A/N: This chapter's pretty heavy on the fluff, sorry but I guess I felt fluffy…
Chapter 11: Goodbyes
Iruka leaned back on his bed and stared at the ticking clock on his nightstand. 5:32 A.M. In just 28 minutes the most perfect girl in the whole world, and his current girlfriend, which may have influenced his opinion that she was the most perfect girl in the world, would be leaving the village. Worse still, neither of them had any clue as to when she would be returning. It could be a few months or even a few years; they just didn't know. Oddly, while saddened that she would be gone, he wasn't worried about her safety. Rin would be with Tsunade-hime; exceptional medic and legendary Sannin, if something managed to get to Rin before her powerful fists could pound them into a messy pulp, she could heal the damage. In all of Iruka's many years of life he had never had more faith in one person then he did in Tsunade, even if he was a little unrealistic in his unwavering conviction. Until she had returned home it didn't look like his grandmother would last to see the coming winter, yet since Tsunade's medical treatment she had returned home and was now in the process of digging up and replanting her old vegetable garden; a past time she'd been incapable of engaging in for over two years. Tsunade-hime was a Fire Country treasure as far as Iruka was concerned and he was sure his girlfriend would be safe with her.
5:40 A.M. He bolted out of bed and ran out the front door. Rin had told him to get to the gates a little early. She'd been sure her teammates would come to see her off and she had asked him to arrive a little earlier so she could have some time with just him. As he rushed down Konoha's main street he suddenly stopped, panic stricken, he didn't have time to run back home if he'd forgotten it, and he frantically searched his pockets. Fingertips brushing the object in question he breathed a sigh of relief as he took off running again. As he neared the gates he caught site of Rin leaning against a post; she smiled as recognition dawned on her face and she waved at him.
"Iruka-kun," she greeted him happily. "I'm really glad you came. I wanted to tell you something before everyone else gets here."
"There was no way I was missing this Rin-chan," he responded. "I don't know when you're going to be back and I don't want you to forget me. You'll be having all these fun adventures and it might be hard to recall boring little Iruka."
"I won't forget you silly," she assured him. I just wanted to tell you how important you are to me. I know I haven't known you that long but you've been so good to me. So I wanted to say thank you. You were there for me through Obito's surgery and I just wanted you to know I really appreciate it. You cheered me up and I don't think I would have made it without you. You're such a good friend and you barely even knew me, I don't deserve someone so nice. Just thank you, so much, for being you."
"Well, I had ulterior motives," he admitted, smiling bashfully. "My grandmother always told me I should be nice to pretty girls; they might be tempted to grant my wish and give me a kiss."
Rin's grin widened, and then she leaned toward him kissing him, right on the lips. As far as Iruka was concerned, he was in heaven. Her lips were soft like velvet against his own, her hair smelled lightly of lavender, and for an added dramatic effect, he was sure he could hear birds chirping in celebration, just for him. When she pulled back his cheeks were blooming to a bright red, and he just couldn't, for the life of him, stop smiling like an idiot. He was just glad Hayate wasn't there to laugh at him.
"I guess I got my wish," he said softly. "Thank you Rin-chan."
She smiled and laughed affectionately, sounding to him like a heavenly being. "You're so sweet Iruka-kun. I'm going to miss you so much. I want to write to you. Tsunade-sama said we won't be able to send a lot of correspondence because we'll be trying to stay under the radar for training purposes, although Shizune says it's more for gambling purposes, whatever that means, but I'm sure I can write sometimes. Is that okay?"
"Of course it's okay. I'll look forward to every single one. Even if you are never able to write any, I'll keep hoping for one the whole time you're gone. Just don't forget me."
"Forget you?" she looked perplexed. "I'll never forget you, and I'll write to you every day, then when I get a chance I'll send all the letters I have at once, that way when you get them, you'll know I thought about you every day."
"Here, I bought you this," he said awkwardly, pulling something from his pocket.
Rin looked at the photograph he'd handed her. It was the two of them sitting on a bench in the hospital cafeteria. Her clothes were torn and her hair was limp and dirty, identifying it as the day Obito had gone into the hospital. Iruka was fresh and clean, his forehead protector gleaming in the fluorescent lighting, neither of them were looking toward the camera and it was obvious they didn't know their picture was being taken.
Her confusion must have shown on her face because Iruka said, "Hehe… yeah, the cafeteria ladies took it for me. They said they'd never seen me talk to a girl, never mind such a pretty one and they wanted to show it to my grandma because they're sure you're the one for me. In fact, they're already planning our wedding. So they wanted a picture of our first date, and I want you to have it, so when you're far away and scared or lonely you'll remember I care about you. And when you're sad or feeling bad about yourself, like I know you do, you can look at it and remember that even when you were at your worst I thought you were the prettiest thing I'd ever seen."
This time Rin blushed, "Thank you Iruka-kun. Stop thinking I'll forget you, this is great though. I'll always keep it with me. Oh, and I have something for you too."
Iruka looked down to see she'd handed him four playing cards wrapped in a rubber band. On closer inspection he realized they were actually from his lucky deck, the one he'd given her the first day he met her.
"It's all the hearts," she said. "I'm giving you my hearts, so you can keep them safe."
Iruka pursed his lips, not sure of what to say. Rin took this to mean he didn't understand and launched into a further explanation. "It's like a metaphor for, like, my real heart. As long as you have it here in Konoha it will be safe and I don't have to worry that it will break because I trust you with it."
"I knew, I just didn't know what to say, but it will be safe here with me. I promise. I'll never hurt you Rin. Come home safe," he said grinning as he gave her a big hug.
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Shizune stood up and looked at the clock. 5:56 A.M. Shit! She was going to be late. Spinning around she started looking for her backpack and shoes. Not seeing either, she madly scanned the area as she spazzed out.
"Relax," the reason for her lateness drawled from the disheveled sofa she had just been keeping him company on. "It's not like Tsunade will leave without you. And honestly, would it be so bad if she did?
Straightening her yukata she smirked at him. "Now that you mention it, I guess it wouldn't be, but she's not going to and I'm still going to catch hell for being late. This wasn't supposed to happen."
And indeed it wasn't supposed to happen. Shizune had stopped at Ibiki's house to say goodbye and inform him that while he had been a nice distraction while she was in town, that's all it was. She certainly didn't harbor any feelings for him and she had no illusions that he would be interested in faithfully waiting for her return. Unfortunately, when he'd opened the front door flaunting his bare chest, loose workout pants slung low on his hips, toned muscles practically glistening in the glowing light of the rising sun, he'd been so sexy wiping the sleep from his eyes, she hadn't been able to say anything. Instead, she'd grabbed his sexy ass and pulled him into a deep kiss, her hands roaming greedily over his sexy pectorals. The hormonal teenager hadn't needed anymore motivation and pulled her into the house where they'd fallen onto the couch to tangle up in one another's body's and made out like the horny teenagers they were. His hands had roamed to places on her body that she hadn't even touched herself, and while she still managed to keep her virgin status intact, Ibiki had certainly made it difficult.
Now, as she adjusted her clothing and attempted to make herself presentable she looked at him again and silently wished she didn't have to leave the village. When would she ever just get to stay? No doubt, everything she left Shizune missed the village but this time she thought she might miss a specific person even more, which was definitely not in her plan. She ran into the bathroom to check her appearance in the mirror. She looked a little rumpled but nothing being up early for travel couldn't explain, and being late would only further the belief that she'd over slept.
Stepping out of the small room she bent to grab her backpack from where she'd left it, only to find it was not longer there. Instead it was strapped to Ibiki, who had managed to find both his shoes and a shirt, and was currently keeping the front door open while holding out his arm for her to take. Pleasantly surprised, Shizune grinned as she linked her arm with his and he guided her down the street.
"What?" he asked with a roguish twinkle in his eye. "You're leaving for who knows how long. I want to spend as much time with you as I can. Damn, can't a guy want to say a proper goodbye to his girl?"
All thoughts of Ibiki as a simple distraction flew out the window as Shizune realized she really liked the idea of being his girl.
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Kakashi rolled his eyes for what had to be the millionth time this morning. He and Obito were supposed to be heading to the main gate to say their goodbyes to Rin, whom they had splurged on a gift for, but instead they were standing around waiting for Obito to finish his hair. Kakashi had known it would be an unpleasant experience but he'd really had no clue just how unpleasant it could actually be. Unfortunately, he was learning quite quickly.
Obito had been sullen and grouchy for the past two days and that psycho in the green spandex had been practically living with them as well. He was constantly babbling something about taijutsu being an excellent foundation for learning medical jutsu and just generally being annoying. When he wasn't going on about that, he was expounding the virtues of blooming youth or some other crap that had Kakashi reaching for a kunai with which he could cut out the boys' tongue to shut him up. Last night Gai had discovered Obito was going to say goodbye to his departing teammate and had decided they could turn Obito's sorrow into energy for training. This meant that after Rin left, Gai and Obito would run 200 laps around the village in an attempt to make the Uchiha forget about his teammate by hurling up his guts. Gai's idea of a light workout frequently had Obito vomiting, bent over in pain, and moving like Frankenstein in the morning. Normally Kakashi got a good kick out of this, however, not so much today.
Gai had arrived at 5:00 this morning demanding Obito swim 100 laps before going to the village gates. Obito, who had no idea Gai would be here before 5:45 when they were to be leaving, was just getting out of the shower and beginning his arduous task of primping and preening so as to look perfect for Rin's departure. Needless to say, he refused Gai's plan for laps, kicking off the argument that woke Kakashi an entire half hour before he was scheduled to get out of bed. Stumbling out of his bedroom he bore witness to Konoha's Green Demon, or whatever ridiculous title he'd bestowed upon himself, yanking on Obito's feet as the angry Uchiha clutched the bathroom doorframe and screamed, "Put me down you bastard! I'm not going anywhere but the main gate. Leave me alone! I'll swim your stupid laps when we get back! Kakashi help me!"
Unfortunately for Obito, Kakashi really had to use the bathroom, and there was only one, which he was currently blocking. Under the guise of offering him a hand, Kakashi dropped his goggled roommate to the floor when the boy took his hands in favor of the bathroom door molding. Now Obito was cursing Kakashi and Gai from the kitchen where he'd managed to get a good hold on the countertop.
Kakashi stepped out of the bathroom, "Gai let him go. We have to leave now. We don't have time for this shit."
"Traitor," Obito spat as Gai let go of him. "I still need five minutes, I'm not going looking like crap and I could have used some help back there Kakashi."
"You look fine, let's get going."
Obito disagreed, and they waited another 10 minutes before they left for him to fix his hair.
Nearing the Konoha gate, Kakashi noticed Obito's eyes narrowing. Turning to follow the boy's gaze he saw a young boy with dark hair giving their teammate an all encompassing hug. Kakashi chuckled; maybe this would be more interesting than he thought.
"Rin-san! My beautiful blossom!" Gai shouted, running up to hug the aforementioned beautiful blossom. "You too are leaving the village? What a wonderful coincidence that Obito's teammate is leaving at the same time or I might have missed the chance to say goodbye to my lady of love."
Oh yes, Kakashi thought, this was certainly going to be interesting.
"Rin is my teammate Gai," Obito growled. "Now get your hands off of her."
"I'm sorry my friend," Gai crowed. "But I can do no such thing. The power of my youth has exploded and my lady here is the cause. My heart is filled with joy at the delight of touching her!"
Kakashi could barely contain his laughter, as it was he was snickering into his hands and hoping nobody would notice. Fortunately it looked like nobody did. Rin, being held bridal style by Gai, was flush with embarrassment. Obito was red in the face with rage and was attempting to pluck their teammate from Gai's grubby clutches while yelling numerous obscenities. The small dark haired boy who had been hugging Rin when they arrived was clutching a handful of playing cards while staring bewilderedly at the scene. Tsunade, who Kakashi hadn't noticed until just now, was looking amused yet kept checking her watch and looking around.
Pulling a kunai from his leg pouch Obito began attempting to cut a hole in the ass of Gai's jumpsuit while Rin was shouting to be put down and the dark haired boy finally sprung into action and began pummeling Gai's back and demanding Rin's release. Kakashi lost it; laughing uncontrollably he clutched his sides and bent over laughing at the pure unadulterated buffoonery on display. In fact he was laughing so hard he didn't notice his sensei until Minato had a firm grip on his shoulder.
"So Kakashi, you think this is funny?"
Kakashi stifled his chuckling, "Hai sensei, extremely so."
"Good," Minato stated. "Until now I didn't think you even had a sense of humor. I'm glad to know that I was wrong. Now hopefully you can keep that stick out of your ass and actually be fun to be around."
Kakashi was unsure whether he should be offended or not.
"Shouldn't you stop this hokage-sama?" Tsunade said playfully.
"Hai," Minato nodded in agreement. "I suppose so. Gai! Put her down! Iruka stop punching him, and Obito put that damn kunai away!"
"Arigato sensei," Rin came running at her sensei. "Arigato. I couldn't' get away. It was so awful. I've never been so embarrassed."
"Don't worry about it Rin, it's all over now," Minato soothed. "And we're all here to say goodbye."
Kakashi noticed for the first time that even Kushina had come down to see Rin off. Her belly swollen with child, it was a testament to her kunoichi skills that she still managed a nimble grace when avoiding the crazy acrobatics that had just taken place.
"It's a shame you won't be here when the baby is born sweetie, but I guess it can't be helped. This is such a good opportunity for you," Kushina hugged her practically adopted daughter. When Rin's parents' had passed away it was Kushina that Rin had turned to for support and over the years that bond had grown exponentially stronger. "We're going to miss you so much. Don't worry though; when he or she comes out I'll tell'em how great their Rin Oneesan is, okay?"
"You better," Rin said while patting Kushina's pregnant belly affectionately. Bending down to the woman's waste tears pooled in her eyes as she whispered conspiratorially to the unborn baby, "I can't wait to meet you. We're going to have so much fun when I get back. I'll be the best Oneesan ever."
"You'll be back before you know it," Kakashi said clapping a hand on her shoulder. "I'll keep everyone out of trouble until you do. After that though, it's up to you again."
"Arigato Kakashi," Rin said with a hitch in her voice. "Make sure you take care of yourself too."
"Don't worry about me, I'm the jounin. Remember?" he said smugly.
"Here Rin," Obito stumbled over, arms extended with he and Kakashi's gift dangerously balanced haphazardly on his fingertips. If he hadn't been afraid the idiot would drop it, Kakashi would have smacked him upside the head. That gift was worth the going rate of three "A" ranked missions, which meant they had done about 30 "C" ranked missions to pay for it. If he broke it before Rin even got it Kakashi would break him.
"Kakashi and I got this for you."
Rin took the offered present, unwrapping a softly glowing glass ball that hummed with chakra. "Sweet Kami!" she gasped in astoundment. "A communication orb. How did you afford one of these? I can't take this, it's too much."
"B-b-but… b-b-but… y-y-you have t-to," Obito sputtered; never eloquent around Rin, when flustered the baka couldn't even put together a sentence. Luckily for him Kakashi was there to salvage the operation.
"You most certainly will take it. That is a non-refundable purchase and the only people it will work fro are you, me, and the stuttering buffoon. Obito and I thought long and hard about what we should get you and decided this was the best option. Now when our sister gets into any trouble we'll know right away and we can come help you. Likewise, if we need you we've got a life line. You're like family Rin, you're all we have, and this way we'll always know you're safe. So it was completely worth all the money we spent, because you're worth even more than that."
Rin's smile beamed radiantly as tears spilled over her cheeks and she embraced Kakashi, "Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me."
"You too," she said turning to hug Obito. "You're the best Oniisan."
Rin finished saying her goodbyes to those assembled and then turned to Minato. "Arigato sensei. I'll miss you the most. You're going to be the best hokage Konoha has ever seen, and if you ever get nervous remember I believe in you. Don't let anything happen to the village until I get back, make sure you protect it from any unsavory characters" she said, winking toward Gai and Obito, who were already arguing again.
"Of course not Rin-chan, the village is safe on my watch," he said giving her a salute. "Get back here soon, we're all going to miss you."
As Tsunade checked her watch for the millionth time, Shizune came strolling up on Ibiki's arm. "It's about damn time, you're 10 minutes late Shizune."
"I'm sorr—"
"Arigato, Tsunade-hime," Ibiki cut in, not letting Shizune speak, and she felt a swell of pride as he began to defend her, like her own knight in shining armor. "It's entirely my fault. Shizune would have been on time but I answered the door half naked and I was just too sexy for her willpower to handle. She couldn't keep her hands off of me. (What!? Shizune raged internally, she was going to kill him.) So you can see, it's completely my fault. If I didn't work out as much, I wouldn't have such a hot bod, and then she wouldn't' have been late because we were making out on my couch."
That is it, Shizune thought. He's dead. After Tsunade kills me I'm coming back from the dead to murder him.
"You're telling me that Shizune, my Shizune, the same Shizune that's been my apprentice for years, was late just because she was making out with you?"
"Well I must admit it wasn't just making out, Tsunade-hime. There was also some heavy petting involved," Ibiki responded calmly, in front of the entire group of people waiting at the gate, as well as the guards on duty. Shizune's face turned beet red, and she tried to hide in her yukata.
"Ha-ha," Tsunade laughed loudly. "At first I was sure you were full of shit kid. But I can tell from Shizune's face that you're telling the truth. So all I can say Ibiki, is thank you! Maybe now she'll loosen up a little and be less of a bitch. Rin, say thank you to the boy, he just made our trip a thousand times better. You have no idea how unpleasant Shizune can be, she is very much a stick in the mud."
"Arigato Ibiki-san," Rin bowed her head in thanks, while Shizune's anger boiled, though she was unsure as to whom she was angrier with.
"You very welcome Rin-san," Ibiki responded cockily, making Shizune very aware of whom she was the angriest with.
"Kushina, don't forget our date with the slot machines when I get back," Tsunade waved as she walked out the gates.
Rin was next to follow her out, turning around and blowing kisses back at Iruka.
"I can't believe she called me oniisan. This is your fault Kakashi, I hate you," Obito grumbled.
"You are also in love with Rin-chan, Obito? From this day on, we will be eternal rivals. Only the power of youth will tell who is more deserving of her affections," Gai shouted.
"I can't believe you," Shizune snarled. "How utterly embarrassing. How could you? Why would you say all that stuff?"
"Because it's true," Ibiki smirked arrogantly and pulled her in for a long lazy kiss, after which she had to run to catch up with her companions.
"Let us go rival! The first to finish 200 laps will win the love of our beautiful lotus!" Gai exclaimed.
"You're on bitch!" Obito challenged back. Kakashi just rolled his eyes, somehow feeling like he'd just dodged a bullet.
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A/N: Thanks for reading. And if you've read this far could you please leave a review? It makes me happy when I get one. Plus if I know what parts you hate or like then I can try to add more of the things you like while removing those that don't necessarily work.
Thanks again!