A/N: I forgot to mention before that this story is a little bit AU. But only in the respect that the Kyuubi was never set loose on Konoha. Everything else I tried to keep pretty cannon.

Chapter One: An Unexpected Request

"Come in."

Rin shifted awkwardly outside the Hokage's Office door. Her hand was on the door knob, but she stood frozen in place, her body refusing to let her move. Her fingers twitched, turning the knob a fraction of an inch.

Why are you so nervous?

The question popped into her head for the umpteenth time that afternoon. Why was she so nervous? Well, she could think of a million reasons why! She was about to go on a mission. An A-ranked, solo mission, to be exact. And while she had been on A-ranked and solo missions in the past, they had never been simultaneous.

And that wasn't entirely the reason for her worries. She specifically had been chosen for this mission because of her skills as a medic-nin. She wasn't assigned to a team, or accompanying someone as an apprentice – this mission was all about her. It could make or break her medical career, and that was what scared her.

Rin already had a long briefing several days earlier about it. She spent over two hours in the Hokage's Office discussing the ins and outs of what was to come. She was going to Kusagakure on a recovery mission. The Third Shinobi World War had brought about more devastation than one could begin to imagine. It was one of the most costly wars (in terms of both casualties and money) the Shinobi World had ever seen, and the Five Great Nations had suffered tremendously. But, much to most people's ignorance, it wasn't just the Five Great Nations in turmoil. Many small nations had also paid a price. A little village like Kusagakure, which had been right in the center of a war zone, was easily forgotten about. Iwa and Konoha had essentially used it as a middle ground for their attacks and then left it virtually destroyed afterwards. And as a small, poor village it had hardly any means of repairing itself. It had almost no help, and disease and violence had been spreading rapidly all over the country side there. A poverty stricken place forgot about in the fray of fighting.

That was Rin's upcoming mission. Healing the ill and maybe helping a little in reconstruction. It didn't seem too far outside of her normal range of missions – except for the fact her performance there was going to reflect on her whole country. Kusa had become extremely hostile toward Konoha since the war ended and every move she made was going to be watched and interpreted. It was her job to help them and, in turn, show them that Konoha wanted peace. But Rin already realized it might not be that easy. After the war, the government had fallen apart and gangs and other criminals had basically taken over. Kusagakure was a dangerous place to be at the moment. If things worked out, she wouldn't be welcomed with too much hostility. And if things didn't work out… well, she didn't really want to think about that. She just hoped that she could prove herself to them and that they would accept her in time.

But as she stood with her hand glued to the door knob, she wasn't thinking about Kusa or about proving herself. Her current apprehension was because of the summons she had received just earlier that morning. A summons that requested her presence at the Hokage Tower –immediately– and was reason she was outside the Hokage's Office, too anxious to even walk inside.

Her departure time was already set, her mission scroll specifically said to report back to the Hokage after completion. So what was with this strange summons? Was the Hokage regretting his decision to send her? Was she too inexperienced or too soft, or maybe just too crappy in general? A thousand doubts ran through her head and dragged her spirits even lower.

"Come in," the Yondaime repeated again and roused her from her pessimistic thoughts.

The brunette worked up the nerve to twist the knob and open the door. The Hokage was directly in her line of sight, sitting at his desk. A cataloger and a few ANBU were scattered about the room as well. Rin gave a slight bow and took her place standing in front of his desk.

"Hokage-sama," she greeted; the words felt strange as they rolled off her tongue. She had never really gotten used to it, walking into the Hokage's Office and seeing her ex-sensei, Namikaze Minato, staring back at her. It had been nearly six years, but each time she entered she always had to remind herself to call her old sensei 'Hokage' and to act formally. She'd never really seen him as a formal kind of guy, but as the Yondaime he was the real deal.

Only the sounds of the cataloger typing could be heard and then there was silence. It stretched on for several seconds as Rin waited for the blond haired man to address her. But he wasn't addressing her. Instead he sat at his desk with his hands folded together neatly, cradling his head as he stared at her. He seemed to be analyzing her, assessing her, as if to see if she was good enough for what he had to say next.

She tried to meet his gaze, but couldn't bring herself to stare into his cerulean eyes. Her chest tightened in anticipation of his words.

"Kaito-san," he finally spoke, but addressed the cataloger instead of her. "Please step out of the room for a moment. An ANBU will notify you when you can return."

The cataloger gave him a confused look but obeyed none the less, closing the door behind him with a soft click. The Yondaime took a moment to gather some scrolls scattered about his desk before finally speaking to her.

"Rin, I know you weren't scheduled to meet here again until after your mission was completed, but it was very urgent that I spoke with you before you got the chance to depart."

"U-urgent?" Rin tried to keep her voice level. What was going on?

"Yes, very." Minato didn't give Rin a chance to voice anymore of her concerns though. And instead picked up one of the scrolls he had been organizing and rolled it open.

"Do you remember two years ago when Kumogakure attempted to steal a young member of the Hyuuga Clan to obtain the Byakugan?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember that attack on one of our northern borders last month? The one where seven people died, one of them a Hyuuga from the Main House?"

"...yes?" Rin answered, unsure of what he was trying to say.

"And do you also remember the public funeral we held in their honor? You attended, correct?"

She nodded her head again.

"So if I asked, you would be able to tell me, for certain, the number of coffins at the service?"

How many coffins were there? Rin thought back to funeral that had been held nearly a month earlier. She had attended and had paid full attention to the service. She remembered a lot of people showing up and a lot of crying as people went to pay their last respects. Rin hadn't personally known any of the deceased, but had gone anyway. Her personal beliefs would not have allowed her otherwise. Ever since he had died she held a different outlook on life. She was thankful for every day she got to live and always went to the services for those who never got to see another day. But as for the coffins, she had no idea.

"No. I can't really recall. But I'd assume seven."

"Correct." As he was speaking he pulled out a drawer of his desk sorting through it and took out a metal clip board, a fair amount of papers were attached to it. "But take a look at this."

Rin took the clip board from him and leaned against the desk to read. She quickly realized they were autopsy records.

"The autopsy report only listed six bodies here," she stated and went through the rest of the records with the competence of an experienced medical ninja. She noted with growing displeasure that there were several other errors as well.

"So they did. The reason is why I've called you here today. One body, the Hyuuga's, was never recovered at the scene."

"So what are you saying? That someone stole his body, then?"

The blond Hokage's eyes left the scroll and met with hers. They were hard and cold, and his expression was of utmost seriousness.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

Rin couldn't help but to ask questions now. She wasn't sure how any this pertained to her, but a morbid curiosity to know every detail consumed her and she wanted answers.

"Who would do something like that?"

His answer was short and simple, and one that she was desperately hoping wasn't true. "Kumogakure."

Rin's finger tips turned white from the force of her hands now pressed against the front of the desk. The situation was almost too much for her to take. Another country attacked a Konoha border and stole a Konoha shinobi's body. It sounded like a declaration of war from Kumogakure!

"So then–"

"It's just as you're thinking. Kumo's attempt two years ago failed miserably. They made a peace treaty with us, probably just so we would let our guard down, and then tried again last month. Except this time they succeeded. And now Kumogakure has a hold of one of our most important and unique assets: the Byakugan."

Rin took a moment to reflect on the information her Hokage had just said. This was a nightmare. Was Kumogakure trying to start a Fourth Shinobi World War? She pushed the ominous thought out of her mind, the idea of another war made her skin crawl. She now focused on something else that was bothering her. Why the Hokage was telling her, of all people, in the first place?

"This is really serious and everything, but how does it relate to me, Hokage-sama? Why are you telling me all this?"

The Hokage looked thoughtful, his expression was a little too familiar for Rin. It was the same one he had always given her old genin team just before relaying bad news. "Because, I'm voiding your old mission..."

He couldn't possibly be..

"...And reassigning you to this one. Even though it hasn't technically been deemed a mission yet, and probably never will."

"It-it won't?"

"No, it won't. I want to keep this...situation... as low key as possible. For now, at least. I don't want other countries to know about what's transpired. I don't even want the public here to know about it yet. So this will be a highly classified task. And I'm giving it to you, Rin."

Rin opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again, repeating several times like a fish until she realized she was speechless. He was voiding her old mission and giving her this 'task', as he had put it.

"So…" Rin's voice cracked from shock, "I'm... I'm being assigned to this mission? To bring that man's body back?"

Minato smiled, happy that his former student had caught on so quickly. "Not the body, just the eyes. The body has probably been disposed of anyway."

She still had questions, but the Yondaime cut her off again, probably to keep her from declining.

"So you'll do it then?"

"Of course!" The words left her mouth before she even processed what he had said. She was dismayed about her old mission and utterly shocked about her new one, but Rin couldn't force herself to refuse the Yondaime. She was proud that her former-sensei thought she was capable of such a mission and couldn't bear the thought of him being disappointed in her. Still, though, she had to wonder if he was over-estimating her a bit.

Or a lot…

"A serious situation involving one of Konoha's Four Noble Clans and a foreign country. Hokage-sama, don't you think this sounds a little," Rin paused in mid-sentence, choosing her words carefully to not seem rude.

Crazy? Outrageous? Suicidal, maybe?

"S-ranked?"

The Yondaime hummed in agreement. "It would be, were it a mission."

Rins gaped openly at him for the second time that day. S-ranked? Her heart beat sped up painfully and she feared if it went any faster her ribs would crack. The thought of going on such a dangerous quest enthralled her, but also terrified her at the same time.

"But, since this is important to our country's wellbeing, I'll still pay you as if it were one. 1.5 million ryou for completion," he added with a smile. "I normally wouldn't send you… if you were going alone."

What?

"But you're not."

As if on cue, a previously unseen ANBU stepped out from the corner of the room. His black standard uniform and raven-shaped porcelain mask were supposed to rid him of an identity, but Rin didn't need the man to take off his mask to know who he was. The silver hair that jutted out and the scar on his left shoulder (which she had proudly put there as a genin) were enough to inform her of his identity.

The shinobi walked soundlessly over to the desk beside her, following strict ANBU code and not saying a word until spoken to. At the Hokage's command the ANBU removed his mask and confirmed Rin's already positive suspicions.

Kakashi!

"So, Kakashi's going with me?" She had only meant it as a question, but when voiced it sounded somewhat like an unhappy observation.

"Yes, why?" Minato frowned. "I thought you'd be pleased to work with Kakashi. It would kind of be like old times."

Both she and Kakashi visibly tensed at the mention of 'old times' and the Yondaime realized his mistake, taking the conversation elsewhere.

"So no objections, then?"

There were none, of course.

"Good," he said and picked up a different scroll from the pile. "It's settled then. Since this is a covert mission I won't brief you here. In fact," he handed the scroll to Kakashi, "I won't be briefing you at all. All the details are inside this scroll. Leave tomorrow by 0900 hours at the latest."

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi bowed and donned his mask again, heading briskly for the door. Rin followed in suit, leaving as the cataloger was coming back in. A quick 'be safe' was heard from the Yondaime before the door shut completely. Rin looked around and saw Kakashi leaning against one of the windows out in the hallway. With his mask on she couldn't be sure what he was looking at exactly, but the scroll was still closed, so he must have been waiting for her to approach him. She let out an exasperated sigh. Of course he was waiting for her to make the first move. Kakashi had never been one to interact with people much and lately it was even worse. His newly gained paranoia (no thanks to ANBU) kept him from rarely approaching anyone at all.

Kakashi turned his masked face toward her as she leaned against the wall beside him. She stayed silent for a moment, trying to buy time with him. With both being so busy they had hardly spent any time together, let alone spoke. His presence next to her felt nostalgic and made her stomach do flip-flops. Rin casually put her hands behind her back before inquiring about their mission.

"We're not leaving now, are we?"

"No. Meet me at the front gates tomorrow, 9 AM. Bring only the necessities. And bring civilian clothing, too."

Rin sighed mentally and glanced out the window at the picturesque view of Konoha down below. Little people bustled about everywhere like ants, some going quick, some slow, some just standing about. She spotted two people entering a café smiling and chattering idly. Were they a couple in love? Or maybe friends like she and Kakashi were? Or at least.. used to be. Rin was no longer sure if her and Kakashi's relationship could be considered friendship.

What's changed between us?

The fleeting thought passed through her head and she realized sadly that maybe there wasn't some unknown, mysterious factor altering their friendship. Maybe it was just them that were changing. Kakashi, with his life in ANBU. And herself, with her life working in the hospital. Maybe they were just leading two completely different lives and had grown into new people. Maybe the gap that now divided them was just too big for reconciliation.

Do you think that's true, Kakashi?

Rin stared longingly outside for a moment more, trying to work up the courage to voice her questions to the boy standing beside her. But when she turned to face him, a puff of smoke exploded in her face. As the smoke cleared and Rin's coughing subsided, Kakashi was already long gone.