Chapter Twelve

I don't own Naruto

Kakashi listened to the sound of rain hitting the glass windows as the storm raged outside his house. He let out a sigh, tilting his head to look out the window as the pitter patter of the rain continued. The boy watched the droplets slide down the transparent surface, the beads leaving their mark as they reached the bottom of the window leaving a translucent trail behind them.

Tears, they look like tears.

They did indeed resemble tears, just like the child had observed. They streaked down the windows one at a time, all meeting at the end of their journey, their destination at the bottom of the window. The boy slid out of bed, carefully making his bed before padding over to the window to get a better look. The silver haired child stood on his tip toes, grabbing the edges of the window sill as he struggled to get a see. He gave up, glancing around the room, letting out an approving grunt as he found what he was looking for.

Kakashi made his way towards his closet, pushing open the door and dragging out his step stool. He was quite short for his age, the step stool was something that his father had purchased for him to help him feel bigger, taller. He dragged the plastic stool behind him, placing it by the window. Once the stool was in place he climbed aboard, standing up on it. To his satisfaction he could now see through the window and he pressed his face against it, the glass cool against his cheeks.

Only when he heard footsteps coming from the hall did he pull away, scrambling off and into his bed. The bed creaked in protest against his weight though the Hatake was already hiding under the covers, bits of silver hair poking out from the top of the sheets. He closed his eyes, listening as the door opened, the sound of the knob turning giving it away along with the nearly silent creak of the door.

Sakumo Hatake's had realized that his son was awake long before he had opened the door though his suspicions were confirmed when he spotted the little Hatake's pearly white step stool set right in front of the window. He could hear Kakashi's steady breathing as he walked past his bed and towards the window, picking up the plastic booster and setting it aside. He glanced over at the bed where he could make out Kakashi's head poking out through the covers. He let out a chuckle as the boy, panicked that his father had figured out that he had stayed up past his bed time, pulled the covers back over his head once more.

"Go to sleep, Kakashi. Tomorrows the day for your Academy entrance exam, get some sleep," With that the older Hatake left, softly shutting the door behind him. He let out a huff as he heard the sound of the stool being dragged, presumably back to the window. He had always known that his son was stubborn, he couldn't help it. The single parent shook his head, knowing that he wouldn't be able to convince his son to go to sleep once his resolve was made.

Kakashi peered out the window, thoughts of the past once again clouding his mind. The pitter patter of the rain hitting the clear window was in sync with the heart monitor beating by his bedside, the steady rhythm of each sound prominent. His eyes drifted down to his arm which attached him to the machine, the IV in his arm visible. He sighed, tilting his head back towards the window.

They look like tears.

Just like that time when he was a kid, the trail left behind by the endless rain did in fact resemble tears. The ANBU could hear the howls of the wind blowing against the window, the quiet tapping of a tree branch which was constantly pressed against the glass joining it. Footsteps from the hallway caused him to close his eyes though unlike when he was a child he did not try to hide under the sheets, instead pulling it over his collar bone and leaving his face exposed, poker face on as he pretended to sleep. He could hear the door slide open before being closed and the click of shoes against the marble floor as someone approached his bed. The sound of something-presumably a chair-being dragged to his bedside replaced it before the soft, momentary squeak of someone sitting down on an old chair could be heard. The jonin remained impassive, glad that his mask had been pulled back up the lower half of his face.

"Kakashi..." Kakashi instantly relaxed, recognizing the wielder of the voice that spoke his name. He cracked open his eye, peering up at his visitor.

"Rin," Rin jumped slightly, her eyes widening and a small gasp escaping her lips. The kunoichi quickly gained her composure, taking the teens hand into hers, bottom lip already starting to quiver and before she knew it, tears of relief and anger began to trail down her face much like the rain trailing down the glass outside the window. Kakashi blinked in surprise, watching as the tears slid off her chin before dripping onto his hospital covers. His surprise only increased when she let go of his hand practically flung herself at him, her arms wrapping around him.

"You...need to stop...crying over me," Kakashi muttered softly, the kunoichi's grip on him making it hard to speak properly.

"You need to stop making me cry," Rin replied though a smile played at her lips. He was ok, he was alive and well. She couldn't even begin to describle the relief that she felt as she hugged him. After a good minute, the relief wore off, replaced with the anger that she had been suppressing. She finally pulled away, anger filling her gaze as she crossed her arms.

"What the hell were you thinking?! I thought you knew your limits, I thought I told you not to over train!" She fumed, making the silver haired teen shrink back slightly. He'd never really heard Rin yell, not like this anyway.

"I was testing out something," Kakashi defended himself half-heartedly.

"Testing out something?" Rin's anger quickly subsided, replaced with genuine curiosity and confusion as she tilted her head slightly. What could he possibly be testing out? Her eyes widened as she watched the teen lift a hand to his scarred eye, carefully beginning to remove the linen bandages that covered it. She grabbed his arm, preventing him from fully unwrapping it, "What are you doing?!"

"Just watch," Kakashi removed her hand, placing it back on her lap before fully unwrapping the band, the bandages falling onto his lap. He placed the white cloth on the bedside table, the ends hanging off the edge. Seeing Rin's worried gaze he smiled at her reassuringly, "Relax Rin."

Ignoring Rin's panicked expression he slowly opened his left eye. He winced, reminded of the pain that came with opening the cursed eye as it began to tug at his chakra reserves. Mentally calculating the chakra that he had at the moment he came to a conclusion that he could conjure up the mangekyo, even just for a second. Repeating what he had done before, the jonin concentrated his chakra in his eye. Slowly but surely, the eye began to change, the three tomoe spinning before molding into the pinwheel shape of his mangekyo sharingan. As the eye strained his chakra he blinked and when he opened his eyes once more, the sharingan was back to normal, the three tomoe in their usual place.

From the look of wonder that Rin gave him, he knew that she had seen it.

"Kakashi," she breathed in disbelief, "You have..."

"It awakened when Obito died," He replied softly, letting the medic nin grab the linen bandage and begin to wrap it back around his head. He felt the soft fabric cover his scarred eye, her warm hands pressing against his cheek for a second as she carefully tightened the bandage so it would stay in place. Kakashi took the silence to prepare himself for the questions that were most likely heading his way. To his surprise, Rin did not ask anything.

"Don't use whatever jutsu you used that got you here. Promise me," She said quietly, gripping his arm.

"I...promise," Kakashi hesitated. Though the unnamed jutsu stole much of chakra, it was powerful. Who knew when it would come in handy, surely he'd need to use it again though he did not admit it out loud, "-I'll try not to use it."

"...Can you promise me another thing?..." Rin asked, her voice barely audible as she hesitantly voiced her request, "Promise me that you won't leave me?"

This time, Kakashi was able to answer genuinely.

"I promise."