Authoress' Note: Wow...hi guys. I know that this update took very, very long to put up, and I aologize for that, but I have not had one moment of free time in the past few months. I've been working at this part in increments for about 2 months now. So yeah. This is only the first part of the Epilogue; the second should be out in about 2 weeks. I just didn't want to make everyone wait even longer. If my writing style seems to change partway and adopts a very girly sense that you have not seen from me yet, blame it on all the shoujo manga I've been reading lately. XD Seriously. That stuff is addicting. Well, that's it for this AN. Hope you enjoy the chapter! Please leave a review with your thoughts and concrit at the end! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Epilogue: Three Months Later (May)
The vibrant spring sun shone brightly throughout all of Konoha, bathing its inhabitants in the warmth it emitted. The central shopping district was crowded with citizens, all possessing large grins on their faces while searching the streets for their desired shops.
Kakashi and Benjiro were among the many walking through the shopping district, trying to get out onto the more spacious streets of the eatery district, where there would, without a doubt, be a lower population density. The pair breathed a sigh of relief as they emerged onto the strip where many cafes, pastry shops, and bakeries claimed their location.
Kakashi spotted one of the less popular – but his preferred – drink stands, and motioned to Benjiro to follow him. "Let's get a drink."
Benjiro nodded and continued walking along with him. "Yeah, I'm absolutely parched. The sun's so hot today, and these navy clothes are so impractical," he flapped both his arms, which were contained in the navy cloth of Konoha's shinobi uniform. "I feel like a walking heat magnet."
The two stopped directly in front of the small juice stand, Kakashi looking at Benjiro while Benjiro stared wide-eyed at the stand. "We can't go in there," he notified Kakashi fearfully.
"Why not? You forgot to pay your tab last time or something?"
"No, we just can't go in there. Let's choose another place."
Kakashi was just about to inquire as to why he would be forced to go to a different stand when a feminine voice called their names and a figure nearly toppled him over.
"Benjiro! Kakashi! There you two are!" Rin's familiar voice rang out tiredly, and she was seen bent over, panting heavily, her rosy cheeks expanding and deflating as they took in and let out air. "I've been looking for the two of you all over," she exclaimed after she caught her breath. "You both left before I came back with breakfast, and I even told you guys to wait for me!"
Ever since Benjiro had pretty much become Kakashi's permanent border partner, he had been spending a lot more time with Kakashi and Rin. Not really having many friends in his age group, he felt very appreciative of the silent friendship of Kakashi and the cheerful acceptance of Rin. As of late, he had even taken to sleeping on the couch in Kakashi's apartment when they came back from a lengthy and strenuous week at the border. While both of them would sleep, Rin would come around to patch up their various wounds and injuries.
"Sorry," Benjiro remarked, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his neck, "we didn't hear you." He then turned back to face the juice stand, eyeing it fearfully with renascence.
"Why are we standing in front of the juice stand anyway? Let's just go in," Rin said.
"I wanted to as well, but Benjiro refuses to," explained Kakashi.
"Why?"
Kakashi shrugged.
Rin followed Benjiro's gaze and stared at the juice stand as well. She saw a few people come into her field of vision, but one stood out more than the others. It took her a couple of moments to realize just what Benjiro was nervous about, and when it dawned on her she smiled back at him with a look of sympathy in her eyes. "Ah…I get it."
"What?" Benjiro and Kakashi chorused.
"You like her, don't you?"
"Huh?!" Benjiro looked completely shocked. "How'd you know?"
"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Kakashi sighed exasperatedly.
Rin whispered her findings to him, and when the realization dawned on Kakashi as well, he rolled his eyes. "Are you serious? You like the juice stand lady and so you won't go in there? That's really pathetic."
Rin shot him a look for his insensitive comment, then turned back to Benjiro. "Don't pay attention to Kakashi; it's not pathetic," she smiled encouragingly.
"No, he's right," Benjiro sighed depressingly; it seemed like a rain cloud just passed right over him, "I am pathetic. I can't even confront her…and even if I could, I wouldn't know what to say, or how to act…"
Rin, being the kind person she was, decided to take pity on Benjiro and remove him from this obviously stressful situation. Perhaps she'd even get him to let her know more about this girl he liked, and from that, it could be determined how he should go about talking with her. "Come on Benjiro," she said, taking the older boy by the shoulders, "let's go get some lunch or something."
-
-
-
Once the three of them found a place to eat, sat down, and ordered, Rin began prodding Benjiro for more information about the young girl from the juice stand.
"What's her name?" Rin inquired.
"Ayumi…" Benjiro answered.
"How long have you known her for?"
"Six years…what's up with all the questions?"
"Just answer. How'd you meet her?"
"She was on my genin team…"
"Were you friends?"
"Yeah…"
"Ok. Now, what do you plan to do about liking her?"
"I don't know…I guess admire from a distance is best."
"Benjiro! You have to be proactive if you're going to get her!"
"I can't just tell her I like her."
"Why not? Just practice telling me; you'll see how easy it is!" Rin exclaimed determinedly.
Benjiro went wide-eyed for a few moments before returning to his miserable state; this time though, he was willing to give Rin's idea a try. He scooted down so that he sat directly across from her, stared right into her eyes and spoke. "Ayumi-chan?"
Rin feigned the part of a friend bordering on girlfriend, responding to his stare. "Yes, Benjiro-kun?"
At this point, Benjiro's mind started packing on the delusions. Rin's short light brown hair turned to long, black hair; her sepia irises turned to a vibrant emerald green, and her face became thinner, longer, and more delicate. Too confused by his delusions, Benjiro felt as though he really were telling Ayumi that he liked her. His face turned bright red all of a sudden and he broke the gaze with Rin and looked down at his feet, shaking his head back and forth.
"Well, that was absolutely pathetic," Kakashi's coldly blunt voice cut through the delusion like a knife, forcing Benjiro to come back to reality.
"Kakashi!" Rin hissed from across the table, "be nice!"
"I'm just telling the truth. Seriously, just give up if you're going to be so pathetic about it Benjiro."
"Huh?" Benjiro questioned, looking around him dazedly. "Oh…yeah…I guess I should just give-"
The slamming of fists against the table was heard and both boys stared up at Rin in shock. "No, you can't just give up like that! No matter what Kakashi, Ayumi, or anyone says, you can't give up! If you like her this much, you should at least try!"
"Rin, I'm sorry – I didn't mean to upset you by my words…it's just that-"
She cut him off again. "…Whenever I felt upset or overwhelmed or I couldn't do something right, Obito would always tell me not to give up. Because of him, I learnt the importance of always trying…because of him, I learnt how to keep going," she leaned over the table, fists clenching, and stared at him, her sepia eyes seemingly boring holes through Benjiro's face, "People are always going to discourage you, and people are always going to say that you can't do something, but you can't listen to them! If you do, you let them win! They just say those things because people don't want you doing anything they can't do! You're better than them, though! You have to prove them wrong!"
"Yeah…yeah, you're right!" Benjiro agreed after a few moments of stunned silence. "I can do this!"
Lunch ended soon after, and the three decided (more like Rin decided for everyone) to head back to the shopping district.
-
-
-
The many shops and boutiques littering the streets with their clothes and tools and toys were always seen as a welcoming site to both shinobi and civilians alike. Their bright colours and animated sales people lit up the entire strip of land and created an aura of busy happiness.
Rin immediately dragged the boys off towards the market where not only were they selling groceries, but also home appliances. She claimed that the microwave had suffered too much from Kakashi's escapades with the instant ramen, and now absolutely refused to function. Kakashi immediately countered that it was none of her business whether the microwave was functioning or not, as she was not the individual inhabiting his apartment.
Yes, yes, she agreed, but countered back that for two weeks every month, she in fact inhabited the apartment and it was important to her that she had some available method besides the neighbours' apartments to heat up food. That, and the rugged state the microwave in his apartment was currently in could develop to be a fire hazard.
Noticing that more arguing would get him nowhere, for once Rin set her mind to something it would be done, Kakashi conceded at last and allowed her to shop around until she dropped of exhaustion.
It took Rin a few hours, but she finally managed to locate the perfect microwave. The moment she had walked in the store and seen it, her eyes had lit up and she felt it in her heart that it was the one. Looking at the price tag though, she deflated. Although Kakashi was not in the right to want to keep his current microwave, he certainly should not have to pay that much money just to satisfy her needs.
Even if they were to split the bill (which he almost always refused now), it would still be a considerable sum taken from their paychecks; not that there weren't missions readily available to replenish their monetary funds, but rather that the payment for missions had gone down while the price of goods had inflated.
Deflated and discouraged, she was about to walk out of the store when Kakashi and Benjiro came in behind her. "What are you looking at?" they asked.
"Nothing," she replied hastily, turning around so that she was with her back to the microwave, "let's get out of here."
Walking behind her, Benjiro and Kakashi exchanged a look. What had happened to her in the span of the five seconds she was in the store? What caused her to suddenly become so downtrodden? Looking behind them, they noticed that there was a microwave, a shiny black microwave with sleek, silver lines outlining the frame, perched atop a shelf. They were unable to comprehend how such a wonderful looking device could have served to make Rin depressed; if anything, its sleekness and contemporary look should have caused her to squeal with delight!
Benjiro was the first to have his curiosity take the better of him. He walked to where the microwave was, studied it, and then reviewed the price tag on the item. Whoa. His eyes widened in surprise; there was no way a microwave could cost that much. Moving back to walk with Kakashi, he told him, "Yeah. I can see what depressed her. That microwave is the most friggin expensive piece of machinery I've ever seen! Like, it must be able to turn invisible or something too, because if it's just a regular microwave, then it wouldn't cost that much!"
"Don't be ridiculous. Invisible microwaves," Kakashi scoffed, "what are you? Crazy?"
"Not as crazy as that shopkeeper is to charge that much for a microwave!"
A few metres in front of them, Rin called back, "You boys coming or what?!"
-
-
-
After spending a rather exhausting day microwave shopping (among other shopping) the three young shinobi headed on home, all the while surreptitiously discussing more about Benjiro's current issue.
"So, do you plan on facing her and telling her?" Rin asked.
"At some point in time, yeah," Benjiro replied.
"Do you think you could just say something like a simple hello to her if you were to see her?"
"Probably. With the pep talk you gave me at lunch Rin, I feel like I can do almost anything!"
"That's the spirit!" Rin encouraged, holding her hand up for a high five, which Benjiro only too gladly returned.
Inching ever closer to the eatery district (for it was on the way home) Rin suddenly stopped and side-glanced at Kakashi. "Hey Kakashi, I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a little," she paused to smack her lips together, "thirsty. What do you say we go get a drink?"
Being the genius he was, it took Kakashi no more than a couple of seconds to understand the hidden meaning behind her words. "Now that you mention it, I'm a little thirsty too…"
Rin grinned back at him before turning to give a sly look at Benjiro. "Well, then let's all three of us go get a drink."
Before poor Benjiro could even ascertain what was going on, Rin yanked her arm around his and began tugging him in the direction of the juice stand. Once seated, Benjiro's crush, Ayumi, came around to serve them. "Hello," she greeted them in a bored tone with a small smile that did not quite reach her eyes, "what can I get you today?"
Rin looked over expectantly at Benjiro, waiting for him to say something, but all his mouth seemed to be capable of doing was opening and closing itself. Sighing resignedly, she turned her gaze back to Ayumi and politely replied, "We'd like to get a small cup of juice please."
"What flavour?"
"Eh, orange please."
"Coming right up," Ayumi sighed, her voice filled with boredom.
When she brought the drinks back around and served it to the three, she stopped for a moment to look at Benjiro. "Hey, do I know you?" she asked, "You look kind of familiar."
Benjiro froze stiffly in his seat. "Uh…uh…"
"His name's Benjiro," Kakashi supplied lazily, "and he's a loser."
"I am not!" Benjiro retorted, now snapped out of his daze.
Ayumi let out a small chuckle and threw her hair over her shoulders. "Benjiro, huh? You were from my genin team then, right?"
"Ye-Yeah."
"Ah, nice to see that at least one of you are still alive."
It took a couple of minutes, but with some input on Rin and Kakashi's part as well as ample encouragement from Rin in the form of thumbs-up signs under the table, Benjiro was able to finally start a conversation with his former teammate. Once the two got to talking about the old days with their genin team, a topic that seemed to bring them happiness, Rin and Kakashi decided to take it as a sign to leave the two of them alone. Besides, all this talk about three-man cells and team members was making them a little more than uncomfortable.
-
-
-
That night, just about the time when Rin and Kakashi were planning on going to sleep, there was a powerful knock on the door. Slightly alarmed, because no one in their right mind should be knocking on doors at this ungodly hour, Kakashi proceeded to the doorway with extreme caution. He released the lock slowly and opened the door just a smidge when…WHAM! BAM! SLAM! Thud.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Rin called out, entering the main hallway with her kunai at the ready. The sight she encountered, however, was not one of peril or crime. In the hallway, sprawled out and entangled, were the bodies of Benjiro and Kakashi. At the mere sight of such an awkward position, Rin burst out laughing, kunai forgotten as it fell to the floor with a clang.
"Get the hell off me," Kakashi growled, now propped up on his elbows, cheeks tinted with embarrassment.
"Okay!" Benjiro chirped and complied.
"Benjiro, what are you so cheerful about?" Rin giggled.
The young man in question pulled Kakashi to his feet with one hand, grabbed a hold of Rin's shoulder's with the other, and pulled the two younger shinobi against him. "You guys are my best friends!"
"…" Kakashi threw Benjiro a wary, uncertain glance, as if trying to decide whether he was dangerously insane or not.
"I take it that means you had a good time with Ayumi-san tonight?" Rin winked, poking him in the side with her elbow.
Once Benjiro was calmer and was sitting down in a spot where he could execute no harm to his surroundings, Rin made him spill all details about his night. He quickly grew hyperactive and excited, and began to spew out every single phrase that had been uttered. Rin listened raptly to his account of the event, making the occasional giddy comment, and was almost as dazzled and excited as he was by the time he had finished telling her and Kakashi.
Kakashi on the other hand, was not as amused. "I honestly don't know what you see in her. At the beginning she was totally impolite and looked at us more as if we were a bother. Her tone was bored and superior, and she moved about so lazily."
"Gee," remarked Rin in a rather sarcastic manner and threw a pointed look at him, obviously perturbed by how quickly he could deflate someone's high spirits, "I wonder who your description reminds me of."
"Haha," came the equally sarcastic retort from Kakashi.
Benjiro looked back and forth between the two now brooding, glaring faces, and began to feel a little wary and nervous. A fight this late at night was most definitely not in his plans. "Hey guys, chill," he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head, "yeah, I get what Kakashi said though. She's really nice once you get to know her, I swear! She's just not much of a people person."
"Obviously," Kakashi snorted.
"Anyway," Benjiro continued unfazed, "she invited me to hang out with her tomorrow again!"
"Yes!" Rin cheered. "You're already at the point of hanging out!"
"Yeah, but even though I'm really excited, I'm also really anxious," he confessed, "I'm scared that I won't know what to say or what to do…or even worse, I'll clam up completely and my palms will begin sweating and then…then…" He groaned. "I can't do this."
"Sure you can! Besides, Kakashi and I will be here to help you out! We'll coach you on everything you need to know to win a girl's heart!"
"Man, seriously, it's not rocket science. How hard is it to buy a girl some flowers and tell her she's pretty? That's all you need to do," Kakashi advised.
"And you'd know this how…? From your ample experience with giving girls flowers and telling them they're pretty?" Benjiro regarded Kakashi sceptically.
"Hey, hey, no arguing this late at night! We'll sleep for now; tomorrow, before your hang out, your training begins," Rin informed Benjiro. "By the way, what time is your hang out?"
"10 AM."
"Training starts bright and early at 0600 hours then!"
-
-
-
The next morning, at exactly 0600 hours, the outline of two figures slumped over a dining table chair, clutching mugs of steaming coffee could be seen through the window of Kakashi's apartment. Still not fully awake (and threatening to doze off again at any given time), they sat, eyes drooping and postures slipping, looking lazily at a standing figure who was shouting instructions.
The two figures at the table were Benjiro and Kakashi who had been given a rather unpleasant wake up call from Rin in the morning. The standing figure, who was shouting instructions and details like a drill sergeant, was Rin.
"Rule number one! Always maintain eye contact with her at all times! This is essential as it shows that you are sincerely interested in what she has to say, and therefore, interested in her! Do not regard her with the same expression the whole time though, or else she will think that you are either really creepy or just a creep!"
"Eye contact…expression good…staring bad…creepy… got it," repeated Benjiro while taking down notes on a piece of paper.
"Rule number two! If there is a door to a building entrance or a curtain to a stand entrance, you must hold it open for her every time! These acts of chivalry and displays of gentlemen-like behaviour will make her believe that you are a good person and that you're not just like every other hormonal teenage boy out there!"
"Hold open doors…curtains…chivalrous…be gentleman…no hormones…yup! Got it! Next!"
"Number two and one half! She is always to enter a place before you. You let her walk through first, and if she needs help getting up and down steps, then you offer your hand and help her! This is crucial to the gentleman-like idea!"
"Enter last…help out…got it!"
"Good! Benjiro, you are a good student! Rule number three! If she wants to go somewhere, eat something, or drink something, it is your obligation to pay! Unless she –"
THUD!
Rin and Benjiro looked up in alarm. To Benjiro's right, they saw the cause of the loud noise. Kakashi had finally succumbed to his drowsiness and had fallen asleep. The sound had come from his head hitting the table. At first, Rin felt as if she was ready to blow a gasket; even in her inner mind she could picture what she would say to him, "Kakashi! Wake up! It would do you good to learn this stuff and take notes on it as well!" In reality though, she had always had a soft spot for the way he looked when he was fast asleep; it was the calmest look – one without any trace of boredom or misery – she had ever seen on his face
"Want me to wake him?" Benjiro asked.
She smiled lightly and replied, "No, let him sleep. I'll lecture him later, but I don't have the heart to wake him right now." Rin shook her head back and forth a bit. "Alright, well back to our lesson!"
The lesson continued on for nearly three hours with more information, more note taking, and even pop quizzes involving situations and what sorts of schemas that were learned could be applied to them. "Ok, final pop quiz question," Rin notified him. "What did you learn from today?"
Benjiro paused for a few moments, trying to remember the most crucial part in the 64 rules she had lectured him on in the past few hours. Finally, deciding that he could not select just one, and responded, "I have learnt that girls are impossible to please."
-
-
-
Half an hour later, when Benjiro realized how little time he had left until his hangout, he started panicking yet again. "What am I going to wear? What am I going to say? The rules don't cover that, Rin!"
"Calm down, calm down. I'll help you pick out what to wear, and I'm sure you'll figure out what to say," she smiled reassuringly at him.
"I can't do this…"
"Yes, you can," Rin assured him firmly. "You can do this, Benjiro."
"No," he moaned, "I can't…"
Then, as if the most brilliant idea had just popped into his head, he suggested, "I know! Why don't you guys come with me!?"
"Benjiro, we can't interfere on your date!"
"Yeah, sure you can! We can make it a double date!"
"I don't know if you've realized, but we can't have a double date, since I have no date."
"Sure you do!" Benjiro grinned and shifted his eyes to his left, where they rested upon the sight of his sleeping ANBU partner. Rin followed his gaze, completely taken off guard when she realized whom he was suggesting. Her countenance rapidly changed from curious, to cautious, and then to downright shock.
Quickly moving her gaze back to Benjiro's form, she mouthed, "No…no, that's crazy!"
"Just give it a try," Benjiro rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.
"Fine, but if I get chewed out for waking him up or something like that, it's your sorry butt that's going to be kicked."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I can take the shrimp," Benjiro waved her off.
Nodding in his direction while putting her bravest smile on, Rin put her hand on Kakashi's shoulder, and shook him gently. "Kakashi…Kakashi…"
A light, muffled snore was all the response she got. She shook him a little harder this time. "Kakashi…wake up…"
"Heh?" Came the groggy reply.
"Wake up, we're going on a date!"
"Mmhm…five more minutes…" A few seconds passed after those words before he woke with a start, turning immediately to look at Rin. "Wait – what did you say?"
"Dress up, we're going on a date!"
-
-
-
Half an hour, and thirty-five pulls to the door for Kakashi later, the three headed to the Hokage tower, the meeting place of the hangout. Benjiro had informed them that there was some festival going on; the daimyo of Hi no Kuni wanted a festival in each of his villages, no matter how small, to show to the rest of the shinobi nations that the fire country was still standing tall and strong, an opponent not to be taken lightly.
As the three of them were exiting the apartment, they noticed Ayumi just a couple of steps down. Benjiro looked surprised for a moment, before calling after her. "Hey, Ayumi!"
She seemed to be in a much better mood than the last time they'd seen her, for her clothing was more colourful, and her facial expression was not murderous or bored in the least. In fact, the minute she noticed them, she smiled a wide grin and waved enthusiastically. "Hey Benjiro! Hey, Benjiro's friends!"
Kakashi and Rin exchanged a glance at being referred to as "Benjiro's friends"; surely the girl must have been polite enough to at least inquire about their names. Sure enough, just seconds later, she marched right up to them and extended her hand. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. Hi, I'm Ayumi."
Rin was the first to take the girl's hand and shake it. "Hi Ayumi, I'm Rin," she introduced herself with a small smile.
"Nice to meet you," Ayumi smiled. "And you are?" She asked, turning to Kakashi.
"Hatake Kakashi," he replied with a bored face, not even bothering to shake her hand. However, Ayumi seemed unfazed by the less than cheerful reply. She said the same, "Nice to meet you," to him as well, and the four headed to the festival.
The festival was a bright and colourful one, with red fire country banners everywhere, and various posters of the Hokage and the daimyo. Messages filled with hope, praise, and messages foretelling great victory were hung like streamers, forming zigzag lines and attaching houses in the area.
The festival lanterns were so luminescent that they seemed to make even the bright, wide eyes of children seem unnaturally dim in comparison. Although it was day, a large tarp-like bubble surrounded the entire festival area, allowing for minimal light to come through and a night-life atmosphere to take over.
There were many stands selling all sorts of foreign and traditional food, as well as stands with games (with various prizes to be won), and stands with local shops advertising their products in loud voices and bright, neon lights.
The group of four gazed in wonder around them, the light ambience lifting their spirits and permitting them to forget momentarily about all the atrocities and crimes against humanity that were occurring mere miles from their reach.
"This is amazing…" Benjiro whispered in awe. "But…how much money do you think went into preparing for a festival like this?"
"A lot," Kakashi responded, apparently on the same train of thought as Benjiro.
"This money should be used to assist those fighting, to provide death benefits to the shinobi who have lost their loved ones because of this god-damned war."
"Now that you put it that way, Benjiro, this festival seems like an awful waste of money and resources," Kakashi agreed.
"Eh?!" Rin exclaimed, disheartened to hear their criticisms of the cheery festival, "but I think this festival is a good thing! Everyone's been so down in the dumps lately, and this is just what we need to lift our spirits and remember to be happy!" Rin turned to Ayumi, seeking desperately for some support on her point. "Right, Ayumi-chan? Isn't this festival nice? Doesn't it make you happy?"
Ayumi looked as though she was going to counter Rin's point about the happiness, but nodded her head vigorously, agreeing, "Yes, yes! This festival is amazing!" She then moved towards Benjiro, calling, "Benjiro-kun, let's go! I want to go on the big Ferris wheel ride! It's probably been imported here, and I've never seen one before…only in books…so let's go while we have the chance, ok?"
"Y-yeah, sure," Benjiro stuttered, "let's go. You guys coming?" He asked Kakashi and Rin.
Kakashi looked at her as if asking 'Are we?', to which Rin responded, "I want to go see the local shop stands and get something to eat first, but if you want, you can go Kakashi!"
Kakashi shook his head. "No, I'll come with you."
"Kay," she smiled up at him, before looking back to Benjiro. "Guess we'll meet up with you two lovebirds later," she winked, "Have fun with Ayumi-chan!"
Benjiro blushed and nodded, giving them a thumbs up sign to show that everything would be ok. Rin returned the thumbs up and proceeded to walk with Kakashi in the direction of the local stands.
While shopping and looking around, she was pleased to find that the fresh marketplace had many exotic fruits that she had never tasted before, along with samples for customers and cheap prices on all their items. The stands that sold clothing also had reduced their prices drastically, which made Rin even happier. She called Kakashi over, suggesting that he seize the opportunity to purchase himself a new wardrobe; his old clothing was becoming tighter on his skin now that he was going through a growth spurt and the sleeves of any of his long sleeved shirts were starting to pull up. Kakashi however, despite all evidence in favour of the notion that he needed new clothes, was quite averse to purchasing them. He claimed that all he needed was the new jounin uniform in his size, and it would suit him just fine.
Rin rapidly countered that claim – as she did with all claims that she felt were ridiculous – by reminding him that he still had a life outside of missions and may like to have some normal and/or formal clothing for everyday life and special occasions.
Kakashi grumbled at her reply, but allowed himself to be dragged into the clothing stand and waiting motionlessly there while Rin pulled all sorts of shirts and sweaters and slacks off the varnished wood shelves, holding out each for him to scrutinize and make a decision on. Most of the shirts she held out for him, he complained that they were either too fancy or were too bright in colour. She complained that he looked very good in lighter, brighter colours and it was good to have one fancy shirt as well. The few, dark in colour shirts that he seemed to approve of, Rin made him try on; most fit well, but there were some whose seam line did not fit accordingly with his shoulder width. In the end, and much to Rin's dismay, the three shirts (all long-sleeved) he ended up buying were navy, black, and hunter green. He also purchased a matching black sweater, full-zip and made out of cotton. Sighing tiredly and impatiently, Kakashi exited the store and waited for Rin to finish with her purchases outside.
Rin took the chance to finish buying herself a couple of shirts, and to secretly sneak one good-quality (but still cheap) turquoise shirt in Kakashi's size. The shirt was made of a fabric resembling satin, but felt like cotton on the skin. It was also fairly easy to wash, and did not attract lint easily. Happy with her purchases, she exited the stand as well.
"Where to now?" Kakashi asked, slinging both their shopping bags casually over his shoulder in a way that would have thrown Gai into a hyperactive rant about his 'contemporary coolness'.
"Hmm," Rin pondered, surveying the grounds, "let's go to that monument over there and make wishes."
He nodded and followed her over to a large rock made entirely out of sharp crystals. They were said to have some higher power within them, and that it was a power to grant peoples' wishes. There was a catch though; they could only be wishes for good things; people were not allowed to wish others harm or illness or death.
Rin went up first, burning some incense and placing it in a large metallic tray hung above the stone. She then clasped her hands together, furrowed her brow as if deep in thought, and opened her eyes smiling just moments later.
Kakashi went next, his wishing going much more smoothly than Rin's. It took him barely a second to make his wish, though he stayed longer in front of the crystals with his eyes closed, just enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. Said atmosphere was brutally interrupted when Benjiro popped up behind him, all loud and cheerful.
"Hey you two!" He greeted, slapping Kakashi on the back. "What have you been up to?"
Rin held up the bags she'd been holding while Kakashi wished. "Shopping."
"Shopping, eh?" Benjiro echoed. "You guys are like a married couple, so sweet." Here he earned a punch in the shoulder and a glare from Kakashi, with only a giggle from Rin. "So what were you doing now, making wishes?" Rin nodded. "For each other?" he added, grinning from ear to ear.
Kakashi glared at him, unamused by his jibes. "I don't know what's gotten you in such a good mood, but I'm sure I can beat you out of it," he informed his older ANBU partner.
"Ah Kakashi, don't be such a grim reaper, huh? It's a beautiful day outside! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping – "
"We're under a tarp, moron. That sunshine is the artificial lighting, and those bird chirps are sound effects."
Benjiro ignored Kakashi's harsh attempts to kill his jolly disposition, and continued asking questions. "So, what did you guys wish for anyway?"
"You to go away," Kakashi fibbed.
"Haha," Benjiro countered sarcastically, "no seriously, what did you guys wish for?"
"The war to end," came Kakashi's answer.
"And you Rin?" Benjiro grinned at the giggling girl.
"For everyone to be safe, happy, and healthy. Mainly safe and healthy, though. Happiness comes much easier if you have the first two."
"Aww Rin," the older male smiled at her, "always so sweet. What a nice thing to wish for."
Kakashi watched Benjiro interact with Rin in a way that he hadn't really noticed before. Perhaps it was due to his extraordinarily sunny disposition, or perhaps it was the after effects of staying under those hot lanterns, but Benjiro really seemed as though he was flirting with Rin. Kakashi decided that he was simply thinking too much, noticing things that weren't really there, and resolved to let it go.
"Hey," Rin's voice broke him from his pensive state, "where's Ayumi-chan?"
"Ah, she had to go home, but she invited the three of us to go to a picnic she's holding at the training grounds this weekend! She said she'd meet us in the morning at the apartments. Isn't that great?"
"That's nice of her," Rin concurred, "sounds like you two really hit it off. By the way, does anyone know what time it is?"
"Almost 2PM, why?"
"Oh, I have a short shift at the hospital. I'll be home by 5 though so that I can cook dinner. Will you be staying over Benjiro as well?"
"Only if you don't mind, miss," the boy in question bowed politely.
"You're so weird," she laughed, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. "Of course I don't mind. Well, I've gotta get going, see you two tonight!" And with a small wave of the hand and a grin, Rin bounded towards the hospital.
Kakashi watched her retreat until she was nearly out of sight before turning to walk home. He was about to bid Benjiro goodbye when the boy called after him to follow him. Reluctantly, and curiously, Kakashi did just that. They weaved through a throng of people, all clamouring around a dango stand, where the owner was apparently giving the remnants away for free until they reached a small stand filled with kitchen utensils and appliances.
"What business do we have in this place?" Kakashi inquired impatiently. Right now he wanted nothing more than to go home and take a short nap.
"Come here," Benjiro beckoned Kakashi closer. "You have to see this."
Kakashi came obediently, and when Benjiro stepped out of the way to show him what he'd dragged him here for, his eyes went wide.
Authoress' Note: Hope you enjoyed reading this latest chapter! Thank you to all those who reviewed chapter 19: soar2survive, Kushina Uzumaki 92, JoiZ. D, catgirl9696, Sakra-chan, rileyonline, Hikari Minamoto, ninbunny alchemist, Konoha's White Fang, Frog Lady, and crzyaznsroxursox. Your support is greatly appreciated! :) As always, I encourage you, the reader, to leave a glorious review filled with plenty of concrit for me to mull over. Thank you!
Chapterly Challenge: There is no chapterly challenge for this chapter. "Oh noes!" D: They cry. Fret not, it will be in the final chapter, part 2 of the Epilogue. I had originally planned the epilogue for just one chapter, but well, it's in two now. So the challenges will be back again next chapter. I have no idea what I can give for the prize(s) to the winner(s), so if anyone has any ideas, please let me know!