Chapter Two: Envy

Rin's eyes snapped open at the sound of a bird squawking outside her bedroom window. She mumbled against her pillow, telling the bird to shut up and rolled around in her sheets for a moment more before settling back into a comfortable position. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to reclaim her but the bird's loud yells and the bright sunlight streaming through her curtains made it hard.

"Mission, honey?" her mother's voice called from downstairs.

"Crap." Yes, that was right. Her mission was today. If only her mother knew what type of mission she was going on, then she might not have been so eager to see her daughter go. If only she herself knew what type of mission she was going on. She hadn't seen or spoken with Kakashi since yesterday, but she was meeting with him soon, and then everything would be clarified with their briefing.

Rin's head hung groggily and pieces of her hair stuck out from the loose pony tail she had tied it in. Over the last few years she'd decided to let it grow out and now it went slightly down past her shoulders. She let out a sleepy response that her mother surely wouldn't hear before heading to the bathroom, planning to take a hot shower (who knew when she'd get to take another one?) before starting her day.

Fifteen minutes later, Rin was ready and walking out the door of the little house she and her mother lived in. It didn't take her long before reaching her destination: the hospital. The blast of air conditioning was a welcomed reprieve from the heat that burned outside as she walked through the sliding double doors of the building. It was already eight, so she only had one hour before meeting with Kakashi.

"Morning," the assistant at the desk called to her as she walked past.

"Morning, Hitomi-san," Rin replied. She spent so much time doing work around the hospital that she knew practically all the staff by name. Rin waved casually at a few more familiar faces as she made her way up to the second floor where her office was located. If 'office' could even be used to describe it. It was more like a closet. She laughed at the thought. In fact, she was almost positive that it had been a closet before the space was given to her.

She chuckled and unlocked the door, leaving it open and walking inside. Her office was horribly messy at the moment, with scrolls and medical equipment scatted all over the place. Rin made a mental note to clean it up and organize everything when she got back, but knew it probably would never get done anyway. By nature she wasn't a very lazy person, she just didn't ever have enough time to clean up. Every day, Monday through Saturday, for twelve hours a day, the brunette could be found running up and down the hospital halls, tending to patients and assisting in the ER; and at times even working in the OR. Even on her days off she often reported to work. Some would have labeled her as a workaholic, but Rin preferred to think of herself as dedicated. Her goal was to become Head Medic of the entire hospital. And, despite only being nineteen, she had already propelled herself quite far up the ladder. With all the hours she got in, and the experience she accumulated along the way, Rin was already ranked higher than many people twice her age.

She loved working at the hospital – secretly even a little more than missions. It wasn't for the reasons one might assume though. She wasn't a coward or someone trying to shirk off their duties in the field to stay within the calm walls of the hospital. She just… didn't have the same ambition that she used to have. She didn't want to meet failure face to face again.

Not like that time…

She supposed she had let herself become jaded to the idea of tending in the field. The memories of him still lingered in her thoughts each time she went out on a mission. It left a bitter taste in her mouth that could never be washed away.

Rin pushed some clutter off her desk and pulled two sealing scrolls from a shelf, sitting them in the space she had cleared. The first was deep crimson with a golden tie and was already sealed. In it were several essential medical text books that Rin always took with her whenever she went on missions. While the some of the books inside it were very large, the scroll itself was small and portable and it had saved her life on several occasions in the past. The second scroll was a bit larger and had yet to have anything sealed inside it. She was going to use that scroll to store some medical supplies for the mission. She hadn't briefed with Kakashi yet and wasn't sure what kind of circumstances they would be under, but she couldn't find much harm in bringing along two scrolls.

So she began going about her office, looking for anything and everything that could possibly be useful to her. She was completely oblivious the figure standing at her door frame, watching with amusement as she bustled about like a mother hen.

"Well, someone's busy, aren't they?"

Rin turned around swiftly, almost dropping the bottle she was holding, eyes narrowing when she realized who was there. Standing against the door frame was a boy, a medical case in his hand and smirk plastered on his face. "Oh, hello, Kabuto," she said dryly.

The boy, Kabuto, offered a grunt of a greeting before striding inside, with out her permission.

Arrogant as always, I see. Though he had a good reason to be: he was nothing short of brilliant. He was only a child, just barely out of the Academy, and had already gained an internship at the hospital. It was impressive and almost unheard of. Even she herself hadn't got the opportunity of an internship until she was almost fifteen. Everyone within the white halls of Konoha's hospital had at least heard of, if not worked with, Yakushi Kabuto. Sometimes, Rin would even hear whispers of people comparing the boy to Tsunade herself.

"So what brings you here today?" Rin asked, more out of politeness than true interest. She was honestly too busy to deal with Kabuto's unwanted presence at the moment; she had too many things to do. Turning her back away from him, in hopes of cutting off conversation, she started organizing various items onto her scroll again.

It appeared though that Kabuto paid no mind to her actions, and was intent on keeping Rin from her tasks. He ventured farther into the room and leaned back against her desk. The strong scent of antiseptics drifted in with him as he neared her.

"I have something for you," he told her.

"Oh? And what would that be?" She inquired casually.

"This," he handed her the case he had been holding. It was white and circular, and small enough to slip into her pocket. "It's for your mission."

"Oh, my mission. Wait–how do you know about that?" Had someone leaked details of her mission? Was it something she had said to someone? Questioning thoughts filled Rin's head, each one more outlandish than the last. Her mission was compromised. It was over before she had even started it!

As she spoke, her voice held a fair amount of tribulation, which Kabuto picked up on immediately.

"Don't worry, Minato-sama had me bring this to you, that's the only reason I know about it. But he didn't tell me any details, of course."

"Oh." Now she felt stupid for her earlier reaction. Kabuto had been assigned to give her the box specifically by the Hokage (and probably in secret), and not because of rumors spreading all over Konoha about her mission. She was unsure of what to say to him now, since she'd almost certainly made an idiot out of herself. But Kabuto didn't seem to mind and was already leaning in closer to her, a question forming on his lips.

"But maybe you could tell me something? I've been rather curious about it. I heard some ANBU outside the Hokage Tower this morning talking about how Kakashi's leaving on a joint mission today. And from the minimal amount of details Minato-sama told me I can only conclude that the 'joint' status is because he's going with you." Kabuto smirked before continuing. "Which I have to admit, I find a little strange. You know, that you're the one he's going with."

Rin bit the inside of cheek to forcibly keep herself quiet, until she was sure she could taste copper filling her mouth. "You're very good at deducting things, Kabuto-kun. But don't you have people to wait on or something? You know, being an internal and all."

Yes –an intern– that was all he was. For now. But everyone who worked within a mile of the hospital had, at some point, heard about Kabuto's ambition of being the next Head Medic of the hospital. It was all he talked about, even sometimes to his superiors. But complacent was never a word Rin could use to describe herself, and she'd be damned if he thought he could beat her to her title. He may have been a genius, but for now she still held superior rank over him, and had no qualms about letting him know it.

Kabuto's jaw clenched slightly, but other than that his tone was calm. "Yes, I suppose you're right. But I'd love to have my question answered before I go. Did Minato-sama coincidentally put you two on a mission together? Or was it more like you, butting your head in where you don't belong, begging to get put on that mission with Kakashi? Personally, I'm kind of leaning toward the latter."

Now she was mad. Rin slammed her hand down on the desk, the force of it almost knocking over her framed picture of her and her teammates. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Oh, I don't know," he continued. "It just kind of seems like one of the things lonely, pathetic girls like you do. You're mad because Kakashi's out grown you, so you want to force your way back in his life. Maybe even hoping to put a dent between him and Uzuki Yuugao." He stared at her through the lenses of his glasses, waiting, daring, for her to say something next.

"What does she have to do with this?" Rin demanded. "No, actually, why are you even in here? Get OUT!" She pointed her finger at the door, aggressively signaling for him to leave.

"You shouldn't be so cruel. What if you die and never see me again? Wouldn't that be a horrible last memory, remembering how rude you were to me?"

"Don't get your hopes up," she muttered.

The brunette remained silent after that. She was almost shaking from her anger, but kept her body in control. She refused to let Kabuto know their conversation had had the outcome he desired. He was messing with her, and she had no idea why. But she suspected he didn't even need a reason why, that was just how he was. During the very limited interactions she had ever with him, it was extremely evident that he was a boy who obviously gained pleasure in manipulating others, whether it be secretaries, other interns, or even patients.

And now it seemed he was manipulating her. Rin finally let her shoulders slump; she was unable to keep up her indifferent façade.

Why bring up Kakashi? She didn't want to think about him and definitely didn't want to talk about him. And now, thanks to Kabuto, he was all she could think about. Kakashi. The boy who had made it clear over the last year and a half that he had chosen ANBU over their friendship. If Rin could recall correctly, it had been over seven months since the last time Kakashi had visited her; and his last 'visit' consisted of them having a five minute conversation before he fell asleep on her couch for four hours.

After that, whenever they did come in contact with each other, be it in the Hokage Tower or on the streets, he was distant and vague, only saying what was necessary and nothing more. Her interactions with him had become akin to being with a complete stranger.

But that wasn't why she had come to resent him so much. She could accept the reality that sometimes friendships withered and died, unable to grow and blossom under the hetic conditions of life. Circumstances change, people change, and that was just how things were. She understood entirely. What she couldn't understand was why he had suddenly broken off their friendship –stopped talking, visiting, smiling– and hadn't given her any reason. He'd left her high and dry and never bothered to look back.

How could he be so unfeeling?

Rin wasn't naïve enough to think that just because they had been on the same genin team meant that they would be together forever or soul mates or anything like that. But before ANBU, and after Obito, they had gotten so close. They had grieved together and coped together. They had rebuilt each other. For once, she had felt truly connected with him. It was almost perfect. And something had been there, she knew it, even if it hadn't been romantic.

But then ANBU happened, and along with it Uzuki Yuugao. And apparently Kakashi wasn't too unfeeling because he seemed to spend every free waking minute with the violet-haired beauty. Rin didn't actually know what the 'status' of their relationship was, but she had heard rumors. Rumors that she could only hope weren't true... but probably were.

Why couldn't he have had enough decency to at least tell her he was too busy, or too tired, or too bored with their friendship? Was she so below him that she didn't even deserve an answer?

That was all she wanted: an answer. But he couldn't even do that. And that was the reason all the resentment and hurt and rejection had built up.

So it was only natural that she held a fair amount of uncertainty about this mission, wasn't it? While Kabuto's assumptions about her 'begging' to be put on this mission were completely wrong, she was also a little bit curious as why she had been assigned. Why her, with Kakashi? Wouldn't someone like Uzuki Yuugao have been a better choice?

Satisfaction spread over Kabuto's face as he watched her get lost in thought. Her face was expressionless but her eyes gleamed with insecurity. Seeing that he had won their passive agressive argument, he decided it was time to leave.

"Well, I guess I should go." He smiled at her cheerfully. "Maybe we can chat again some other time."

Rin watched him go and began to start on her tasks again, though not with as much aspiration as before.

Kakashi sat in a room at ANBU Headquarters, stirring honey into the tea he was drinking. The bandages tightly wrapped around his stomach itched. It had already been one day since he had the wound on his stomach tended to, but the nurse at the hospital had told him he needed to keep it wrapped up for at least five more days. The nurse had been impatient with him, like she had been dealing with wreckless ANBU all night and had just wanted to go home. Kakashi could relate to that, but unfortunately didn't have the option to go back home yet; in less than half an hour he had to be out and leaving for a mission.

For the time being he simply basked in the quietness that the room provided. The jounin had hardly seen anyone on his way in, so he could only assume that everyone was either still asleep or out on active duty – probably the latter. The rooms in Headquarters were more for planning and top secret discussions, but when no one was around, like now, they made good lounge rooms. He took another sip of his tea, bringing the ceramic cup to his lips; inside ANBU Headquarters was the only place ANBU were allowed to walk freely without their masks on.

Kakashi heard the door creak open, but didn't look up, merely putting his cup down and pulling up his mask. He put the tea cup down with a little more force than necessary, slightly annoyed that his peaceful solitude had been disrupted. After the intruder entered, the scraping of a chair against the floor could be heard followed by a feminine voice saying his name.

"Kakashi." It was Uzuki Yuugao.

She sat down in her chair and stared at Kakashi from under the liquid velvet of her bangs before speaking. "So... I heard you got to pick your partner for some mission you're going on."

Kakashi scoffed, not at all surprised that she knew. ANBU were good at keeping secrets, it was their job. Anything that needed to be kept under wraps was always kept under wraps. But when it came to unimportant, non-essential details to a mission, well... someone would always tell. Then the rumors would start to fly and the whole of ANBU Headquarters would know about it.

"Well?" She asked him impatiently.

"Well, what?"

"Why didn't you choose me?"

Her question was well enough justified. He and Yuugao were notorious for going on missions with each other, especially during the last year or so. At first, it had been purely coincidental that they had been placed on the same team together. And after several grueling missions and many life or death situations, it became apparent how well they worked together.

With that, they had formed a pattern. Kakashi was a natrual born leader and Yuugao didn't mind sitting in the back seat. He was extremely gifted and she was gifted enough to be his back up. He could give out the orders and she could execute them without question. Their combination of skills and personality was a perfect match.

Not to mention she was one of the most talented kunoichi he knew, making jounin almost as young as he had. With her by his side his mission success rates had risen by almost six percent.

Eventually, Kakashi had been surprising even himself when he would find himself personally asking the Hokage to be placed on mission with her. He had been more surprised to find himeself getting excited about it, even looking forward to it. The jounin had tried telling himself that it was only logical they worked together: they were nearly unstoppable when made a team, but he wasn't sure that was entirely true.

"Well? Give me an answer!"

But now things seemed to be taking a different turn. Their relationship had reached its peak and it was starting to tip downward.

Yuugao was dedicated and loyal, but she was also obssessive and sometimes slightly eccentric – a side she hadn't revealed to him until recently. While she never voiced it out loud, through her actions Kakashi knew she had become quite possessive of him. Maybe the true reason he had been drinking tea alone in a room was because Yuugao had threatened anyone who dared to keep him company?

Her personality was progressively becoming too volatile for him and Kakashi was starting to long for the days when he could carry out a simple mission without the ANBU kunoichi behind him. Lately even her presence beside him had been agitating.

"Why would I choose you in the first place?" He asked honestly.

He was curious as to what her answer would be, but she gave none, only staring at him in disbelief. Her ANBU mask, too, was off and her hazel eyes shone with pain. The weakness her eyes revealed didn't last long though and the pain was quickly smothered by ire.

"So you'd rather take some half-assed chuunin medic than me? I heard about her, so you don't have to make up some dumb excuse." She added the last part with a bit more venom and as she spoke Kakashi warily noted the vein in her delicate neck was beginning to throb angrily and fiery eyes to match were glaring directly at him.

"Okay, well, being a medic is one of the reasons I decided on her. It'll be beneficial, if not detrimental, to the mission." Kakashi informed her calmly.

With his answer the tension in Yuugao's shoulders visibly diminshed and the fire in her eyes dulled. "Oh, so that's all." She smiled triumphantly. "You only chose her because she'd useful to you. Ha! Better tell her that before you break her hopeful heart."

"Don't talk about Rin like that."

It was a firm command but she ignored him completely and continued on her rant. "Rin, is that her name? Why do you try to personalize her, Kakashi? Make it seem like she can't be replaced? She's so below you. But me? I'm right here." Yuugao's voice seemed dreamy as she spoke and her gaze distant. Her eyes were fixed on Kakashi, but they seemed more to be staring through him than at him. "We're on the same level."

"Do you remember that time on the outskirts of Kiri... in that hotel? You told me I was the most unforgetable woman you'd ever met."

"Our room was bugged," he said flatly. "And we were on a mission. They were listening to us."

"But that doesn't change what you said."

"I was just playing the part," he retorted.

"Heh, yeah. Well if that's the case, you went above and beyond 'playing the part.'"

"Yuugao," he warned. He had been on several covert missions with the beautiful kunoichi in the past, like the one he was about to go on with Rin. With Yuugao, well, some of the things they had done he wasn't too proud about. He regretted his actions now since they were probably the very reason she thought there was anything between them at all.

"What? Why won't you admit it, Kakashi!" Her voice broke out into a yell. "Why won't you just admit it and own up to our relationship?"

"Because! The only relationship we have is a professional one. And if you keep acting like this, we won't have one at all."

"Oh! So now we don't have a relationship anymore! Maybe you should just..."

Kakashi was quickly losing interest in their argument and began droning the girl's voice out. He watched with just as much disinterest as her lips moved furiously while she screamed at him. A couple weeks ago he might have been tempted to kiss her during a moment like this. But not now.

When he really thought about it, he realized the only reason he worked well with the purple haired ANBU, maybe even felt a certain amount of attraction to her, was because he liked to be in control – and with Yuugao he was always in control. But now things were different and hideous green envy was filling her head. She was argumentative and delusional and all the things Kakashi had once liked about her had evaporated into nothing.

"Yeah, maybe I should," he abruptly cut in. The words escaped past his lips even though he had no idea what she had been talking about.

Whatever it was, it must have been bad based on the expression she was wearing. Yuugao took a sharp intake of breath to speak, but it seemed anger (or maybe confusion? He wasn't too sure) was keeping her brain from forming the words she wanted to say. So she got up and stormed out of the room. The door shut with a loud slam and Kakashi was left alone again with nothing but his own thoughts. He wondered what he had agreed with her about, but didn't care enough to run after her and ask.

Yuugao was gone. And probably not coming back. Ever. Kakashi couldn't deny that his former partner had been stunning, intelligent and extremely talented – nearly a perfect woman. She had definitely left an impression on him...

But she wasn't what he wanted.

When Rin arrived at the front gates she was met by no one.

Since her ANBU partner had yet to arrive, she walked over to a stand near the entrace. There were two chuunin on duty sitting inside the shack looking bored. One of them she vaguely remembered as a boy she had taken the Chuunin Exams with so long ago; his flaming red hair and array of poisonous jutsus were hard to forget. His name, on the hand hand, she couldn't think of at all.

"Rin!" He obviously remembered her.

"Um, hello..."

Seiji.. no. Shinji.. no. Shiro...? Yes, that was it.

"Hello, Shiro." She gave him a small wave.

"Mission?" The other one, whom she didn't know, asked.

"Yeah, but I can't really discuss it." She flashed them a light blue paper with gold enbelem; an official paper, signed and sealed, that stated she had permission to leave the village.

Both males peered at each other, jealousy apparent on their faces. They knew Rin was a chuunin, like them, and that if she couldn't discuss it, it was probably important. Being chuunin, the good missions were usually taken by the jounin, so she must have been really lucky.

Rin got her paper back and bid them good bye, calling a light "see you!" over her shoulder as she walked away. She stared up at the huge twin doors that protected the village before taking a seat down beside one.

She had already anticipated Kakashi being late, so from her vantage point by the gates, she took the opportunity to look at her home one last time. She took in the cracked walls of all the buildings and broken roofs and all the little people: vendors, students, and civilians, who were going about their daily lives. She tried her hardest to etch each view in her mind, in case this was the last time she would ever be seeing them. She didn't like to think that way, but it was always a possibilty.

Rin sat back against the gate and a shiver ran through her body as her skin came in contact with the rough wood. It had been so hot lately that she decided to swap her normal long sleeved black blouse for a black tank top.

After a while, she wasn't sure how much time had accumulated as she sat there under the growing shadow the gates. After half past nine, right when Rin was about to get up and go to find Kakashi herself, fully intending to show him just how much her chakra control had improved over the last year and a half, her waiting came to an end.

"Yo!" A voice from some where up above echoed. It was quickly followed by the lean form of the boy she had been waiting for. Rin wondered if he had been on top of the gates, as he had seemingly fell from out of the sky. Had he been watching her?

He landed on the ground silently and made his way over to where she sat. When he approached she mused thoughtfully on how this was the first time in a long, long time that she had seen him when he wasn't completely decked out in ANBU gear. It was a nice change.

And was he taller than she remembered? He definitely seemed taller.

"You're late," she declared.

"Yeah... sorry. On my way over here I was confronted by a ravenous monster named Envy."

Rin rolled her eyes at his lame excuse. "Hm, sure. Either way, we need to get going since we're already late."

Kakashi merely shrugged as he and Rin began walking down the path that led away from the village and into the forest.

A/N: And so their mission starts. Hopefully this was somewhat enjoyable. I'll be slow to update but I will be updating when I have the time. Please review. Did you like it? Hate it? Did it bore you? I want to know.