Angst ahead. Be warned.
Chapter 15.
His spy informed him the child would be born in October. Madara flexed the fingers of his left hand. They were still a little stiff. No matter. The body would suffice. Even the eye had come along nicely, powered by the force of Madara's own ghosts.
He smiled faintly. Kamui hadn't been seen in the Uchiha lines for a thousand years. A pleasant surprise. It almost made up for the missing left eye. The body responded well to Hashirama's DNA, too.
Yes, a pleasant surprise.
Now he just had to wait.
Kakashi dozed more than he slept, only distantly aware of people and things moving around him. He was aware they moved him. He was aware that there was a heck of a lot of pain one moment, and a morphine induced fog the next. He was aware of the smell, somewhere distantly – that horrible mixture of antiseptics and illness. At some point Minato held his hand and murmured something gentle before leaving again. He slowly, so very slowly, pulled out of the haze of pain and returned to the real world.
Shit, he hurt. He turned his head. He was hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor – no surprise there. The monitor beeped regularly. His vision blurred, and he couldn't make out the readings. He closed his eyes tightly and felt stiff fabric against the eyelashes of his left eye. Eye patch. Fancy. He was a pirate now. A hospitalized pirate whose entire left arm was on fire.
Shit, but it hurt.
Someone snorted on the other side of the room. It wasn't a 'you're ridiculous' snort or an 'are you kidding me' snort, it was more of a 'my chair was about to tip over which is the only reason I just woke up' snort.
Rin blinked at him from where she sat on the offending chair. Her hair stuck up at a strange angle and she was dressed in hospital scrubs. The bandage around her ear had been taken off; there was a small chip in the shell, already healed over. She blinked, and then glassy eyes turned sharp.
" Don't you know sleeping in chairs is bad for your back?" He croaked.
A smile blossomed across Rin's face. She had very pretty eyes when she smiled. "I'm glad you're awake," she said.
"Yeah. Hi," he said awkwardly. "Is everything okay? I kind of... Zoned out yesterday."
"It is now. The doctor said there shouldn't be any lasting damage to your shoulder. The surgeons also did a skin graft on your lower arm, which seems to be taking well. The blade sliced through the muscles in your lower arm, though. You'll need time to recover."
Kakashi looked down at the offending limb. They'd put it in a sling. He tried to move his fingers. It felt weird. "How long?"
"A month, at least. Coupled with mandatory regular healing sessions."
Kakashi sighed. "And the hip?"
"A hairline fracture. They managed to fix it during the surgery."
"Thanks."
Rin nodded and shifted in her seat. "Also, sensei signed a treaty with the land of Lightning yesterday," she said, so quickly he almost missed it.
"Wha –" hope, overwhelming hope came and drowned out the pain. "What, I lose consciousness for one day and you guys save the world?" He said faintly.
Rin giggled. The sound was light and sweet and deliriously happy. Something in his chest released seeing her so joyful. She shook her head.
"You did help. Because of you we were able to fix the situation in Steam. We set up a truce with Kumo and, well... Kiri didn't really have a choice but to retreat after that," she said.
Kakashi blinked. "Oh. Right." He felt lightheaded. Of course, that could have been the morphine talking. Or alternatively, the lack thereof. The jury was still out on that particular matter.
He looked her over again and only now noticed the bandages around her arms. A memory flashed across his mind, of Rin and Kuriarare, of red and blood and – Oh. Sanbi.
She'd released Sanbi. Rin had lost control.
On the upside, that meant Kuriarare had probably been reduced to dust. On the other hand…
"Hey, are you – I remember what happened," he said, stumbling over his own words. "Are you okay?"
Her smile faded. She looked down at her hands. "I'm all right. Please don't worry about me. You're the one who almost died."
"But I didn't actually die, so I can still worry when you go and do dangerous things like that," Kakashi countered. "What the hell were you doing there anyway?"
That, that got a proper reaction. Rin looked up sharply and Kakashi immediately knew he had put his foot in his mouth. "What I was doing? I was saving your life!" Rin said.
Then again, if your name happened to be Hatake Kakashi there was really only one way to deal with foot-in-mouth situations: be a stubborn-headed mule about it. "But not at the cost of your own!" He threw back at her, and damnit, he really meant that. Even just looking at Sanbi funny could get her injured, but letting the demon out? That could have – that could have actually –
"You could have died!" They chorused, and then blinked at each other stupidly.
For a moment there wasn't really anything to say. Rin's knuckles were white from how tightly she was balling her fists.
"Pakkun told me what was happening," Rin said, breaking the silence. "I couldn't just let you die."
"Who said I would have died? I had the situation in hand, there was no reason for you to –"
"Situation in hand? In what world –"
"You could have killed yourself trying to save me, and then what –"
"But I didn't, I saved you, and if I hadn't it would still have been worth trying –"
"Damn it Rin, I'm not worth that!" Kakashi shouted.
She stared at him, stunned into silence.
"I'm not," he started, and then didn't say, I'm not worth your life.
They fell silent again. No more shouting. Kakashi felt vaguely nauseous the way he often did while on drugs. Yeah, it was the drugs. That was it.
"That's just stupid," Rin said quietly. "That's not your decision to make. I saved you. I didn't die. I know it was risky, but it's – it was worth it." She looked down at her hands. Her face looked ashen, now that he stopped being angry for long enough to see her properly. "You're worth it."
Oh. What –
What exactly was he supposed to say to that?
"But... You're right about one thing," she continued. "Using Sanbi is dangerous. I don't regret it, but…
Rin paused. She shrugged helplessly. "I'm not safe," she finally said.
No, no, that's not what he wanted her to say, that was just – shit, this had backfired so quickly –
"You're fine –"
"I'm not safe, " she cut him off.
"Oh," he said, stupidly. "Well, that's wrong."
She turned angry eyes towards him. They were brown again, not magenta like they'd been in the forest. She'd never looked at him quite so angrily before. "How is it wrong?"
"You wouldn't attack me. Or our friends. Not ever."
"Sanbi is a demon."
"I'm pretty strong," he said churlishly, looking away.
She let out a long breath. "You're an idiot."
Wait, what?
He gave Rin a startled look. She had never spoken to him like that before. She seemed a little startled by it herself, lips pressed into a thin line and her eyes wide as her cheeks turned red.
"Well, you are," she said, clearly flustered. "Barely a year ago, you walked right into the most dangerous place on earth like it was nothing. And then – and then you dragged me out like you were going to fight all of Kiri. And you would have died, too."
"Like hell," he said indignantly, sitting up straighter. "I planned the whole thing out."
"It was a stupid plan," she returned.
"It worked, didn't it?"
"But it was insanely dangerous! Why are you always so reckless?"
"I'm not reckless at all, you're reckless! What were you doing, asking me to kill you?" He replied, each answer coming quicker than the last. His own face was red as hers by now.
"I was trying to save your life! And Konoha! And why is it okay for you to have crazy plans to save me, but not the other way around?" She bit back, shooting up from her chair and accidentally ripping one of the many wires on the floor from its socket. The life-support machine screeched in protest. They both stared at it. After a moment, Rin laughed wetly.
"I'm sorry. I meant to say 'thank you'," she said, looking down. "You did save my life back then."
He felt a stab of guilt. "I didn't get there in time, though."
"I don't think anyone could have gotten there in time," she said softly. "I'm sorry for putting you in such a difficult position."
"Are you actually apologizing for getting kidnapped?"
"No, I – you know what I'm apologizing for. I should never have asked that of you. I've... Kind of been waiting for you bring it up."
You'll have to kill me, she had said. Like it meant nothing.
He was briefly quiet, and then shrugged. " 'S okay."
"It's not. I know that."
"No, I'm telling you it is. I know why you did it. I don't agree, but I get it," he said churlishly. "Just… Don't ever do it again."
She was quiet for a while. "So long as you don't, either."
She didn't look at him. She glanced briefly at his hand, but she didn't look at him. His gut churned with guilt. "All right. I'm sorry for worrying you.. Did you… Did you kill him? Kuriarare?"
Rin looked down. "They're still chasing him. I had to choose. Either I continued to fight, or I saved you."
Funny, the way she could say that like it wasn't important.
"And don't you try to tell me I made the wrong choice, I have no regrets," Rin said, misinterpreting his silence, and when had she becomes so fierce? She had changed, and somehow he had failed to notice that perhaps her transformation had given her more than just somber moods and insecurity.
Kakashi had always known Rin was strong, emotionally. He was still getting used to a version of her who recognized her own strength.
"I won't," he said slowly. "We've already had that conversation, anyway. No point having it twice."
Rin looked relieved. "Well, yes, exactly –"
"HATAKE KAKASHI!" One Uzumaki Kushina roared, as she practically ripped the door from its hinges in her hurry to enter the room. "What the hell you think you're doing, getting caught by the enemy?"
Just behind her, Minato sensei flinched and smiled apologetically. "Now, Kushina, dear –"
"DON'T YOU DEAR ME, MINATO! I have two teenagers to scold!" With that, she turned towards Rin. "And don't think you're just getting away with this. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"
Kushina made a despairing sound and dropped herself into the nearest chair, panting. The other three occupants of the room were watching her with the intensity usually reserved for deer caught in the headlights. Three highly trained shinobi: zero. One pregnant lady: all the points.
"Honestly, "she breathed, "I thought I was going to have the baby then and there, just from the surprise."
"Well, everything turned out for the better," Minato said, inching closer and, when she didn't snap her teeth at him, reaching out to massage her shoulders. "You can relax now."
"Oh, please. Like you kids will ever let me! It's all disaster here, trauma there, and if it wasn't so absolutely terrifying it would almost be funny," Kushina said, and suddenly her voice choked off and her hand came up to hide her face from view.
Oh, no. They had made Kushina cry.
Because it might have been funny, team Minato's trouble magnet qualities, if they didn't all feel the Obito shaped hole in the room. If they hadn't all known just how close they had come to losing even more. If it wasn't so real. Kakashi's throat closed up.
"I'm so sorry for worrying you, Kushina-nee," Rin said, anguish written all over her face. "I would have told you I was going if – if I'd thought I had the time."
Kushina wiped roughly at her eyes. They seemed to blaze in the bright hospital lights. "I'm not angry with you. I'm angry with the people who keep putting you through all of this. You're just kids."
"It's war. It's only to be expected," Kakashi said.
"That's not the people I meant," Kushina said, giving Minato a pointed look.
Minato nodded slowly." You know I need the majority vote of the jounin Council, and they're not going to give it until the war is over," he said. "We've lost too many men."
"That shouldn't even be an argument, and you know it," Kushina grumbled.
"Change comes slowly, and then all at once," Minato squeezed her shoulder. "We'll keep working at it."
Kushina sighed and took his hand. Kakashi had the distinct feeling they had had this discussion before.
He also noted Kushina had been referring to Konoha, not their enemies. That Konoha was putting them into dangerous situations. He frowned. Was there even a way around that? Should there be?
Evidently Rin was following the same train of thought. "Did you have something in mind, sensei?"
Minato sighed. "Well, it's a work in progress. I intend to raise graduation standards and ages. We're sending out too many children – half of them ill-equipped at that. It's not even remotely moral, just a cruel left-over from a time where shinobi were killing each other so effectively they needed everyone to fight in order to survive. Sandaime used to say children are our greatest good but every time we go to war, every time we're in a pinch, we seem to forget that." Minato ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't at least try to change it."
Kakashi was vaguely aware that civilian children were never asked to fight, or endanger themselves. Instead they went to school or took on an apprenticeship to learn a profession, all the while being coddled by their elders. They lived safe, sheltered lives where they were only expected to play and be unreasonably irresponsible. They were like a different species of animal, to Kakashi. Could that same lifestyle work for shinobi children? Could it ever have worked for him? He couldn't imagine himself living such a carefree life. He grimaced. The thought made him feel uncomfortable, more than anything.
But Obito might have lived, so perhaps that alien lifestyle, the one Kakashi had so much trouble imagining, would have been better.
"It sounds like a good idea, sensei," Rin said, looking down at her hands. "I don't really understand how anyone could oppose it."
"Because some council members are war hawks with more bitterness than sense," Kushina growled. Kakashi had a feeling she knew exactly who opposed the idea.
"I've always been told that being a shinobi is the greatest thing I could do for Konoha," he said slowly. "And I've always believed it, even though they first sent me out when I was five and treated my dad like shit–"
Minato looked so, so tired." Kakashi," he said.
"I was five, sensei, and I did as I was told because I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to be… Good, and brave, and like you, so I stuck it out when I got scared –" he stumbled over the word, didn't really want to admit to it, "And I know it's messed up, to send little kids out to fight, but I didn't know it then. Because you don't really think about it when everyone tells you it's a good thing. You don't really bother to criticize it.
"But you can't fix me," he said finally. "I'm already a shinobi. I've never been a kid. So don't tell me that's all I'm supposed to be. I have no idea how."
He slowly became aware of Rin's hand holding his own.
"That's not what I'm saying, Kakashi," Minato said softly. "But there's nothing 'just' about being a kid. In a better world, you would have gotten the chance to learn that."
Rin squeezed.
Kakashi's left eye burned underneath the eyepatch. "So what, you're going to change the village? You're going to make it better for kids?" He croaked.
Too little, too late, a part of his mind screamed. Obito was dead and Rin was a living prison and Kakashi –
Kakashi.
"It may be too late for us," Rin said softly, "but not for other children."
Kakashi's eyes were automatically drawn to Kushina's belly. He tried to imagine the child. Would he have red hair, or blond? Kushina's gray eyes, or Minato's blue? What would his life be like, if he never had to fight?
Better, a voice that sounded suspiciously like his father said it would be better.
Kakashi sniffed. "I know."
Minato smiled and nodded. Kushina looked at her husband like he'd hung the moon and stars.
Kakashi huffed and looked back at Rin. "I guess we should help him accomplish it, right? Lots of old geezers to convince and genin to punch. He – he can't do it all by himself," he said, reluctantly.
Rin beamed.
"Oh man," Kushina said, "I really love you kids."
In between the actual healing, the mandatory psych counseling and the physical therapy, it was already October 1st by the time Kakashi finally got to go home. He wasn't cleared for duty yet because his shoulder had the nasty habit of sending throbbing pain down his arm every time he tried to rotate the limb, but Rin wouldn't pretend she was particularly bothered by that. It was good to have him by her side for a while.
Kurenai had already ambushed her a couple of days ago, going on and on about how she had heard that Kakashi, Kakashi, had chased off one of the seven swordsmen of the mist, how amazing, how wonderful, how on earth had he pulled it off –
Which was how Rin figured out that Minato, Mikoto and their team hadn't divulged all the details of Rin's latest ordeal with the villagers.
The relief of that had almost caused her knees to buckle where she stood, which would have been a bit of a spectacle, in the middle of Main Street. They didn't even know she had been there at all. The less people thought about her, the less likely they were to find out the truth. Which was how Rin figured out another truth: unless the truth of her jinchuuriki status ever came out, the village leaders would do their damnedest to make sure she never got a turn in the spotlight. No acknowledgment for what had been one of the scariest moment of her life.
Rin wasn't sure how to feel about that.
Kushina was starting to become increasingly fidgety, as October passed. Her movement slowed and she started to spend most of her time at home, lounging on the couch or looking dreamily into the little nursery she and Minato had put together over the past few months.
Rin visited often. Her training had been put on hold and it wasn't like anyone was giving her missions either, so she was more than happy to revert to her medic roots and spend the most of her time with respectively a pregnant lady and a grumpy, injured teenager.
Kakashi looked at her differently now. Less like she could shatter at any moment. He even brought over his friend Gai once so she could teach him to make cupcakes, which as Kakashi put it was the ultimate test of her stress resilience and ability not to let Sanbi go haywire. Rin happened to think Gai was very sweet and an attentive student to boot, even if his cupcakes turned out a slightly too lurid shade of green for her tastes, so she chided Kakashi for being so rude to his friend. Some things never change.
On October eighth, Minato invited Kakashi and Rin over for dinner, where he announced he was going to put the notion of raising and standardizing the Academy graduation age to the Council in a week's time. Kushina beamed all evening.
She went into labor on October tenth.
Kushina was whisked away to some kind of undisclosed location the moment her contractions started. It was frustrating and more than a little scary to not be able to do anything for her, but that was what they had been expecting for months.
So instead, Kakashi and Rin holed themselves up in their apartment and tried to while away the hours.
They smiled nervously at each other over the chessboard they'd placed on Minato and Kushina's kitchen table.
"What if the kid turns out to be a prodigy, but also has Kushina's flair for the dramatic?" Kakashi asked idly, moving the first chess piece. He played white.
"He'll terrify us all into loving and following him forever, I think," Rin said, tapping her fingers on the table.
A sigh. "That seems horrifically likely."
"What if he doesn't like ramen?" Rin posed.
"He'll be disowned and turn into a missing nin. After fifteen years, he'll return as the master of all ramen-based ninjutsu to inspire his family's deep-seated regret."
"... You've been watching daytime television again, haven't you?"
"I have a lot of time on my hands."
There was a beat, in which she tried to hide a ridiculous grin from taking over her face. He was a little hard to resist, like this. "Daytime television, though?"
"... It's surprisingly entertaining."
"I think the baby will be wonderful either way, questionable taste in food or not," she finally said. "It's hard to imagine anything else, with parents like his."
Kakashi hummed thoughtfully, but he didn't disagree. He made another move on the chessboard. "Why all the secrecy, though? I'm pretty sure she's not having the baby in the hospital."
There was something about pregnant jinchuurikis that made some people very, very nervous.
"I think it's something to do with kyuubi," Rin said hesitantly.
Kakashi looked startled. "It's that bad?"
"I don't know about that, but they're clearly not taking any chances."
Kakashi huffed. "One of these days, they might actually let us in on stuff like this before it's already happening."
Rin shrugged. Her father didn't usually involve her in things he deemed to be adult topics, either. But she was used to having a parent around and being in the role of his daughter. Well. She used to have him around, anyway.
"I'm sure they don't mean anything by it," she said.
Kakashi idly toyed with one of his pieces. "I know. S'just annoying. I mean, how long have we known them?"
"Almost seven years, now. Even longer for you."
"We're practically part of their furniture."
Rin snorted out a laugh. "You do make a lovely gardening tool." She took one of Kakashi's pawns.
"And like any loyal scarecrow, they might at least throw me a bone every now and then."
"I feel like you don't understand what scarecrows are for."
He scowled at her. It was funny how expressive he could be even with a mask. He made another move, closing in on her queen.
Rin smiled faintly. "I know you want to help, but they are entitled to their privacy too, you know."
Kakashi shrugged. "I don't like being left out of the loop."
"I know. Me neither."
"Check."
"Oh – already?"
"Sorry."
"You'll have to tell me how you keep winning," Rin said, pushing herself up from the table. Outside, the sun was setting, coloring the sky in reds and pinks. It had been five hours she had last seen Kushina. She shivered.
"I was going to see Gai for a bit. Last I heard Kurenai and Asuma were coming too. Asked me to invite you. You want to come?" Kakashi asked her, carefully lifting his injured arm back into his sling. He didn't meet her eyes.
Rin blinked. "Oh! That sounds lovely. I could use a distraction, anyway." But since when did Kakashi hang out with their peers? Or get invitations before she did?
They pulled on their shoes and left the apartment. Outside, the air was brisk and fresh. A little cold for the season, perhaps, but not unpleasant.
I like the cold, Sanbi purred, a mere whisper in the back of her mind. He sounded sleepy.
Kakashi set a strong pace towards the barbecue place Gai had invited them to. The place was more crowded than either of them liked, and they stuck close together until they spotted their friends' booth.
Asuma gave them a lazy wave. "Hello kids. Come and join us in the madhouse." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Gai, who was challenging Anko to an eating contest. Genma was watching them with a bemused expression on his face. Ebisu was pleading with them to stop.
Kakashi hummed and paused next to the booth, hand in his pockets. "Bit more crowded than you promised."
Asuma huffed. "Gai invited his team. Anko invited herself, naturally. Guess we'll have to make do."
"It's nice to see everyone together," Rin offered.
Kakashi's eyebrows rose steadily as Gai and Anko worked their way through what could only be described as a meat pile-up. "That's one word for it."
Asuma grinned. "Yeah, well. They'll probably ask you to join before you know it. Come on, sit down – eat. It's going to be a night to remember."
Rin had always quite liked Asuma – he had a kind of laid-back, relaxing presence that had often felt like a breath of fresh air after spending hours with her own teammates. He didn't quite possess his father 's gravitas or sense of responsibility, but he had always felt like one of the more mature members of their peer group. He'd even started to sprout a few mustache hairs on his upper lip as if to underscore his group status.
Anko was an entirely different breed of animal; with her loud voice and blunt personality she was very much Rin's opposite. But she had been one of Obito's rare true friends, and for that Rin could look past most imperfections. Anko sent a quick grin their way by means of greeting, which had the unfortunate side effect of alerting Gai of his rival's presence.
"Kakashi! You're looking particularly radiant this evening – but I bet you can't beat me in a speed eating competition!" He cried out, his loud voice drowning out the others.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. Everyone watched him intently for his response. "Bet I could, too," he said.
Genma started laughing. Asuma groaned. "Hatake, no."
Kakashi raised his nose in the air, haughtily, and waited for their friends to make a space for him in the booth. Genma was still laughing. Ebizu was saying something about irresponsible behavior, and "you are a role model, Kakashi-kun, you can't –"
Rin started to laugh as well. She'd been right. This was exactly the kind of distraction she needed.
They spent another two hours there, during which Kakashi's eating speed seemed to be increasing with every new bowl ( "It's learning," Asuma had whispered, horrified) and Ebizu nearly threw up in sympathy when Gai went for his tenth serving.
At some point, the trees outside had stopped rustling, as if the wind had fallen still. It was completely dark now, aside from the shop lanterns. The buzz of people's voices filtered into the restaurant, even as most of the other clients had already left.
Rin leaned back in her seat, sighing contentedly. She usually liked fish better than meat, but this restaurant knew what it was doing. No wonder – it was run by the Akimichi clan. Even so, she couldn't help but think of Kushina, who was out there somewhere giving birth. She met Kakashi's eye. He crinkled it in sympathy, evidently understanding her train of thought. She smiled back.
"I haven't seen you look this happy in months," Kurenai said unexpectedly, while the boys (and Anko) were still occupied by their own banter. "I'm glad."
"Thanks. I do feel better," Rin said, smiling back. "It's been a strange couple of years, you know?"
Kurenai smiled sympathetically and grabbed her hand. "I know. But I think he'd be proud of you, if he could see you now."
She didn't have to explain who she meant. They both knew.
Rin opened her mouth to reply, hoping she would be able to get some words past the lump in her throat, when she was hit by a sudden sharp stab of anxiety.
Not hers. Sanbi's.
Something's gone wrong, Sanbi said, no longer drowsy. I can feel him – my brother is not himself.
Rin froze.
Gone wrong how?
I – I haven't felt a presence like this in decades, Sanbi replied. I think – oh. I think my brother is going to have fun tonight, he finished, but he sounded hesitant.
Rin stood up abruptly, startling Kurenai and the others. Kakashi watched her intently, concern written all over his face. "Rin?"
"I – I just remembered something," Rin improvised. "I should – I have to go. Thank you for this, all of you. I had fun." Her smile was shaky and she could tell the others knew something was up, but only Kakashi could even come close to guessing what might be wrong. Before she could second-guess herself, she turned around and walked away. She could hear Kakashi getting up to follow her.
Talk to me. What you know? Is it something to do with Kushina-nee giving birth?
A shiver ran down her spine, and somehow she knew it was Sanbi's anxiety again, not her own.
I've never had a female jinchuuriki before you so I can't be sure for, Sanbi said. But yes – I think it might be related. We should stay the hell away.
"If something is wrong with her –" Rin said out loud.
Kakashi caught her by the arm, bringing her back into the world. They were outside the restaurant now, in a quieter corner of the street. "Rin? What's going on?" He whispered. His eye looked completely black in the dim lighting.
"Sanbi is saying the birth is going wrong – he doesn't understand, and – and neither do I, but if Kushina-nee is in trouble –" she said, but she never got to finish her sentence.
Somewhere on the other side of the town, something huge came into life. Its chakra was beyond anything she had ever felt, beyond even Sanbi, pressing down on her lungs and stomach and heart with tremendous force. Kakashi's breathing hitched and he watched her, wide-eyed. The thing's chakra pulsed, sending a shockwave through the village. Across the street, a pair of civilians fainted where they stood.
Chakra pressure. Killing intent. And then, the horrible roar – screech of a bijuu unleashed.
The streets turned to chaos. Civilians screamed and clotted around the few uniform wearing shinobi in the street, as though they would be able to protect them from whatever danger had just sprung into life. Others just plainly ran away, the instinctive fear so great that fleeing was all they could think about doing. Even the shinobi looked shaken – Kakashi's good hand shook minutely, where it still held on to her arm.
"Rin, that's Kyuubi. It's got to be – Minato sensei and Kushina –" he hissed, and released her to push up his headband. The Sharingan spun dangerously in the half-light as he turned it in the direction of the noise.
Not that he really needed to – there was a great noise, trees snapping like matchsticks, followed by a great billowing cloud of dust and smoke. Kyuubi roared again, and sent out another one of those horrible chakra pulses that made Rin feel weak in the knees.
Their friends had come streaming out of the restaurant, by now, their eyes wide with horror as Kyuubi's monstrous form slowly appeared out of the smoke and dust. His flaming red eyes burned and it was all Rin could do to stand her ground.
You shouldn't. You should run. We're not strong enough, not like this, Sanbi hissed at her, and for a moment his voice sounded so real that it was like he had whispered it into her ear.
But.
"We have to help," Kakashi said. It was as if his voice came from a great distance, and she couldn't process the words.
"Help? How can we –"
"I don't know. I don't care – we have to do something," he said, and started in the direction of the kyuubi.
She had no choice but to follow. What else could she do, after all they had been through together?
She thought briefly of her father, whose neighborhood late nowhere near where the demon was right now. If only he would be smart enough to evacuate.
It took longer than it should have to organize some kind of defense against the creature. It was evening, and most active-duty shinobi were either away or at home with their families. Those who did show up couldn't do much more than help civilians get away and douse flames. A group of Sarutobi sent a great torrent of flames towards Kyuubi, but the creature hardly seemed to feel it. It roared again and swung one of its massive arms down. The village's outer wall fell like it was nothing.
More people came streaming out of their houses and ran towards the Hokage mountain, where the tunnels might offer them some semblance of safety. There was no discipline, no order, no calm, only the absolute terror of people afraid to die.
Rin tried to stick close to Kakashi, but he was moving too quickly. People with larger bodies than her own blocked her path or bumped against her as she tried to move upstream. Up ahead, she saw Kakashi leap onto the roof to make better speed.
Just as she moved to follow him, a strong hand caught her around the wrist. "Don't even think about it," Uchiha Fukagu hissed, his Sharingan spinning furiously. "Or do you want to set a second bijuu loose on us?"
He pulled her away and out of the crowds into one of the little shops next to the street. "Now listen to me carefully. I understand you want to help, but as you are right now you would only make matters worse. I will knock you out myself if I have to, to keep you from going there," he said.
She looked over her shoulder – she couldn't see Kakashi anymore. She gritted her teeth. Fukagu was right, of course, but how on earth could she sit back and let her family fight all by themselves? If Kushina – Kushina was even alive, at this point. Or sensei. And what about the baby? "I – I have to do something –"
Fukagu grabbed her by both arms and shook her. "Right now, we only have a small chance of surviving this as it stands. Don't you dare lower those odds. You have no right," he hissed, and for the first time she had known him she could see fear in his eyes. He had two little boys and a wife, she remembered. She believed him. He would knock her out if he had to. Hell, right now, he would probably do worse if left with no other choice. And she couldn't really blame him for it, either.
The first buildings near the edge of town came crashing down. Where the hell was sensei? Why wasn't he defending them?
A small, slender figure darted across the roofs, his chakra blazing so strongly that he inevitably drew the attention of all shinobi around him. Sandaime, all decked out in battle gear, fiercer than she had ever seen him. She could hardly hear his voice from this distance, but she could see him organizing the shinobi present into a more effective first line of defense.
Another row of houses came tumbling down but this time the attack was answered; torrents of fire and water speared towards Kyuubi, even as a great wall of dirt and dust rose up to serve as a new city wall.
Fukagu's hands tightened around her shoulders. His people would be out there as well, using their not inconsiderable powers to try and stop the demon. "Come on," he said, and dragged her with him and away from the danger.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"Mikoto will take you, along with the children. It's better that way."
Rin almost bit her tongue. Her friends would be fighting, and all the while she would be hiding somewhere in between children and the elderly. She felt like a disgrace.
"You have no choice," Fukagu reminded her.
She didn't. She couldn't even go and help with the injured. Not without burning them, twisting their skin like she had Kakashi's. Injuries like those would kill civilians.
She certainly couldn't go out to fight, not when Sanbi would either join his brother in a rampage or destroy the village fighting him.
Head over heart.
Head over heart.
Head over –
The building next to them exploded in a shower of debris and splinters, throwing them both off their feet. A woman screamed, grasping uselessly at the place where her leg used to be. Rin scrambled to her feet and hobbled her way over. Her head spun and her legs felt like jelly, but it didn't matter, she had to do something –
the woman was still screaming when Rin dropped next to her and ripped off the woman's belt to use as a tourniquet. She pulled it as tight as it would go and tried to ignore the bloodied hand grasping at her arm as the woman panted out a litany of, "my leg, my leg, my leg."
Fukagu appeared out of nowhere, with a trickle of blood running down from his temple. "Keep moving," he growled, and pulled Rin back up on her feet.
"No, wait!"
"We can't afford to wait."
Kyuubi was steadily pushing Konoha's last line of defense back. The flames reached up to his knees, burning everything that hadn't already been destroyed.
"I can use my water jutsu, I can douse the flames," Rin said frantically, and where were her friends, where was Kakashi, where was her father –
"Breathe," Fukagu commanded, and her lungs burned when she finally did. She hadn't even realized she had been holding her breath.
Beautiful destruction, Sanbi whispered. It's so beautiful.
Rin choked on a sob. I hate you. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, she thought.
Although she didn't know it, her eyes changed color.
"Breathe," Fukagu repeated, and met her eyes with his own.
She only had a moment to realize what he was planning, and then her vision went black.
AN:
I'm so sorry. One chapter left, and it probably won't be what you expect. Let me know how you liked it (preferably without collectively lynching me)! Don't lynch Fugaku either, he's doing his best.