Chapter Nine- Paths

I do not own Naruto

The dim light from the lamp post was the only thing that guided Rin as she walked through the dark night. The rustling of the plastic bag that swung by her side matched the rhythm of her footsteps. The leaves that covered the stone pathway signaled that summer was ending and the beginning of fall was only days away. Rin knew that she shouldn't have strayed from the original path she had started on, she wouldn't have had she known that it would be so dark. She had gone to the supermarket to retrieve some milk for little Naruto, the blonde toddler had finished the previous carton in just two days. It was getting late and the kunoichi could only imagine how hungry the child was. With that in mind, she had decided to take a short cut.

According to Gai, this path would het her to the Hatake Compoud twice as fast though at the moment she doubted it. No, that couldn't be right, Gai knew more about Kakashi than he knew about himself. She was positive that he would not give her false directions.

The sound of leaves crunching behind her snapped her out of her doubtful thoughts. She halted, her gaze going over her shoulder to glance behind her. In the pile of decomposing leaves laid a metal canteen, its metallic surface reflecting what little light that shone in the clearing. Slowly the kunoichi made her way over, crouching down and picking up the half empty bottle. She twisted the already loose lid open, wrinkling her nose as the bitter scent of alcohol drifted out of the container. She screwed the lid back shut, the liquid sloshing around inside the metal canteen as she lifted it from the pile, carefully flicking off the pieces of dirt and leaves that clung onto the smooth, sticky surface.

She looked back and forth, eyes scanning the area using what little light was provided. Seeing nothing, the teen came to a conclusion. By the way and angle that the canteen had fallen, it had most likely been dropped from above. Sure enough when the kunoichi raised her head she could make out a figure slumped over on the branch about ten feet above her. Though the lighting was not the best, she could make out fiery red hair and glowing green eyes which stood out in the darkness.

"Is this yours?" Rin asked the figure, holding out the canteen for the stranger to examine. She could see the shadow shift slightly before dropping down and landing unsteadily on its feet, fallen leaves scattering around at the sudden movement. The figure wobbled over, snatching the bottle out of her hands before grinning. Now that they were only inches apart, Rin could clearly see that this was a man who looked to be in his twenties, red hair reaching down to his ears, green eyes half closed and unfocused. She noticed that the stench of alcohol clung onto his cloths as he grabbed her shoulders as if to hold her in place.

"What's a pretty lady like you doing out here all alone?" the man asked, his speech quick and barely audible, ginger hair falling over his eyes before he lifted a hand and swatted it away impatiently. Rin carefully pried the mans grimy hands off her shoulder, a polite and hesitant smile on her face as she tried not to let any panic set in.

"You should go home, you're drunk," she suggested to the wasted man, steering away from his question. She stepped aside, giving him a polite bow before turning to leave, taking several urgent steps forward. She didn't get very far before sweaty hands grabbed at her arm, yanking her backwards into waiting arms. She yelped, attempting to break free from the mans embrace.

Don't panic, Don't panic.

"Why don't you stay with me, keep me company?" He slurred, a sly grin making its way on his face as he caressed her cheek with his fingers. Rin flinched wanting nothing more than to slap his dirty finger off her face at the moment. As his hand drifted over her lip she opened her mouth, biting down on the mans finger. He let out a cry of pain and surprise, momentarily loosening his grasp. Taking advantage of the strangers surprise she hurled herself forward, sending all her body weight forward, forcefully removing herself from his embrace.

Rin toppled onto the ground, her body landing on the leaf covered stone pathway. She crawled around in the darkness knowing that directly running away was not an option, he'd see her. Finding the energy to stand up she hid behind the tree that the red head had previously been perched on. She was breathing hard, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she pressed her back against the rough trunk of the massive tree. She could hear the mans footsteps and drunken laughter from nearby followed by the sound of rustling leaves.

"Aww, that wasn't very nice," he pouted, "Come out, Come out!"

As she carefully peered around the tree her eyes widened in realization. The milk! She had dropped the milk! She searched the ground for her plastic bag only to find that the stranger had beat her to it, the sack already slung on his shoulder. His back was turned to her, if she was sneaky enough she could run without getting caught. Had this been a regular drunk she would easily be able to out run him but she could see his Konoha forehead protector clearly even in the dark. This was a shinobi she was dealing with, no matter how drunk the man was she could not let her guard down. She could run, she had a chance.

But the milk! Naruto needs it!

Making up her mind, Rin sprinted towards the man, arms already outstretched to snatch the plastic bag back. Suddenly the man turned, a grin on his face as he grabbed her outstretched arm, throwing her to the ground like a rag doll. She landed, her head hitting the hard stone surface. She raised her head, sitting up and pressing one hand on her head which had begun bleeding. She felt the hot liquid seeping through her fingers as she began to crawl backwards, the ginger stranger grinning down at her in victory.

"Found you!" he chuckled, crossing his arms as he approached the panicked shinobi.

"Leave me alone!" She whimpered, closing her eyes as she waited for the wasted shinobi to make his next move. When nothing happened confusion caused her to open her eyes. The sight before her made her eyes widen as she leaned back on her hands. The man who had stood only steps away from her was now lying on the ground, barely audible groans making their way past his lips. A figure kneeled over the man, knee firmly planted on the gingers chest.

"Don't. Touch. Her." Rins eyes widened even more at the sound of her saviors voice. She knew that voice, in fact it was the first voice that greeted her in the morning, the voice that soothed her during times of sadness, the same voice that she had grown to adore over the many years she had known him.

"Kakashi," Rin breathed in disbelief. How had he even found her? Even in this dim lighting she could see the jonin's seething face, mismatched eyes narrowing dangerously at the ginger man who laid under him, squirming in pain as the teen delivered a punch, his fist colliding with the mans jaw. To her horror, the silver haired jonin did not stop, anger radiating off of him as he kneed the stranger in the stomach before stepping away, hands in fists.

"Get up." His voice shook with fury, making the kunoichi flinch. She had never heard him like this. His usually collected composure had crumbled in an instant, his usually calm eyes now fiery and lit. When the ginger laid motionlessly on the ground, Kakashi forcefully grabbed him by the collar, yanking him up to his knees," I said get up!"

As the green eyed mans eyes slid open, the ANBU captain kneed him in the stomach once more causing the man to hunch over, the only thing keeping him up being Kakashi's tight grip on his collar. He didn't even flinch as blood splattered onto the ground, painting the leaves and parts of the path scarlet. Cold eyes gazed down on the wasted man who was now panting, bringing his hand to his mouth to wipe specks of blood off his lips.

"You fucking piece of trash!"

Before the man could even get a word out, Kakashi struck again. His fist came in contact with his eye before he swung it back with equal force, this time his fist connecting with the gingers nose. A sickening crack confirmed that his nose was far from ok. The teen then brought his knee up, letting go of the mans collar before sending his knee into the strangers face. The man fell backwards, his body dropping to the ground.

"Stop Kakashi! That's enough!" Rin cried, watching in horror as the silver haired ANBU stalked over to the beaten man, eyes flashing with bloodlust that frightened her. The jonin remained unresponsive, unblinking eyes staring down at the man who was sprawled pathetically on the ground. Ignoring Rin's cries, the ANBU captain grabbed the ginger by the hair, dragging him to the tree. He barely heard the mans pained screams as he shoved him against the tree, grabbing the strangers throat, fingers pressing against his windpipe.

"I'll fucking kill you, I swear," he growled, watching as the man began to squirm, desperately clawing at the jonin's iron grip.

"Kakashi!" Rin could see the man's bloodied and beaten face was starting to loose its color, his efforts to escape becoming faint before his arms finally dropped to his side. She scrambled up to her feet, horrified, "Kakashi, stop, your killing him!"

"Good," Kakashi retorted, his voice dangerously low as he tightened his grip on the mans throat. Any minute now, this-this thing would be dead, just a little longer-

"Let him go!"

Rin threw her arms around him, arms wrapping him in a tight embrace as she pressed her face against his back, tears beginning to make their way down their cheeks. Hot tears slid down her face and onto the jonin's ANBU armor creating specks of dark patches on his ashen clothing. She felt him stiffen under her touch. Slowly she reached one arm out to touch his, her hand gripping his free one tightly. With her other hand she grabbed his wrist, his fingers still clamped down on the mans throat. Giving his wrist a soft squeeze, she watched as the jonin stiffly released the ginger, letting Rin guide his arm back to his side. She slid her hand down from his wrist, slipping her hand into his larger one. She watched the man double over gasping for breath as he hit the ground, his hands cupping this throat as he let out a series of coughs.

"Thank you," She whispered softly before moving to let go of him. To her surprise the silver haired teen did not let go, instead he gripped the kunoichis hand tightly as if his life depended on it.

"K-Kakashi..."She muttered as her head began to throb from falling earlier. The adrenaline rush that had kept her from fully feeling the effects of her bleeding head had now left, leaving her feeling exhausted and faint. She felt herself begin to tip to the side, the only thing keeping her up right being Kakashi. Before she could process what was happening, her vision began to blur before darkness greeted her with open arms.