"It's over, Rin."
Kakashi stood at the grave, head bowed. Sometimes, he didn't realize he was coming here, only noticing where his feet finally stopped. Obito, Rin, it didn't matter. When he saw Obito's grandmother Masae standing over Obito's grave, Kakashi had walked away to give her space. The Uchiha allowing him to keep his eye (and his head) was a fresh memory.
With the flowers placed, he began clearing the wilted flowers. It was…peacetime, he supposed. Now he could come by more often.
Now, Kakashi could talk to his team.
"After Kushina-nee and her team took down Kikyo a week ago, Iwa and Kiri surrendered. Suna just sent in their surrender notice. We won, Rin."
It wasn't for nothing
you didn't die for—
"Minato-sensei is a hero," he found himself saying. "They're calling him the Yellow Flash. He might even become Hokage."
The celebration of the end of war still echoed in his ears. The street vendors, no longer confined to meatless days, roasted skewered chicken and beef atop open grills. Civilian children ran through the streets. The Academy students who had been funneled to genin and out onto the battlefield had started their D-rank missions, countless in the face of bringing shinobi home. He had only arrived in Konoha from his old base yesterday.
Konoha switched seamlessly from war to peace.
"I found out what they put inside you," he whispered. Jinchuriki. Minato-sensei told him once they returned home. Kiri had probably taken the body in the hopes of retrieving the beast. "The tailed beast would have destroyed the village. You were…you were trying to save everyone, weren't you, Rin."
(His hands trembled.)
"I…I asked if we could go back, Sensei and I, and recover Obito's body, since we couldn't recover you." He swallowed, and busied his hands with the flowers. "But Sensei said there may not be anything left to recover." The words had landed like a slap, for the way they stung. Minato-sensei hadn't meant anything by it, but the words replayed in his head at night.
His lips quirked. "Sensei proposed to Kushina-nee," he whispered. "Just like you said he would. Kushina-nee didn't expect it."
Rin always claimed Sensei would propose, but Kakashi didn't believe it, until they walked back into Konoha, sweaty and bloodstained. Kushina had been talking to her team, trying to convince Mikoto-san of something the woman clearly didn't want to do. Sensei pulled a shiny ring out of a filthy jonin vest and proposed, right after Konoha accepted Iwa's notice of defeat. Kushina-nee had been so flustered she nearly hit Sensei in the eye as she tackled him.
(Rin wouldn't even get to attend the ceremony.)
"Minato-san told me you would be here." He glanced up, and immediately tensed.
Kakashi had never seen the woman in front of him, he was sure. Short brown hair was cropped at her neck. She twirled a blue parasol, shielding the sun from her tanned face. With the dress she wore, she looked like a civilian about to begin shopping.
But her eyes…
Her eyes were wide, green, and dead.
"Tsutsuji-san?" he guessed. Her lips quirked in a barely visible smile.
"Good job, Kakashi-kun." She didn't drop her henge like he expected. Instead, she kneeled at the grave, parasol neatly tucked at her side. She held purple flowers in her other hand.
"Hello, Rin." Her voice sounded…softer, somehow, though her tone had barely changed. She placed the flowers on the grave, cleaning nonexistent dirt from the grave. "Kurenai-chan and Asuma-kun came to the apartment today. They miss you. " Her head bowed for a moment, and she fell silent. Kakashi took this as his moment to leave.
He stood silently, backing away slowly, but a delicate hand grabbed him with an iron grip. Kakashi stared back at Tsutsuji, who murmured something under her breath, before standing.
"Have you eaten?" she asked. Kakashi hadn't had more than ration bars in months. Slowly, he shook his head.
Tsutsuji inclined her head towards the village, where celebrations still filled the air. "Rin loved yakisoba," she said quietly. "Would you like to join me for lunch?"
He couldn't understand Tsutsuji-san. Didn't understand the generosity behind that flat gaze. His hands were still stained with her daughter's blood. Still, he nodded, and they began the walk through the village.
Though the celebration felt jarring, he supposed it was better than the haggard, worn faces he was used to during the war. They passed the Uchiha compound, where detectives and civilians alike averted their eyes from his tilted hitai-ate. Rin had promised to find a way to redirect the chakra flow before she—
before he—
"There's been some talk, within the ranks," Tsutsuji said, almost like an afterthought. He glanced at her. Some were giving her strange looks, this civilian-looking woman with a parasol next to a friend-killer. Shinobi gave him a wide berth, a space he was slowly getting used to. Without Minato-sensei or Kushina-nee at his side, the glares and whispers settled under his skin. "You made a name for yourself, during the war."
Kakashi didn't speak. When they arrived at the noodle bar, he stuck his face in his menu, to avoid her glance. Hurriedly, a server placed down water and called out that he would be with them shortly, before leaving in a rush.
Friend Killer Kakashi. Friend Killer Kakashi. Friend killer—
"Tell me, what do you think of ANBU?"
He startled. "What?"
"ANBU," she said, placid. She watched the server take orders on the other end of the noodle bar. "Your name has floated up through the ranks. I may or may not have heard your name being discussed as a potential recruit."
ANBU. He had heard of the organization. His father had turned it down for his turn on the front lines of the Second World War. He had a strong feeling Kushina-nee might have been part of the organization for a time.
Kakashi was already a jonin; there was only one other rank he could be promoted to."I didn't know," he said, too confused to be anything but honest. "No one told me."
At that, Tsutsuji snorted. He watched as the woman, without hand signs, began to shift before his eyes.
Her stature shrunk until she looked just a few years older than him. Choppy brown hair grew light at the roots, then spread down to her shoulders in blonde waves. Her eyes sparked bright blue, and her skin paled. She looked a bit like Inoichi-san, minus the jonin jacket. Kakashi gaped behind the safety of his mask.
"ANBU won't tell you they will recruit you," she said. "Each team—be they in assassination, infiltration and seduction, even the code breakers—has their own methods of recruitment. You'll know when they want you."
(She sounded…tired.)
The pieces snapped into place. His visible eye widened. "You're part of—"
"Thank you for being patient!" The server came back around with a small smile. "What can I get for you two today?"
"Ōta-yakisoba, please," Tsutsuji-san said. She took a sip of water, staring at him expectantly. The server scribbled on a paper, before turning to Kakashi.
His brain was still recalibrating. "The same," he choked out. With a nod, the server took their menus, and departed. Kakashi stared at the woman next to him.
Rin's mother was in ANBU. She never said anything. How had he not known?
"I used to tell Rin she couldn't eat yakisoba for every meal, but I wasn't in the village enough to stop her. Without Obito and Grandma Masae, I'm sure she would have lived on yakisoba throughout the Academy. Of course, her aunts and uncles intervened, but they had their missions as well."
It was startling, how little he knew about his teammate. What he knew about Rin, he knew through Obito, and his massive crush. He didn't know her hobbies, her likes and dislikes, her family, and shame sat deep in his stomach.
"She always went for ramen with Obito," he managed to say.
Tsutsuji hummed. "Rin always did like making him happy," she replied. Blue eyes scanned him over. "Would you accept ANBU if extended an offer?"
There was no one left, no one to talk to. Minato-sensei had a chance of becoming Hokage. Kushina-nee would be worrying about her wedding, alongside her own missions. Obito was gone. Rin was gone. Teaming up with Gai, Genma and Ebisu had been…good, but with each inside joke, every coordinated attack, he was reminded of being an outsider.
There was no one left, and nowhere else to go. He shrugged.
Tsutsuji's face looked carved from stone. "I see," she said lowly.
Their bowls arrived, and Kakashi pulled his chopsticks apart, though he wasn't hungry. He slowly lowered his mask, and tucked into his bowl.
Would Kakashi join ANBU? If the Hokage wanted him to serve in ANBU, then he would. It didn't matter the rank, it didn't matter the mission. He had no other ambition than to be a shinobi.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Tsutsuji ate, almost like a bird. Even with her food, Tsutsuji showed an otherworldly grace. They finished eating in silence.
When they were finished, Tsutsuji dropped the bills on the counter, ignoring his protests. "I asked you to eat, Kakashi-kun. Next time, you can pay."
Next time?
She slid out of her seat gracefully, planting both feet on the ground, and paused. Tsutsuji tucked blonde hair behind her ear. It shortened as he watched, falling just past her jaw. "Kakashi-kun."
He stared up at her, bemused. Her smile was lifeless. "Have you thought of what your life might look like, five years from now?"
Kakashi hadn't. He had completed every goal he set out to achieve. His team was dead, his sensei was a Hokage candidate. There was nothing left for him to do. The book he picked up from the market, How a Shinobi Should Die, burned in his pocket.
"Think about it," the woman said, "When you know, let me know your answer." With a wave, the woman sinuously weaved through the crowd, leaving Kakashi standing in the middle of the marketplace, words buzzing in his ears.
Rin had forgotten about Ame's rain.
As she closed in to the village, the droplets seeped through her thin clothes. The tall, industrialized buildings of Ame loomed as she shivered. Dark buildings shot into the sky like spires. The city radiated darkness she couldn't place, seeming to suck all the light into its mechanical walls. A large lake surrounded the borders of the village.
We made it! Ashura crowed. In her mind's eye, she could imagine Naruto cheering from Ashura's body. From her soul, Isobu radiated concern. Maybe he could feel the sweat building in her palms, the rapid pulse of her heart. Rin swallowed as the gate came into view. Ame had an isolationist policy, she knew, but Rin wasn't sure if that started after the Third war or with Pain's bloody rise over Hanzo.
Rin had watched Obito massacre the Akatsuki. She watched as Pain took over the city with Obito and Zetsu's help. Watched as Obito teleported in and out of the village on one of his many missions. What she didn't know was exactly where Akatsuki's hideout was located. Didn't the location change once the Akatsuki began its mercenary work?
How would she convince the Akatsuki that their group was on the brink of destruction? How would she find the hideout? How could she get out of these soaked clothes?
A pulse of contentment came from her soul. It spread, from its warmth in her chest to her fingertips, like slow-moving syrup. By the time it reached her toes, her heart rate had calmed.
You can do it, Rin-chan.
She swallowed, sending her gratitude back to Isobu.
Slowly, she trudged towards the gate, where refugees stood in bunches, waiting for their turn to enter the village. There were no guards present. Iron gates blocked much of the village from view. When it came to be her turn, Rin wiped rain out of her face. "State your name, and purpose," a mechanical voice buzzed out of the speakers.
"Nori. I've come to seek refuge."
"Clan name?"
"Senju," Rin said slowly. "Senju Nori."
There was a long, telling pause.
"Senju?" The speaker snarled. "We want nothing to do with Konoha."
"Please," she said. "I have nowhere else to go."
"I'm sure your clan can house you," the voice snapped. "Please leave."
Other stragglers watched as Rin stumbled away from the gates, cheeks burning. She swiped at her eyes, but the rain kept falling fast, drenching her. Now what? She thought.
We can find somewhere on the outskirts of the village, Ashura said. There has to be something—
The lake, Isobu said, cutting Ashura off. You can stay in the lake.
Rin couldn't hide her disbelief. Even if it was the beginning of May, the water would be freezing. The dark surface did nothing to quell her worries. The last time she stood before water, it hadn't gone well. The idea of water, pressing in, just like the dirt of her grave, its delicate wood…
You are my...partner. The water will not hurt you.
What was she supposed to do? Jump into the water and float?
No. I will guide you.
Rin sighed. She walked closer to the edge of the lake. It was far from Moriya Beach's shore—there was no shore here, just a craggy line of rock. Rin set her bag and sandals down under a stone, and breathed out slowly.
Then, she jumped in. As she expected, the water was cold. Rain beat down on the surface of the lake.
Isobu? she thought.
Take a deep breath, and begin swimming towards the bottom.
Rin inhaled as much as her lungs could allow, and began swimming. The water was dark, and frigid—she could barely see her hands in front of her. All Rin could do was move her arms faster, and keep pushing water out of her path. She swam until her arms ached, and her lungs began to burn.
Stop!
Rin halted in the water. Isobu?
Let go of your breath, the three tails said.
Rin looked around dubiously. She'd need to breathe.
Do you trust me, Rin-chan?
He already knew the answer. Rin opened her mouth, and bubbles flew towards the surface. She tried to push down her panic, but she was sure Isobu could feel the way her body was trying to fight. The fish around her looked at her curiously as she struggled against her body's instinct. Her eyes fell closed.
Open your eyes, Rin.
She blinked back into awareness, and her eyes didn't sting. She was in the soulspace, where Isobu stared her down. In the bubbles around them, she saw herself, sinking towards the bottom of the lake. How had she not drowned?
Somehow, she thought Isobu seemed amused.
My domain is water. You will not drown, so long as I remain in your soul.
But… "When I was fighting the Zetsu," she said. "I almost drowned."
You had been stabbed in the chest. You did not suffer from the water, you were suffering from the wound.
Oh. She looked around the soul space, where the mandala glowed on the lakebed. More than her memories, she saw…Isobu's.
Isobu and the Sage, where magenta ringed eyes looked up at the man adoringly. Isobu's first swim in the ocean, snacking on as much seaweed and fish as he wanted. Isobu and Saiken playing in the water.
Then, Hashirama. The faces of the men who sealed him the first time, into a red eyed child. Then, a young man, who chained him in his body, with manacles that wouldn't let him go. Then, a woman, whose chakra grated on Isobu's skin. Then, Rin.
She saw Isobu watching her emotions, her memories. Her being sealed with the curse tag. The pain of Chidori as it seared Isobu's chakra. And after Rin, being sealed into the Mizukage. Being burned alive with Amaterasu. Freedom, for a few fleeting moments. Then, pain. Sealing into the statue. The war.
I'm sorry I hurt you, she thought. I didn't realize…
(You would feel pain too.)
But she couldn't hide anything from Isobu. How could she, when he was sealed inside her soul?
Your body will stay in stasis. In one bubble, she watched as her body breathed underwater, much to the curiosity of nearby fish. Rin was still alive. As my jinchuriki, you should never fear the water.
I love the water, she thought.
I am aware. Now, she was sure, Isobu was amused. His visible eye stayed on her. You need to acclimate to my chakra. The water will help.
Rin hesitated, then decided, why not? She inched closer to Isobu, until she stood right in front of him. She swam up, until she was level with his eye, and hugged one of his spikes. They were much smoother than she thought. Thank you, Isobu.
The turtle preened. We will practice breathing, to sync our chakra as one.
As one?
So long as I reside in your soul, my chakra is your chakra, and your chakra is mine.
Thinking of Hashirama, Rin breathed in, and tried passing her chakra to Isobu. Unlike her time with Hashirama, this felt…natural. Like she was practicing by herself. Isobu softly butted her with his head, sending chakra back. For minutes or hours, they breathed in together, and as water rushed Rin's lungs, she tried not to fear. She could breathe. She would be fine.
Isobu?
Yes, Rin-chan?
What were your siblings like?
At that, Rin felt a flood of longing, enough to bring her to her knees. She gasped, inhaling water. The bubbles flashed with images.
The air was pure, and the water crystalline blue. Saiken looked at him, and the race was on.
Leaning on Matatabi's fur, having her nuzzle him back.
Goading Shukaku on as the raccoon raced across the desert, from the safety of an oasis.
Quiet mornings with Kokuo, as his tails slid across Isobu's spikes.
Son Goku screaming loud enough for Gyuki to tell him to shut up.
Kurama, always grumpy, always scowling, but always watched Isobu's tricks in the water…
She brushed tears from her eyes. Rin had never seen this side of the tailed beasts—she wondered how long they'd been together.
(How long they'd been apart.)
She could understand a piece of the grief Isobu shared with her. A lifetime ago, she had a father she could come home to, covered in dirt and always wearing a smile. A lifetime ago, her mother told her she would be a big sister.
I can't unite you with all of them, Rin thought towards Isobu. That would be Naruto's task, as the child of the prophecy. She thought of Kushina, still grappling with Kurama throughout the years they had been together. But I can unite you with Kurama, once this is done. She put all her conviction behind the words.
Isobu's eyes flashed magenta. Promise?
Rin hugged another one of his many gray spikes. I promise.
That distant amazement resurfaced. Thank you, Rin-chan. He butted her with his head softly. It's time to resurface.
Already? Still, Rin began swimming upwards, toward the mindspace. Before Isobu was out of view, she lifted a hand and waved.
A gray hand rose, hesitantly, and waved back.
—
Rin blinked into awareness at the bottom of the lake bed. The water still felt cold, but she wasn't freezing. She inhaled, letting water rush into her lungs, and began swimming to the surface. She couldn't wait to lie under the ocean at Moriya beach, or under the Naka, taking in all the aquatic life.
When she resurfaced in the pale gray morning, the sun had barely risen. With a few hand signals, she copied one of Minato-sensei's favorite jutsus, and dried herself off. As she tied up her hair, she located her bag and sandals, just where she left them. In the distance, she watched a figure was running alongside the lake.
Rin strapped her bag over her shoulder. What now?
Training! You still need to work on your chakra control.
Rin sighed, but nodded. She looked back onto the lake, and put a foot on the surface. Her chakra held, for the most part, so she shifted her weight, taking another step. Then another.
See, you're getting it!
Her sandal slipped under the surface, and she knew no wind jutsu would save them. She sighed, and began practicing her katas. When Minato-sensei wasn't making them run throughout the village, they practiced fighting on the nearby stream. They all had good chakra control, but, in Sensei's words, chakra control should be honed until it's less a skill and more an instinct.
She practiced until she grew hungry, and stumbled to shore. Putting a hand on the ground, she thought of dandelions. The flowers rose, and she munched on their stems. She was sick of the plant at this point, but it was the only plant she could freely grow. As her shoes dried, she watched the figure continue to lap the lake.
They were fast, she thought. Probably as fast as Kakashi, or even little Shisui without the body flicker.
My turn, 'ttebayo!
Rin's world flashed white, and when she looked around the mindspace, all she could see was Naruto. The boy grinned brightly, feet swinging on the ledge of the pool. "Looks like you didn't need my help connecting with Isobu after all. You did great, Rin!"
His coloring may have come from Sensei, but his energy was all Kushina-nee. Rin swallowed, and smiled at him. Judging by the way his grin faltered, she didn't manage it.
"Hey, are you okay?"
In truth, Rin thought, a bit hysterical, she wasn't. There hadn't been time to breathe since she'd broken out of her grave. She thought the pieces would fall together once she reached Ame, but she felt as lost as she did when she answered the Sage's call.
Rin slumped in front of the pool, where Isobu rested. She caught her reflection in the pool's surface, and blinked. Even in the mindscape, she was under the henge, long black hair nearly landing in the water. Rin suddenly missed her true face, her clan markings showing she was a Nohara, above all else. Not a Senju.
Was this how her mother felt, constantly under different faces?
"I don't know," she said. "Nothing seems to be going the way it should."
Naruto sat beside her. Though by all rights and timelines, she was much older, he towered over her. "I've had a lot of time to think while I've been here, you know? There's a lot I'm learning about this timeline, and Sensei's team and Mom and Dad. There wasn't a whole lot of time to think about them before the Fourth war started."
(Obito's war. Madara's war. Zetsu's war. Kaguya's war.)
"I think, out of anyone, you're the best person to do this," Naruto said slowly, picking his words carefully. "I thought that I had to prove myself, that it had to end with me and Sasuke, but our timing was so late." He laughed under his breath. "Kakashi-sensei always said I rushed into things, and maybe a lot could have been avoided if…" he shook his head. "That's not important right now. What is important is that you're doing it, Rin. You're getting stronger and we're all watching you grow. We'll find a way into Ame, find the Akatsuki, and stop Zetsu and Obito. Together." He smiled, and for a moment, Rin thought she was looking at Minato-sensei.
She laughed, and rubbed at her eyes. "You're just like them, you know? Your parents."
Naruto blinked, shoulders hunching. "Really?" he said, awed.
"Kushina-nee was always there to cheer someone up," Rin said, looking out at her mindspace. "She'd look at you, and immediately know what to say. Sensei could give a good speech, and often did as Hokage, but privately, he would get so flustered at everything."
"Why?" his voice was hushed as he leaned in.
"Because Kushina-nee would smile at him, or teach him a new seal, and he'd get this look on his face, like everything was going in one ear and out the other. Sensei was a genius, but put him in front of Kushina-nee and it was like he forgot everything he ever knew."
They both laughed quietly.
"It was good, seeing Mom," Naruto said. "Her team looked so cool."
"It's a bit funny," Rin admitted. "You and Sasuke being on the same team. Just like Kushina and Mikoto-san."
Naruto jumped up. "Wait—was that Sasuke's mother?!"
Rin laughed, until she was holding her sides. Sasuke was a carbon copy of his mother. Naruto's jaw had unhinged, and she laughed louder.
She could finally see the future she was working for. For Naruto to not have to learn stories secondhand. For Kushina and Mikoto to raise their sons together. For Kakashi to have a full team again. Rin would make sure of it—no matter what it took.
"I brought you here for a reason," Naruto said, as the shock wore off. "Since you don't need me to help you with Isobu, I was thinking I could teach you the Shadow Clone technique. Since you're a jinchuriki, you have the chakra for it, too."
He went through the hand signs. In a puff of smoke, four copies of him appeared, with the same grin. Rin went through the same signs, and three copies of her stood next to her.
"Wanna spar?" Naruto asked. His smile was all Minato-sensei's now, a challenge in his eyes. He settled into a stance that she recognized from Kakashi.
Laughing, Rin rushed forward.
