Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters, nor the story line, with exception of the characters you've never heard of.
Chapter 4.
"So that's the report, Hokage-samma." Kakashi spoke, finishing the entire report to Tsunade.
Team 7 had just returned to Konoha Village with their two new visitors and had gone straight to the Hokage's office. Both Chiro and Sen wasn't exactly feeling too comfortable with the stares they were getting as they had passed by people, for they were foreigners but they did their best to stay relaxed. And it wasn't exactly easy with Tsunade either. Her piercing eyes were mostly on them while she listened to Kakashi state his report of what they had encountered out in the forest, while she frowned the entire time.
Finally, she sat back in her chair, looking very thoughtful, letting everything Kakashi just stated roll around in her mind. She didn't like it and the four Shinobi knew that. She had that look on her face as if she wasn't happy with something she had heard, though she really never was that happy unless she was winning in a bet. She then turned her eyes from Sen to Kakashi then back.
After another long moment, Tsunade motioned Sen to step forward, who did so immediately. "So," the Fifth Hokage spoke. "You want to acquire our help to save your friend, a Shinobi from this very village, is that right?"
Sen nodded as she fumbled for a silk purse strapped to her belt. She was still a little nervous but trying hard to keep her face. "Yes, ma-am. Ling is my friend and most trusted guardian, besides Chiro. She risked her life for me and now I must do the same. It's all I can do." She told Tsunade.
Tsunade slowly nodded, her blonde tressels bouncing a little before she leaned forward. "I understand. But you must remember, we don't do things for free. There is going to be a price. We can't just do anything without payment. I would consider this maybe a Class B mission, maybe Class A." She glanced to Kakashi. "Considering the threat. So we would need Jounin." She ignored the groans from Naruto and Sakura. "I would have to say Kakashi would have to go, of course. Maybe Asuma and Kurenai. Mighty Gai." She now ignored the dull look Kakashi was giving her.
Sen slowly nodded before she glanced over at Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, all looking very unhappy that they couldn't participate in this mission. She paused as she lifted her purse then looked back at Tsunade. "Madam Hokage-sama. Is it possible that I could make a request for this mission?"
Tsunade frowned at her, as if she already knew what Sen was going to ask for, but she nodded anyway. "Very well. What is it?" She asked, sounding just a little impatient. Sen moved forward, her purse swinging a little. "I would like to request Team Kakashi for the mission. I will pay a reasonable price. I was very impressed with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, by the way they fought before. I wish for their service as well as Kakashi Hatake's." She said in a professional tone.
Tsunade snorted as she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Miss Sen. Did you just not hear what I said? This is a mission for Jounin and they are not ready for that kind of mission. It's too dangerous and too expensive. I'm afraid..."
But by that time, Sen was already dumping the contents of her purse on the Hokage's desk. Silver droplets fell into a nice pile, scattering a little all over but stayed on the desk. Everyone stared with wide eyes at the tiny diamons sparkling before Tsunade, whose mouth fell wide enough for someone to throw food into it. Even Naruto and Sakura moved forward to get a good look at the tiny jewels but Kakashi caught their shoulders, not letting them move too close. He was just as surprised as they were though. He had never actually seen diamonds before.
"Bring your Jounin then, Madam Hokage. I still want Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura on the team." Sen said, smiling. "And Ling will be brought back alive. They will be yours once Ling is safe." She then rose an eyebrow. "There is a million zen worth of diamonds right there and I will give you all of these diamonds when its done."
Tsunade looked wide eyed up at Sen before she looked back at the diamonds on her desk. Carefully, she picked up one and let it roll around on her palm. She tested its weight then picked it up between her fingers, looking at it with the light shining down on it. After a long moment, she stood up, still studying the diamond. "You drive a hard bargain, Miss Sen. But we will accept your mission and your request." She moved over to the door, still fingering the small diamond in her hand before pulling the door open. "Shizune, I need you to run out and find Gai, Asuma and Kurenai right now. Tell them to drop whatever they're doing and report to my office immediately. It's an emergency. Oh, and might as well get Jiraiya too. That way, he'll stay out of trouble."
Shizune nodded as she stood up from her desk. "Yes, ma-am. I'll hurry." Shen the rushed out of the office.
Tsunade turned around and went back to her desk and sat down. Her eyes went straight to Kakashi, who looked back at her with his one eye. "Kakashi, you're leading the mission." She then looked at the three young Shinobi he had trained from a young age. "Apparently, Miss Sen means business. She wants her friend back desperately. And I am curious to know who this Ling Shiahaya is. I've never heard of her. I don't ever recall there ever being a Ling. But then again, I have been gone for a while since before I became Hokage."
Kakashi nodded as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "All right."
Tsunade turned her eyes onto Sakura, who straightened when she realized that she was going to address her. "Sakura, you're going as the medical nin on the team. If this...Ling is hurt, you are to help her immediately." She told the pink haired kunoichi, who nodded. Then she turned her eyes onto Naruto and Sasuke, who both lifted their heads. "Naruto, Sasuke, you're going with, but more as a back up. I highly doubt that the Jounin will need your help but we're doing as Miss Sen requests. Be happy I'm even letting you go." She told them.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." All three said, a little happy that they were going to be involved at all.
Tsunade then looked Chiro and Sen over, seeing how weary they looked and they could use a clean up. "I think you should go to the medical clinic and get taken care of. I'll take you there myself. Your Shinobi friend will probably join you there when the team gets back." She began putting the diamonds back into Sen's silk purse before setting it down. "You will be well taken care of here, Miss Sen. This Ling of yours was right. We will do what it takes to maintain your safety. I wouldn't mind making a peace treaty with the Shadokage anyway."
Sen only nodded as she bowed at the hip to Tsunade. "Thank you, Lady Hokage. You are too kind."
Not long after that, the door opened and Shizune showed the requested Jounin into the office, all looking a little flustered for they had been training, and in Jiraiya's case, peeping.
"Hokage-sama, you wished to see us?" Kurenai asked. "Shizune said it was an emergency and she made it sounded like the village was under attack or was going to be anyway." She looked to the others, who nodded in agreement. They wanted to know what this so called emergency was. Though, Gai and Kakashi was already eyeing each other, with a little competition in their eyes.
Tsunade just nodded as she ignored the two rivals. She just motioned to Sen and Chiro, as she sat up straighter in her chair. "Yes, Kurenai. I called for you. And it is somewhat an emergency. We have a new client who has requested for an emergency rescue mission. The target is a Shinobi of our own village, a woman called Ling. The suspects are bandits." She said sounding very strict. "This mission requires for all of you and these three Chuunin."
Gai snorted as he kept an eye on Kakashi but then folded his arms. "As much as I love the beauty of youth, I doubt we'll need Kakashi's students if there are going to be five Jounin involved in this mission. They're just bandits, right? Heh, I bet I can do it on my own." He said and Kakashi rolled his right eye.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Gai but then shook her head. "The captors may be bandits, but their leader is not. He is a Shadoai." Immediately, all of the Jounin looked surprised. They knew what a Shadoai was. "And as far as I know, Kakashi is the only one with experience with fighting them." The Hokage finished.
"Shadoai?" Jiraiya asked frowing. "The Shadow nin from the dark regions? But what are they doing all the way out here?"
Asuma nodded as he took out the unlit death stick from his mouth and let his hand fall to his side. "I thought they didn't like other ninja."
Kakashi nodded as he looked over to him. "They don't." He then looked at Sen. "They're outlaws, banished from the Shadow Valley. They're just thieves trying to kidnap this young lady. Apparently, she is a very wealthy young woman, and the daughter of the Shadokage." His eye then landed on the silk purse on the desk.
Tsunade nodded as she opened the purse again to reveal the diamonds. And like everyone else, the four Jounin looked stunned to see so many sparkling jewels. "She's paying a lot of money to have this Shinobi of hers saved. The mission is simple enouhg. Find the captured Shinobi and bring her back alive. And if you have to, take down the Shadoai and his bandits. But be careful. I don't know exactly how dangerous they are but I'm not taking any chances." She then gave them all a serious look. "If you fail to bring this Ling back alive or back at all, I'll make you all do Class D missions for a month." She threatened.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." All of the nin, Jounin and Chuunin said at once.
Tsunade nodded again as she turned her fierce eyes back onto Kakashi, who again stuffed his hands into his pockets. "And as I said to you, Kakashi, you are in charge of the team..."
"What?!" Gai immediately whinned. "You mean I have to listen to him?" He then shut up when Tsunade gave him an icy look. The others just rolled their eyes at Gai's reaction. "Yes, Gai. Kakashi is in charge. As I said, he has more experience against Shadoai. Bring the woman back alive. You're to leave at once. Who knows what will happen if you don't hurry." She then motioned for them to leave. The Jounin and the three Chuunin nodded before they left to the groom, with a grumbling Mighty Gai. "Shut up, Gai. Just quit complaining." Kurenai remarked as they went.
As soon as they were ready to leave and already outside the village, eight Shinobi were well on their way. "So," Gai asked, adjusting his forehead protector onto his forehead. "How do we actually find these bandits, Kashi?"
The nin were already rushing through the tree tops, with Kakashi in the lead. He was tempted to just ignoring Gai, just to spite them but the others were looking curious too. So he just shook his head. "I sent Pakkun after the bandits, to find the location of Ling." he then narrowed his eyes as he hopped tree to tree with the others. "From my bond with him, it seems to me that he's in the North, at least ten or twelve miles from here. We should be there soon." he then looked to the others as he ducked under branch. "It seems that he's with her now, but they're being followed. So we'll need to hurry." The other Shinobi just nodded and picked up their pace.
"Pakkun," Rin began as she and the dog were hurrying through the forest, trying to get as far as they could away from the Shadoai bandits' camp. They had been travelling for quite some time and in silence, just in case there was scouts nearby and they didn't want to catch attention. But finally they were at least two miles away from the camp and Rin believed it was okay to talk right about now. "Who is your master anyway? The one that sent you after me?" She finished asking the pug nosed dog.
Pakkun trotted at her side, glancing up only once as he scurried over a small log. "My master? His name is Kakashi Hataket. He summons me, along with the rest of the Ninken with a summoning scroll." He then saw a very surprised look on Rin's face. "What? What is it?"
"Your master...is Ka-Kakashi Hatake?" Rin asked quietly.
The small dog nodded as he stared up at her. "Yes." And then he frowned in confusion. "You sound as if you know him.
Rin's face softened as she looked down the ground, her eyes full of rememberence. "Yes. I knew him once. We went to school together, at the Ninja Academy. He probably doesn't remember me. It's been so long. We weren't as close friends as I wanted us to be, but I did consider him one of my best friends. After all, we practically did grow up together." She then gave Pakkun a look of wonder. "His Sharingan eye. Has he been using it for the good of others?" She asked curiously. Pakkun frowned again but nodded. "Yes, I suppose he has. He has used it to defeat enemies, but also to protect anyone that needs it. Especially his students. He's become quite the legend with that thing." He glanced at her again. "Exactly how do you know him though? I don't recall him ever knowing a Ling."
"Oh." Rin said thoughtfully as she ducked under a tree branch. She was smiling grandly as she remembered she hadn't told the dog her real name. And she was sure that he knew her alias through Sen or Chiro. "Well, Ling's not my real name. I use it as a traveling name. My real name is actually..." But she didn't get to finish.
Suddenly there was a shrill whistle in the air before a large shruiken fan came whirling out of the air in a fast speed and hit the tree Rin was about to pass. She was lucky enough that it hadn't just sliced her in two. She had sensed it coming in time and halted just as it slammed into the tree before her.
With a gasp, Rin quickly stepped back before whirling around with Pakkun to see black flashes among the trees, all around them. They looked around with surprise at all of the bandits. And before her, Sei glared angrily at Rin. "Where do you think you are going, Ling?" He asked icily. Rin frowned at him as she turned to face him completely. "I, Sei, am going to go back to Sen's side and protect her from you and Caligo. Try to stop me and I will defeat you." She warned him coolly.
Sei Zangetsu growled at her before he took a step forward, and as he did, he vanished in a puff of black smoke and shadows. Rin gasped as she immediately stepped back, looking around to see where he went. Pakkun was looking around with a large sweatdrop rolling down the side of his wrinkled face before he jerked around. "Behind us!"
Rin spun around, but not in time as Sei sliced her back with a kunai. She staggered away from him, crying out in pain. She looked to see Sei smirking at her, with his kunai in hand. Pakkun growled at Sei before attacking his leg, biting down hard on his ankel. Angry and in pain, Sei growled before swinging the attacked leg, knocking the dog off of him and flying right into a tree. Pakkun hit the tree a little harder than it looked like he did before sliding to the forest floor, seemingly unconscious.
"NO!" Rin screamed before flinging herself at Sei. "How could you?! He's just a small dog!" She began swinging her fists at him, though she knew it was no use.
Sei dodged her fists then knocked them out of the air, away from his face. Even more angrier, he caught one fist with his free hand then slammed her against the tree next to them. Rin cried out in pain before she felt him grab her other wrist, slam them above her head against the tree. And if that was bad enough, he took them both in one hand then slammed his kunai into the center of her hands, cutting completely through the skin and bones. The kunai also went all the way through, lodging into the tree trunk. Rin could not suppress the scream of pain. She felt her warm blood run down from her wounds and down her arms, staining her dirty lavendar colored top. She could feel her tears of pain running down her dirty cheeks, over her tattoos and to her chin as they mixed with her sweat.
"You foolish woman." Sei hissed.
Rin looked at him with pain, still trying to free her hands but they were trapped by the kunai. She felt so weak and vulnerable. She couldn't move without hurting herself. Her hands were trapped and there was more blood running down her arms. She didn't even have any chakra she could use to heal herself, or defend herself.
Sei's dark eyes narrowed at her as he reached up and grabbed her chin. "You should have never betrayed me, Ling." He told her darkly before he rose another one of his kunai up to her throat, brushing the cold metal against her skin. He smirked when she cringed, his dark eyes meeting her brown ones. "It's still not too late."
Rin gave him a very cold look as she tilted her head away from him. "Yes, it is, Sei. You are a murdering bastard and you just stabbed my hands with your kunai. We are mortal enemies."
Sei's face darkened before he pulled the kunai away from her throat and rose it above her chest. "Pity. Your life ends here." He said, raising it higher and aimed for her chest. Rin flinched but closed her eyes with an uneasy breath. She knew that she was about to die. And she couldn't do anything about it.
"...See you soon, Obito." She whispered before tightening her eyes, waiting for the cold steel to cut her heart into two pieces.
However, it didn't.
Before Sei could swing the kunai, to end his life, he yelped in surprise and pain as someone grabbed him from behind and threw him backwards, releasing Rin. There were several battle cries and startled yells from the bandits.
"Hiya! Take that you jerk!" a young, energetic male voice yelled before there came a cry of pain.
Rin's eyes snapped open when she heard unfamiliar voices yelling as their owners attacked the bandits. She didn't recognize them at all. But who she saw standing before her, back facing her, it caught her breath in her throat. She couldn't breath, nor find herself to saying something.
There was a very familiar backside facing her. The man had silver white hair nearly standing on end, wearing the clothing of an elite Shinobi, as well as the green vest she had seen so many Jounin had worn from the Hidden Leaf village. She could see that he was wearing a forehead protector and it was covering his left eye and the mask that covered the bottom of his face. Rin could not help but just stare in shock at his back, wanting him to turn around and look at her.
Sei groaned as he stood up after being flung away from 'Ling'. Truth be told, he was completely surprised that someone had snuck up behind him and even more that he had been thrown across the clearing into a tree. But not as surprised as he was when he stood up and glared at the one who did it. His eyes snapped open wide at the mere sight of Kakashi Hatake.
"No." He found himself saying. "You!"
Kakashi just glared at the Shadaoi before noticing Pukkan off to the side. The dog was somewhat gaining consciousness as he laid on the ground, but still, it really angered the elite Shinobi to see that he was injured. "Pukkan, you're dismissed. Get some rest." He spoke dryly his eyes returning back to Sei. The dog immediately vanished in a puff of smoke. "Hmm. I guess you're this so called Sei Zangetsu that Miss Sen warned me about."
Sei glared at him as he slowly straightened, pausing to look off to the side to see several other Shinobi fighting his men and to his disgust, winning. His men were getting the beating of their lives by four Jounin and three younger Shinobi. This was not good.
"...Ka-Kakashi..." came a weak whisper from behind Kakashi.
Kakashi tilted his head to the side before he turned his body to take a quick glance at the woman pinned to the tree before looking back at Sei. He didn't want to keep his guard down for too long. He had caught a quick glimpse of her before his good eye was back on the Shadoai, but not before he noticed the unusual tattoos on her face. He turned back around and looked at her with confusion, frowning. He recognized those tattoos but couldn't exactly remember who had them. Then he let his eye look into the pair of brown ones. He also recognized those eyes.
He couldn't help but frown as he just looked this woman over, then it hit him. He stepped back, his right eye widening as soon as he recognized her. His breath caught into his chest and painfully. It couldn't be her! It just couldn't!
"...R-Rin?"
Rin's face softened, though still showed pain from what was sticking her to the tree. But then her eyes snapped wide open and her face twisted into alarm. "Kakashi!" She cried out before kicking up a foot at him and knocked him away from her as a black katana nearly sliced him open. She had managed to yank her leg back but not before it skinned her knee, cutting it just a little.
Kakashi stumbled back, almost tripping over the foliage under his feet but managed to keep standing. He looked up to see Sei Zangetsu now between him and Rin, a black bladed katana stabbed into the ground. However, his eye darkened when he saw Rin's face twisted in pain and then saw her new injure on her leg. He realized why she had kicked him. To save him from getting slashed.
"You're very lucky, Copy Ninja, that Ling saw that coming." Sei said coldly before he made a sign with one hand. Kakashi didn't recognize the sign but Rin sure did. And she was looking terrified for him as her eyes looked past him and Sei Zangetsu.
"Kakashi! Watch out!" Rin cried out, sounding just a little weak.
Kakashi was already moving though. He had felt the sudden change in the air so he moved before a blade made out of shadows nearly sliced him again. He could tell it was a jutsu by the feeling of chakra in it. He quickly dodged the blade made of shadows again before whipping out his kunai and slashing at the shadow blade, deflecting it. But not before he caught sight of Sei glaring at Rin now. "Shut up, Ling! Just stay out of this, you weak woman!" Sei snapped before swinging his hand and hitting Rin hard across the face.
Rin cried out in pain, more from the blade in her hands than the sting across her cheek. The impact had made her pull her hands a little, causing the kunai blade to slice her hands a little more.
Suddenly Kakashi was in between them again, only this time his forehead protector was shoved up onto his forehead revealing the spinning Sharingan eye. "Don't touch her again." He said icily before he thrashed out his elbow, connecting it with Sei's face. The impact sent the Shadoai staggering back with blood almost spraying from his mouth after cracking it open. But Kakashi didn't stop there. He continued to move towards Sei, attacking him and driving him away from Rin, who lowered her head, feeling extremely weak. Sei quickly turned back and swung at the white haired nin, nearly hitting him if the Shinobi hadn't blocked in time. They exchanged series of powerful kicks and punches, driving more and more away from Rin.
"Whoa!" Naruto exclaimed after he had knocked out almost five bandits. He had just finished bashing them to unconsciousness when he noticed the fight between Kakashi and the Shadoai. He had looked up just in time to see Kakashi perform a quick substitution against Sei Zangetsu, letting the clone take the hit before he kicked him hard from behind. "Hey! Check out Kakashi-sensai!" the blonde called over Sakura and Sasuke, who also was getting done beating several bandits. "He looks really pissed off!"
Both Sakura and Sasuke looked to see Kakashi fighting and then froze. They could see how angry he looked and that didn't happen very much. The last time he looked that angry was against the Akatsuki.
"Oh!" Sakura gasped as she clapped a hand over her mouth. "He really doesn't look every happy."
Sasuke frowned as he watched Kakashi attacking Sei before he noticed the woman pinned to the tree. It took him a moment to figure out what was pinning her there before he realized that there was blood running down her arms. He immediately bolted towards her while shouting to Sakura, "Sakura! The woman needs help!"
Naruto and Sakura looked after their team mate before noticing how badly injured the woman was. They quickly followed Sasuke over, their eyes widening as they went. They saw how much blood that was flowing from her hands and she didn't look so well. "Oh! She doesn't look too good." Naruto stated the obvious. He winced when he saw her hands were pinned by a kunai.
"Naruto, Sasuke, help me get her down." Sakura said as she reached the blade above the woman's head. Both young men nodded as they stepped forward and grabbed a firm hold on Rin's arms. They held her up while Sakura pulled the blade out of her hands, all wincing when she whimpered in pain. "Now carefully set her down." Sakura told them seriously. Naruto and Sasuke nodded again as they did so. "Oooh. These look really bad. The kunai has torn her muscles and more than likely broken the bones." Sakura said as she dropped down her knees and studied the wounds in Rin's hands.
Naruto swallowed hard as he knelt down on one knee, his bright blue eyes looking directly at the wounds. "Sakura, can you heal her? Is she going to die?" He asked with concern.
Sakura shook her head as she carefully lifted Rin's hands into her own. "Not if I can help it. I don't think I can heal them completely. I'm still not too good with mending bones but I can stop the pain." She then looked at Rin apologetically when she whimpered again, seeing the chocolate colored eyes looking up at her with pain, though they were half closed trying to hold in the pain. "Hey, I'm a medical nin and I'm going to try and heal you okay. So try to stay with us."
Rin slowly nodded but then looked over in the direction where Kakashi was fighting with Sei. She looked somewhat concerned for him but not by much. She then looked back up at the pink haired kunoichi as she began to call forth her chakra and heal the wounds in her hands.
During that time, the Jounin had finished beating the bandits into submission or killed them. They hadn't noticed the fight between Kakashi and Sei Zangetsu yet but they soon did when a kunai almost swiped Gai, but missed him by inches. All four Jounin stood over the bandits, looking towards the fight.
"Wow." Asuma said as he lit another cigarette. "Kashi really doesn't like that guy, does he?"
Gai frowned and tilted his head to the side as he watched his rival attack the Shadoai viciously. He had seen Kakashi angry before but not like this. It was like the Shadoai had done something very, very bad. And that was then he noticed that Kakashi's former students weren't fighting anymore. He looked around and then spotted them over by the woman they had come to rescue. He frowned seeing her but then quickly moved over towards them, to see what kind of state she was in. If she was on the ground, then she must have been really badly injured.
Jiraiya, Asuma and Kurenai noticed him moving away from them then looked to see where he was going. After seeing the woman on the ground with the three young Shinobi around her, they too began to move over to check up on her. They all winced seeing all the blood covering her so it was clear that she was hurt pretty bad. But then Jiraiya saw her face first.
The elderly Shinobi halted in his footsteps, making Asuma bump into him, his eyes growing wide. "What the?!" He exclaimed before he rushed past them. He pushed past a startled Gai as he hurried over, making everyone look at him with confusion. Without a word, he shoved past Naruto and Sasuke to get a good look at the woman, earning a "Hey!" and a "Watch it!" from them.
Rin's eyes weakly looked up at him when he bent down next to her. Her eyes softened and a faint smile curled on her face as soon as she recognized him and apparently he recognized her too. "M-master...Master Jir-Jiraiya." She whispered softly.
"...no...it can't be." Jiraiya said breathlessly.
Rin just smiled up at him before looking up to see Gai now staring down at her with wide eyes. Her mouth curved into a wide smile as she looked him over. "Hey, G-Gai. Is...is th-that really you? You've rea-really grown." She then tried to smirk. "You st-still have that weird...weird haircut?" She remarked.
Gai's eyes only grew more wide as his head leaned forward a little. He couldn't believe his eyes. He knew who this woman was as Jiraiya did. "Oh...! No...no way! That...that can't be! Rin Hayashi?!" He gasped dropping down to his knee next to Jiraiya.
There was a short pause as Jiraiya carefully reached down and cupped Rin's face then he faintly smiled, almost in a loving way. He looked almost like a father would to a daughter. "It is you, isn't it? You're alive. But..." He now frowned in confusion. "But how? I thought we lost you."
Both Naruto and Sasuke looked at one another with the same confusion. It was obvious they knew who this woman was. But wasn't her name Ling? Why was it suddenly a Rin Hayashi?
Suddenly there was a loud crack and a tree near by fell over. Everyone turned around to see Kakashi breathing hard as he stood over a heavily bleeding Sei Zangetsu. There was a few kunai in the Shadoai's body and his blood was all over. It was clear that Kakashi was attempting to kill him very slowly by stabbing him to death with a bunch of the sharp blades.
"Oh, boy." Gai said standing up again, now looking very worried. "Kakashi's getting out of control. He's way unfocused right now. We better do something before he does something really bad."
Jiraiya nodded as he motioned to Gai. "Yeah. That guy is practically dead anyway. It's not right that he's mutilating his body. Gai, Asuma, would you go stop him? I don't want to leave Rin's side."
Both Jounin nodded as they quickly went over to where Kakashi was standing over Sei. They had to move even more quickly as Kakashi started to lunge at the Shadoai, looking like he was going to attack him while he was still down. They managed to catch him before he could touch the fallen nin. "Kakashi!" Gai shouted as the white haired Shinobi tried to break free. "That's enough! He's dead! Stop attacking him!"
"He's not dead yet." Kakashi said in a very dark way, still trying to pull away. He was bent on destroying the wicked man. But as he continued to try and break loose, Gai and Asuma tightened their grips on his arms. "Kakashi, stop. He's dying, all right?! Now knock it off!" Asuma said between gritted teeth. Kakashi just continued to try to get at Sei. "I'll end it quickly then." He said coldly.
"Kakashi, stop it." came a soft voice.
Hearing the voice seemed to snap him out of his beserker rage. He stopped trying to pull away from Asuma and Gai and turned with them to see Jiraiya and Naruto now helping Rin to her feet. It seemed to them that she thought Sakura healed her enough and thought that Sei Zangetsu had enough of his beating. She still looked injured and a little weak but she was fighting to get up to her feet.
After a minute of staring at one another, Kakashi relaxed under Gai and Asuma's grip and soon was released. He turned completely towards Rin and took a few steps towards her. And surprisingly to his students, he looked like he was finally cracking his hard shell.
"Rin, is it really you?" Kakashi asked uneasily.
Rin just smiled softly as she moved forward, waving Jiraiya and Naruto off of her, who let her go but stayed by her for support. She slowly took a few steps towards Kakashi, giving a light nod. "Yeah." She spoke softly before she winced and stumbled forward. The two Shinobi behind her made to catch her but Kakashi beat them to it. He took a few long, swift strides towards Rin and caught her right into his arms. He kept his arms around her as she steadied herself onto her feet again.
"Oh." Rin sighed with disappointment in herself. "I am such a clutz. I was always the most clumsy one of Team 7. You and Obito used to tease me all the time because I would trip over my own feet." She then winced when she noticed that she had gotten blood on his vest. "Oh! And I've ruined your Shinobi vest. I'm so sorry, Kashi."
Kakashi looked at her with a pained look on his face but shook his head. "Rin, stop it. You always talk to much. Even when you should be resting."
Rin smiled faintly at him as she leaned against him for support. She sighed again before her eyes closed and she went a limp in his arms. It worried Kakashi a little for a moment but then he realized that she was just outcold. He glanced over at the worried Jiraiya and Gai who were staring at Rin with worry and pain. But the others looked confused. He knew that his former students wouldn't have known who this woman was, nor did Kurenai. But Asuma did. He just didn't recognize her. He was still adjusting to the idea that this was Rin Hayashi.
Without a word, Kakashi adjusted Rin and then lifted her up into his arms, carrying her bridal style. He then turned back to the direction of the village. "We should head back. Rin still needs help." He looked to Sakura. "You did well, Sakura. Thank you for helping her." He told her, who still looked confused but she nodded. They all started walking away from the clearing, leaving the unconscious or dead bandits with their dying leader.
Naruto however, quickly pulled up to Kakashi's side. "Hey, Kakashi-sensai, do you know her?" He asked very confused. "Who is she?"
Kakashi didn't look at Naruto but just stared forward. But then he slowly let his eyes drop down onto Rin's sleeping face. There was great sadness, yet somewhat relief in his eyes as he looked at her. "...Yes, Naruto. I knew her once.".