the umpteenth "Huh?" that signified he was not paying any attention to what she'd said, Rin gave up, knowing that she'd be able to get her point(s) across better during breakfast.
Sure enough, Kakashi seemed to be slightly more approachable after he was fed and Rin quickly made up her mind that now was going to be the time he'd listen to her most attentively.
"Kakashi?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I tell you about Inside Ride now?"
He groaned. "Don't you have work or something?"
Slightly offended that he wanted to get rid of her so quickly, she snapped, "Just listen for 10 minutes!"
He obviously knew by her tone that he had said something to anger her and he knew that he should apologize, but he couldn't think of a better apology than sitting silently by her and listening to what she had to say.
"Ok," she explained, pulling out some papers, "this is the waiver form. You're going to need to read it and sign it. This is the pledge form."
"Pledge form?"
"Yeah, you're going to have to collect at least 2,076 yen for them to let you participate."
"I'm not begging anyone for money."
Rin sighed heavily, massaging her temples. "Kakashi, do you have to be so antagonistic? You wouldn't be begging for it; you'd be politely asking! You know what? Forget it. If this is too much work for you, just forget it."
She threw the papers on the ground and walked outside, slamming the door behind her.
Kakashi sighed as well after she left. Smooth move, jerk. His conscience scolded him. She really wasn't asking for much; she just wanted to see those kids live normal lives. Is that such a terrible thing? Is that too much work for you? To bring happiness to someone takes too much of your effort?
He sighed again, knowing that the little voice yelling at him in anger right now was absolutely correct but knew that if he just went after her now, they'd probably cause a public scene and if he apologized, it would be an even bigger scene. Needless to say, Kakashi was stumped as to what to do in order to make it up to her. He didn't just want to make things right because the apartment would be filled with tension the whole day (or longer) if he didn't, but also because he truly felt sorry and if he would be honest with himself, he was a bit annoying to her. It was only when he saw the papers, scattered haphazardly on the floor, that an idea began to form itself in his mind, and he too left the apartment.
Kakashi spent the day making sure that his plan was properly executed and when he arrived home in the late afternoon hours, to a still empty house, he spent a few minutes putting what he needed to in an envelope and depositing it on her pillow. Tired, he flopped down onto his mattress, hoping that his way of apology would be sufficiently pleasing for her to forgive him.
She arrived home around seven PM, finally having blown off her steam. After leaving the house, Rin had travelled to the training grounds and had released her stress by sparring with Kurenai, who just happened to also be at the grounds. The latter seemed to notice the angry feeling radiating from the former but decided that she would not pry into the other girl's matters. Rin had been thankful for that, for she did not wish to share anything with her friend about the incident that had passed in the morning. Having been allowed to let out her steam, Rin came back to her shared apartment with a rather more cheerful disposition, which only soured a little when she saw that Kakashi had simply given up any attempt at an apology and retreated under his covers.
Rin prepared a sandwich for herself, debating whether she should wake her roommate up to yell at him or just let him be and ignore him the whole of tomorrow. Her final decision turned out to be neither of the two, as she noticed the neatly placed envelope on her pillow. Curious, she picked it up and opened the sealed package. Inside was the waiver form signed with Kakashi's signature, the pledge form filled out, and cash totalling in over 10,381 yen (equivalent to over $100 CAD/$101 US). She smiled warmly at the contents of the envelope before turning her gaze to Kakashi.
"Are you asleep?" she whispered.
"Not really," he replied.
"Did you leave the envelope as a form of apology and then hide yourself under the covers in case I was still angry when I got back?"
"…"
Rin laughed lightly at his silence, knowing that it meant she had guessed appropriately. She was glad that the tension in the small apartment was relieved and glad that Kakashi had decided to let go of a little of his pride. "Well, thanks," she told him appreciatively.
The rest of the week passed without much incident, and finally it was the following Monday, the day of the competition. The park was where the Inside Ride would take place around noon, and many of the shinobi in Rin and Kakashi's year showed up, raring to go. Rin had chosen the team theme to be Superheroes and the team name was RKM. Rin had decided to dress up as Catwoman, adorning her usual black dress with a pair of black pants and a headband that she had converted into one with cat ears. Kakashi had not chosen to be any specific one, despite the number of prods and pleas from Rin, but he had just added a red cape to his usual attire. The third member of their team had shown up entirely covered in a black cloak, looking more like a villain than a superhero.
"What superhero are you supposed to be?" asked Rin in her third member's ear. "You look more like an evil villain."
"Eh, I'm my own breed of superhero. Plus, I want it to be a surprise for the kids," he whispered back, looking over at the bench where a few children who had been well enough came to watch the event.
"Alright," the organizer of the event, a slim, middle-aged, blonde woman called out, "all participants please get your first member on the bike. The race will be starting momentarily. The tracker closest to you will record your total kilometres at the end. Everyone have fun, and thank you for coming out to support us today! Remember, there are prizes for Most Money Raised, Best Team Spirit, Team with the most Kilometres, and Female with the most Kilometres and Male with the most Kilometres. "
There were 7 teams in total at the event: RKM (Rin's team), Winners (Genma, Kurenai and Asuma), Team Gai (Gai, Shizune and Anko), Team Light (Izumo, Kotetsu and Iruka), Painkillers (Hayate, Yugao, and Ibiki), Team Kakashi (Sasaki, Haruhi and Nikko) and The Unknowns (Ebisu, Yamato and Shisui).
The first rider for Rin's team was decided to be Kakashi for they needed a head start on the competition and who better to provide it than him? Each rider on the 3-man team was to ride for 20 minutes and try to achieve as many kilometres as they could. There would also be music playing to keep the adrenaline going and water bottles to keep the riders hydrated.
"Riders ready? On your marks…get set…go!" the organizer woman announced and at once there was the loud sound of upbeat high-bass music pumping through the air, drowning out the noise of the pedals furiously turning under the feet of the competitors. As Kakashi pedaled, Rin cheered him on fiercely – she seemed to be getting really into the event – and even sprayed the occasional water on his face to keep him cool. Her screams of "Go Kakashi!" were louder than any of the other collective team shouts and many looked surprised in her direction, unaware that the always-gracious girl had such a competitive streak in her.
"Come on Kakashi!" she would yell whenever he slowed down, "Do you want to be beaten?"
He would always respond, "No."
"Are you going to be beaten?!" she would yell more aggressively.
"No!" he would respond just as aggressively and his legs would begin to pick up pace.
By the end of his shift, Kakashi was exhausted, having biked 18.47 kilometres in the 20 minutes. Rin had gotten him a water bottle and told him to sit down on the bench. When he finally sat, the world swimming around him, Rin tried to make him feel better by stacking on the praises and commending him on his excellent amount of effort. Gai had come over to him as well and added a few praises of his own, saying that he would have expected nothing less from his eternal rival.
Then Rin got up, seeing as the next shift was about to start, and made her way onto the bicycle. "Rin," Kakashi said, still on the bench trying to catch his breath, "Good luck. Remember, you're doing it for these kids, so make them proud."
Upon hearing his words, her face took on a determined look and some would swear that they saw fire in her eyes. The minute she heard the word 'Go!' her legs pedaled steadily but furiously and Kakashi and her other team member encouraging her through various provocations and shouts of encouragement. By the end of the 20 minutes her legs were exhausted and her cheeks had turned out red but she and her teammates were very impressed with her 16 kilometres and she appeared to have retained most of her energy.
She walked unsteadily over to her third teammate, patting him on the back as a sign of 'good luck' and 'make us proud'. As their teammate boarded the bike, all the other competitors looked on in confusion. Who was this black-cloaked man/boy? Where had he come from? Was he even a he? When the announcer announced the start of the third shift, the man's legs pedaled furiously, becoming a blur. All who were there watched in amazement at how fast the man was going. Just a few moments later, awed gasps were added as the man took off his cloak and revealed himself to be-
"Hokage-sama!" One of the children cheered as they realized who the third member was.
After everyone recovered from their star-struck states, the children cheered for him and Rin added with her shouts of, "Come on Minato-sensei!" Minato pedaled as if his life depended on it, grinning widely at all those around him.
If the shock of having the Yondaime Hokage show up at a local event and ride a stationary bike to help children with cancer hadn't floored everyone, the number of kilometres he pedaled sure did. Minato ended his 20 minutes with a total number of 40 kilometres. When presented with the award for Male with the most kilometres, he had politely declined and insisted that it be given to the second place winner, which had been Uchiha Shisui. Rin had won for the Females but had shared her victory with the second place winner, Miyake Haruhi, the female off of Kakashi's genin team. The award for Fundraising had been presented to Winners (Genma, Kurenai and Asuma) and RKM (Rin, Kakashi, Minato) had received the award for team spirit.
Those who had received awards had to go afterwards over to the photographer who was patiently waiting to take their picture. Minato and Shisui grinned at the camera and Rin and Haruhi had grinned and put one finger in front showing that they were number one. The Winners had gone into various gallant and superior poses before bursting out laughing at each other while Rin stood between Minato and Kakashi, her arms around the taller males' shoulders.
There was an after party held by Gai in the same spot, with cake and BBQ and other various foods/beverages to satisfy the guests. Everyone stayed for a few hours until the photographer came back with the developed prints of the photos, handing one to each member of the teams.
Rin squealed in delight when she received hers, and remarked, "Oh guys! This is such a good picture! Haha, we all look so cool!"
"I always look cool," piped in Kakashi, smirking.
"Sensei, you're a loser," Haruhi told him, rolling her eyes at Kakashi.
"Hey! Just for that, you get an extra two hours of training tomorrow!"
Nikko showed up groaning. "Why did you have to say that Haruhi? Honestly…I don't know if I'll be able to walk tomorrow, let alone train!"
"Fine. Sensei, I take whatever I said back. You're super cool and awesome," Haruhi spoke.
Kakashi chuckled. "Ok, ok, you can put off training tomorrow. Just make sure to get lots of rest," he told Nikko.
The young boy sighed in relief, his leg muscles twitching in what could either be regarded as happiness or pain.
Later on, when everyone had gotten Minato's signature and he had personally offered his thanks to everyone and support to the children's parents, people began to exit the park and head off to their respective homes. Rin as always, was to walk home with Kakashi, and when the pair invited Minato, the Hokage said something about Kushina being hostile if he wasn't home soon and they nodded in understanding, watching him rush off.
They then proceeded to head towards their apartment, silent for the most part due to exhaustion. The minute they got inside, Kakashi collapsed on the mattress, not even bothering to shower or change his clothes. Rin followed suit, falling on the mattress beside his, spread-eagled. Though their arms were touching, both inhabitants of the apartment were much too tired to care. In a final effort to convey his appreciation and thanks, Kakashi muttered a small, "Thanks Rin."
She would have gladly left it at that but she needed to inquire further what he was thanking her for or else the question would plague her mind and dreams, causing her to become restless. "For what?" she wheezed, still not having caught her breath properly.
"I don't know, for choosing me to be on your team I guess. It was a lot more entertaining that I imagined and those kids are really deserving."
She turned her head towards him and softly smiled. "No need to thank me. In fact," she moved her arm more onto his, "thank you. Doing this means more to me than you can imagine."
In a moment of dazed tiredness and lack of regular logic, as well as a lowered sense of guardedness, Kakashi replied, "If it is as easy as partaking in events…if it's that easy to make you happy, trust me, you'll never be upset again in your life."
Rin, though also exhausted, still had part of her mind that was functioning at full capacity despite her tiredness and that part had absorbed all of Kakashi's words like a sponge, and had really taken them to heart. Feeling his rhythmic heartbeat as her fingers lightly pressed on his wrist, Rin drifted off to slumber contentedly.
Author's Note: Alright, that's it folks! Hope that you all enjoyed it and if it managed to make you think or inspired you to do something to help the global community, than all the better! Thank you to all of Chapter 6's reviewers: Sachie-chan11, FallenAngelsFeelNoLove, JoiZ.D, Sakra-chan, catgirl9696, chibibrain94, catwomanswrath, and snappa!