Chapter Three: Rin

Rei let out a huge, Naruto-worthy sort of groan. "Seriously, sensei? The first time I get to go on a mission with you in two weeks and it's to paint a house?" Naturally, because it was a complaint, Naruto chimed in.

"Yeah! This mission is so boring – wait, it's not even a mission! This is just a chore!"

"They're right, Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura sighed.

The jounin rolled his eyes at his four pupils. "A job is a job, and besides, you should be done in no time, right?" he assumed, smiling. Sasuke, brooding as ever just turned back to glaring at the wall he was painting purple and Rei joined him with a sigh. She wanted to help people...not paint walls but she forced her idealistic hero story to the back of her mind. "Is it always like this?" she asked Sasuke. The way she spoke to him with a familiarity that even Sakura found brave.

"If we're lucky, we get to chase down cats," he replied flatly.

Kakashi immediately turned to glance at the two high potential students. Did Sasuke just make a joke? Hm. Then he turned to look at the young kunoichi closely, getting lost in thought. She was smiling as she talked to the Uchiha, and a roll of nostalgia hit him instantly. A brown haired girl, talking to a dark haired Uchiha...it was his past reincarnated. In fact...

He took a step closer to her and lightly dipped his finger in the paint that his two students were using and he trailed his finger down Rei's face quickly. She raised an eyebrow and of course, wasn't offended, but simply curious.

"Kakashi-sensei?" she said, confused, as Sasuke glared over.

He didn't really hear her. She resembled Rin so strongly – the brown hair, the big brown eyes and now the purple marking. He was overwhelmed with guilt, that he let her die. I promise I won't let this one die, too. He snapped out of it and laughed, scratching his head.

"Uh," was his response, "there was a fly." He didn't sound convincing at all but Rei's eyebrows pulled together at his bad answer, but then she shrugged and turned back to Sasuke who was looking at her strangely. "What?" she asked curiously but being Sasuke, he just turned away from her.

Sasuke tried not to be annoyed with the girl because she was pathetically ignorant in a sort of pitiful way. But because she had no idea what she was doing, he felt like he could get away with being more open -

No, he didn't want to think about that. So he ignored her and continued to his job, all the while with her looking at him with those goddamn eyes of hers. But the way her smile faltered, he saw a glimpse of…a girl. A girl who was a bit broken. Something in those eyes reflected the way he –

Just paint, Sasuke, paint the stupid wall and then leave.

0-0

"Nobody's here, Sakura – besides, look at you!" Rei called out as she stripped off her clothing – a light fabric, soft gray long sleeve shirt with tucked underneath sturdy, black shorts and silver buckled belt – and unwrapped the bandages she wore around her thigh and ankles. There was paint all over her from the mini fight she had with Naruto earlier, to which Sakura was also an unintentional victim. She lowered herself into the river and scrubbed the paint off, only wearing her undergarments in the water. Sakura sighed, sitting by the river but not being able to be comfortable exposed as the other girl. As Rei paddled around the river, she wondered out loud about where this lead.

"It's the Naka River," Sakura stated. Rei was silent for a moment, and curiously, she told her teammate that she was going for a swim. Although Sakura started protesting – Rei went anyways and let the current push her to wherever it flowed.

But when the forests and trees went away, and the river sunk deeper towards the ground to the point where it was flowing through a mountain, Rei started to wonder if this was a very good idea. "The next place this river stops, I'll swim out," she swore. And she did – except for…the river was running through a strange compound.

Shaking from the cold, but feeling reenergized, she pulled herself out of the river. "I should've thought this more thoroughly," she said, her teeth chattering. She wore nothing but the black bandeau-like undershirt and a pair of black tight shorts. Hugging herself, she walked over to the sealed off compounds. "Where am I?" she said to herself quietly. She had never been to this part of Konoha and found it strange. It was completely empty…like a miniature ghost town.

"Hello? Anybody here?" she called out but there was no one there – no one had been there for a long time. She walked by an abandoned Senbei shop, and several large homes, wondering if she was even still in Konoha. But feeling cold and fearing an approaching hypothermia, she went into one of the homes and 'borrowed' a white cloak that hung inside a closet.

And then she saw it – a sign. Uchiha?

Is this where Sasuke lives?

And then she realized that she knew nothing about Sasuke, or his family. Did he even have one? She was curious – where did he live, what did he do after missions, did he even have a home? She bit her lip. She had a home – a tiny one lent down to her by her deceased parents – but at least it was a home. Sasuke couldn't possibly live here.

Outside the compound were grassy hills, a dock and a lake. Taking a seat down by the water, she put her feet and started splashing it around until –

"Who's there?" an all too familiar voice demanded. She slowly turned around and frowned.

"Sasuke?" She got up. It made sense, she suppose, that he would be there but still. He seemed even more surprised to see her.

"Rei?" And then his shock changed into anger, "What are you doing here?"

"I was uh," she touched her wet hair, not sure of an answer…in fact, she wasn't sure why she felt like she was being caught, "in the river and I….hey! Why are you here?"

"This is in the Uchiha neighbourhood," he said coldly. It was sealed off for a reason - why the hell would she be here? After the massacre, he had never even entered the compound and this strange girl was here taking things from his clan? His eyes slit into a glare at the girl. "You should leave," he said but she was shivering so his anger diminished a bit as put his hands in his pocket, turning away from him.

Ever so clueless, Rei, with her annoyingly uncontrollable sense of curiosity, ran up to him and asked him something he really should have declined but didn't.

"Do you want to come home with me?"

_x

Updated :) Pretty often, I know, I know. I have no life since I'm out of school early so I figured I'd write up a quick chapter. As always, reviews are appreciated! :)

PS I have a pretty general sense of the story line...so excited to finish this story...even though I'm only on the third chapter, but still :)