Author's Note: Geez, sketching out his chapter was a pain. Rin is such an emotional rollercoaster, and did I go way overboard with Namikaze 'Mr. Nice Guy' Minato? Because, honestly, could I use 'gentle' to describe him more often than I already have? I doubt it, but it suits him at this point so there we go. Next chapter is 100% Kakashi's, by the way, so wish me luck!
Also, thank you thank you thank you to everyone following, favouriting, reviewing or just spending the time to read the story!
Chapter Seven
Not Alone
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"…you? Rin, you did this?"
She takes a deep breath. It's her turn to be brave.
And sensei needs to know.
(Besides, she wanted this, didn't she? She must have, or she wouldn't have said it like that.)
"It's what Obito wanted," she tells the emblem on Minato-sensei's forehead. "Obito wanted him to have it."
(Obito, who was too proud to ask anyone for anything ever and dying right there in front of her, and they were going to kill us anyway, sensei, so what did we have left to lose?)
"I had to try," she insists, fiercely now, because she will not – she will not – cry in front of Minato-sensei. "I'm the medic. I'm the only one who could."
She holds her head high, but she can't read the expression slowly creeping into sensei's eyes and that scares her more than Iwa and Suna combined. Her hands curl into two hard fists as she waits for him to say something – anything – but then he hugs her.
(Please don't say it, she begs him. Sensei, please don't.)
"I'm sorry you had to go through all this alone."
(And then everything just stops. But Rin is not crying on Minato-sensei's flak jacket and sensei is not making low, soothing noises in the back of his throat just like the brother she used to have.)
"…I wasn't alone."
Her voice is hoarse, but Minato-sensei is wrong wrong wrong if he thinks that she did this all by herself. Kakashi, who is a great shinobi already and a good person deep down, even if he doesn't seem to know that about himself just yet, was there the whole time. And Kakashi, who is an extremely reserved teammate at best, an apathetic one at worst and habitually exudes annoyance, risked his life for her not once, but twice.
"Ah, of course. Kakashi."
(There is something about the way Minato-sensei says his name. But then she always suspected that sensei was especially fond of Kakashi.)
"Rin?" Minato-sensei gently pushes her away so he can look at her. "The Sharingan, is it…?"
"I'm not sure," she admits. She can't be, because everything happened so quickly. "But that second time, Kakashi's Chidori felt… different, somehow."
Sensei looks thoughtful, but he doesn't say anything; and maybe it is the shock finally wearing off, or perhaps the chakra she forced into both her teammates earlier, because suddenly she is no longer watching sensei watch Kakashi.
She doesn't even react when something warm is wrapped around her shoulders.
"Get some rest…"
(Minato-sensei's voice, but it is already far away.)
"…don't worry…"
(So soft, she thinks. It's so soft.)
"…proud of you, Rin."