Naruto x Digimon

Alive - Team Minato's Digidestined

Chapter 041

Song: Porter Robinson - Something Comforting; Zeds Dead & DNMO - Save My Grave (feat. GG Magree)

Originally Written: Tuesday, March 28, 2023 1234PM to 206PM

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A/N: Potential trigger warning for this chapter.

Kakashi wasn't sure what made Rin seek him out, and apparently no one else had the opportunity to warn him. Only Matadormon, who told him that Rin was headed his way with the intensity of a summer lightning storm. His digivice beeped in his pocket. Kakashi handed Kushina off to the protection of his team, changed his clothes and got out of dodge before Rin blew his mission sky high. Even more worrisome was that Kushina hadn't asked how Rin found him.

Rin followed him, and caught up with him before he managed to make his way home. Standing in the market, she looked at him. "I want to have lunch."

There was a shine missing from her eyes and Kakashi wanted to tear out the throat of the individual who caused the situation to take it. "Okay."

He took her to the Akimichi bar, looking for Hanku, but couldn't find him. The other Akimichi said he had the day off. They were served their meal. Rin downed more alcohol than he did, and it was tempting to join her as she filled up his glass. His glass would disappear in a trick of the light creating a shadow, and reappear a bit later empty. He expected Rin to look at him in concern, but she only smiled in response.

He could feel many Akimichi eyes on them as he wondered exactly what was going on. He grabbed her wrist. "Are you okay?"

"Not yet." She smiled a wide smile much unlike the ones he was used to her smiling.

He fished some money out of his pocket, and put it on the table. "I'm taking you home."

Rin laughed in response like she was drunk, but Kakashi knew she wasn't. Rin held her alcohol better than Obito. Obito didn't like the stuff.

He debated on taking her back to her apartment, but changed his mind when she climbed on his back.

She pointed in the air like she was riding an animal. "Go go go!" She laughed. Her nails dug into his skin around the shoulder.

He saw the pink of Lunamon's skin in the shadows, and the bruises she was causing to her ears as she repeatedly pulled on them. He started to wonder if Rin had been poisoned with something. But his supplies were with his other uniform. He couldn't search through what Rin had on her in her state, and Obito would maim him if he brought her to the Uchiha district like this. He settled for his home, and sent Matadormon to get Shiro. For some reason Matadormon told him he didn't need to do that.

He saw Shiro disappear into the trees on his property as he arrived. Rin hadn't seemed to notice.

He saw a slew of medical supplies hidden well within the living room. Rin noticed what he was up to, but he was faster and stronger and knew enough of a hint when he saw one. He put her to sleep with a mild sedative.

"What did you do?" Lunamon asked

Kakashi almost jumped. "I gave her a sedative. She's sleeping." He laid Rin down on the couch. He picked up some alcohol and sterilized and cleaned the nasty scratch she gave him when she realized what he had done. "Stop pulling your ears."

"H-her instructions don't make sense." Lunamon seemed to whine in response. "I c-c-can't follow them."

Kakashi looked at her, wishing he was drunk right now. "What did she tell you?"

Lunamon continued pulling at her ears. "I need to digivolve. Rin told me not to lie to her, but Rin doesn't want to hear that I need to digivolve. But I need to digivolve. But Rin doesn't want to hear that I need to digivolve. Rin told me not lie to her, but Rin doesn't want to hear me tell her that I need-"

Kakashi grabbed her paws.

Lunamon stared at the needle that stuck out of her paw. "Oh…" She fell, collapsing against Kakashi's leg.

Kakashi set her next to Rin. "What the fuck? I'm not the guy for this."

Shiro snuck inside the house. "You're definitely not."

"Where's Naginata?" Kakashi looked at him. "Or Kushina or Grandma…?" He trailed off as what he said hit him. He shook his head. "Where's someone who's not me?" His heart raced, and his breath seemed to catch in his throat.

Shiro kneeled next to Rin and checked her vitals. "Do any of you know what happened to her in Kiri? Lunamon said she doesn't want Rin to look at her and think of Kiri."

Kakashi shook his head. "...She doesn't speak about Kiri. We can't get anything out of her. It's always been like that."

Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hard way then." He looked up at Kakashi. "How deep in the mud do you care for your reputation to go?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I don't care about my reputation. You know that."

Shiro sighed. "How badly are you willing for your reputation to affect someone else negatively?"

Kakashi stared at him, slowly understanding.

"Knowing that, how deep in the mud can you handle your reputation going?" Shiro looked at him.

"Anyone affected has to remain above me enough to not be buried six feet under by it." Kakashi replied.

"Okay." Shiro took a deep breath. "I can work with that." He scribbled something on a sheet of paper. Kakashi couldn't read what it said, but it looked like a list. He folded it up and handed it to Kakashi. "Can you ask Matadormon to give this to Hanku? Then return here. You might want to keep him as Gabumon."

Kakashi took the paper without reading it or opening it back up and pushed his hand into a dark corner of the room. The pink of Matadormon's sleeve appeared in the darkness and disappeared. Kakashi looked at Shiro. "What for?"

Shiro murmured in frustration, but Kakashi could hear him. "I have never sent a patient to their death via a downward mental spiral. I am not about to start now."

Kakashi swallowed thickly, "What do I need to do? If she gets sent to a Yamanaka she's going to disappear."

"Hanku will handle that. I need you to keep her from going off the rails. Keep her here."

"Just me?"

"Just you. If she sees any of us, including Naginata, she's going to lose her shit. I do not know how Lunamon managed to get Rin to you without causing a scene, but she's good at what she does. So, can you do that for me?"

"For Rin." Kakashi murmured.

"For Rin." Shiro nodded in agreement. He wrote on another piece of paper. "Start with Naginata's list, have it ready by the time she's up. Go through it with her. You know what I mean. She should be ready to go back to sleep by the time you're both done."

Kakashi nodded, looking at the second list Shiro gave him.

"She's stable for now, and should be up in a few hours." Shiro's knees cracked as he stood. "Unfortunately, I need to get back to work."

Shiro left as calmly as he entered, which wasn't that calm for Shiro now that he had time to think about it. Kakashi looked at the list, and was all the more glad for it. He worked through the list as though he were applying it to himself. The goal was simple: make sure one saw that they could make it to tomorrow. He had to make some modifications, as he didn't have all the items needed for things like Rin's favorite food, and the snuggly blankets she liked and she didn't like most of the books Kakashi read. Partway through Matodormon returned as Gabumon and instructions that threw him for a loop.

"That would…"

"He's willing to take the hit." Gabumon replied, running his hands over his fur. Gabumon's childish voice also threw him for a loop. He was so used to hearing Matadormon after all these months in Anbu. Matadormon's voice held a maturity alongside the lighthearted innocence that faded from children as they forced themselves to grow up. In that, he understood Shiro's instructions. He closed his eyes, and decided to follow Hanku's.

And he was all the better for it, when part way through eating a mish mash of Rin's favorite snacks, Rin looked at her plate. "I don't want anymore."

"You've barely eaten anything." Lunamon commented in a whisper. "You haven't eaten anything since last night."

"I'm not hungry for that." She stood, but continued looking down.

Kakashi stayed put, but stood when Gabumon told him to move. He caught Rin as she grinned and pounced on him. He nearly fell to the floor, but managed to stay standing. His mind screamed at him. Rin and Gai and Grandma and Kushina and Sensei all put up with him when he wasn't okay. He would help Rin just as they helped him.

Then he got very confused when she grinned, pulled down his mask and kissed him. "No." He turned away, fighting his instincts to drop here.

Rin frowned. Gabumon growled and Lunamon hissed right back at his Digimon. Lunamon sounded the worst off because it was more like hearing a snake than hearing a bunny.

Rin shifted her weight, and Kakashi fell. "Don't tell me no."

He grabbed her wrists, "Rin, stop it!"

"Just once! Just once!" She screamed, straddling him as she fought to free her hands.

He looked up at her dilated pupils. When had she become so heavy? Or was he so unwilling to hurt her that it was affecting his own strength. "Why?"

"I just want to know what it's like." She grinned and laughed. "Don't you?"

'Yes.' He shook his head, "No. Not like this. And not-" He closed his eyes, ignoring when she kissed him again. He pushed her away. Gently, not enough to hurt her. "Not with me."

Obito would kill him. And Rin would recover, work with Orochimaru to find some way to bring him back to life and kill him again.

Gabumon continued growling. Kakashi knew his digimon was right behind Rin, his horn poised at her heart. He wished he was drunk. He was thinking too much. Yet he couldn't use his instincts. He went on far too many missions where an individual acting like Rin was now would have a kunai at his throat in seconds. Too many dreams that went in the other direction…

He overpowered her just enough to roll over on top of her. Lunamon hissed. Gabumon was starting to leak killer intent. Rin looked up at him, seeing, but not.

"Gabumon! Go stay at Gai's house tonight."

Gabumon sputtered. His killer intent dropped to nil. "W-what!?"

"Go! Now! Come back in the morning. I'll be here."

Gabumon backed away, turned around and left. Lunamon started to calm down, but circled around so she could better see Kakashi.

Rin laughed. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her chest heaved quickly as she murmured, "Why not? Why not me?"

"I'm not going to hurt her." He looked at Lunamon. "I just…I don't understand this. I want to protect her just as you do. Can I…" His heart raced in his chest, "Can I do that?"

Lunamon pressed her paws to the pendant on her chest. She nodded, the curl on her head drooped so low it made a straight line, covering the middle of her face. "Okay."

Rin fell silent as Kakashi looked her in the eye with the Sharingan. He had no clue what he was doing, but he didn't need to. Rin didn't fight him and her mind guided him to all the answers. He blinked as his vision came back into focus. Rin's adrenaline slowly wore off and she fainted.

Kakashi kneeled over her. His shoulders shook. He looked at Lunamon.

The Digimon glared at him. "You said you wouldn't-"

"-I read her mind. That's all. I promise."

"Move off of Rin." Lunamon demanded.

Kakashi did so. "I don't know the answer she's looking for." He stared at his hands. "If you need to digivolve, that means her life's in danger. That means she might die. You're worried about reminding her of Kiri. You already do. That's not her problem. That's not her concern. She doesn't want to die, because she's never really lived. Shinobi are all just tools who follow orders. When those orders are complete, we're left near broken, and thrown away until we die if we didn't die on the field. There's…there's so much that being a shinobi taints and destroys, and no one tells you it does until it already has. It's…" He shook his head, knowing he was treading far too close to speaking treason for someone in his position.

Lunamon's arms fell to her sides. She sniffled, "I-I know. Rin doesn't understand me. I will fight in her place if she doesn't want to. That's why I need to digivolve."

"She doesn't understand, because who asks their best friend to die for them when they can fight for themselves?" Kakashi replied.

Lunamon looked at him. "She does not have to fight for herself. I will fight for her."

Kakashi looked at her. Lunamon donned the same look of confusion Wanyamon gave him in his early days of anbu. The only change was that her little curl wasn't drooping as much as it was before. He shook his head, and picked up Rin. "Nevermind."

Kakashi placed her back on the couch and cleaned her up the best he could. Lunamon watched him all the while. He changed his clothes, wishing he had time to properly treat his wounds as well, but he couldn't. He picked her up again. "Can you follow me? You two need to have a long conversation, and it can't be done here."

Lunamon nodded. Kakashi made sure everything was in order, before stepping out the door. Lunamon trailed behind him, standing out in the open for the first time since she arrived in Konoha.