Mending The Past To A Better Future

Chp. 20 Race To Kiri {Part-3}

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“I never did tell you about Rin, did I?” Kakashi-sensei notes rather absently, sharpening two kunai blades against one another. Madara had retreated if only for a few hours, and the Allied Shinobi Forces were taking as much downtime as they could while also trying to plan out their next moves. The Edo Tensei Hokage were currently on the frontlines, guarding to make sure there were no attacks while everyone was resting. Not that anyone was resting, really. Everyone was too scared or pent up to sleep - regardless of how exhausted they were. Instead, the ninja were taking time to eat and replenish their energy, or, as sad as it was to say, to have a talk with their loved ones.

Naruto didn’t reply. It was a rhetorical question, of course. Kakashi-sensei didn’t really talk about anything personal ever, so the chances of him having said something about a girl whose death had indirectly been a leading factor in the Fourth Great Ninja War were basically… none.

“I’m sure you’ve gathered who Obito is by now.” Kakashi sounded bitter, and Naruto was almost surprised. For a man who was stoic and as monotonic as anyone Naruto had ever met, the pain in his voice was unsettling to say the very least. Though, Naruto supposed she couldn’t blame him.

When Sasuke had left the village, she’d had the luxury of knowing that he was alive even if he was running around with Orochimaru doing Kami knows what. For Kakashi’s best friend to have been declared dead for about seventeen years, just to find out he was alive and plotting their destruction had to be a wrecking ball to the heart.

“That’s his Sharingan, right?” Naruto nodded to Kakashi’s eye, now recovered by his forehead protector.

“Obito gave it to me right before we thought he died. Rin was the final member on our team, and Obito made me promise to protect her. That was his dying wish.”

Naruto couldn’t help but wince at that, and let her blonde locks fall to hide her expression. Since Naruto had never met Rin in her freaking life, and Obito was declaring war, she’d assume that whoever this girl was, was long gone.

“It’s okay,” Kakashi said, sounding the tiniest bit amused. “No need to hide your face, Naru-chan. I clearly didn’t keep my promise.”

Okay. Immediately she whipped her head back to him. “Don’t say that, Sensei! Unless you were the one that killed her then-”

“Naruto.”

Her jaw snapped shut as his sorrowful expression, and the blonde felt her eyes widen as she understood. Shit. Shit. She was a terrible person.

“Oh gods, Sensei,” Naruto breathed, reaching out to clasp his gloved hands. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” She was definitely going to hell for that, for sure. What was wrong with her? Maybe she really did need to learn how to filter like Iruka-sensei had been trying to teach her.

The older man shrugged before patting her head. “No worries. How would my cute little student have known, hm? And, well, I killed Rin but I’ve learned not to blame myself. Rin and I went on a mission to Kirigakure, and the Kiri nin captured her and sealed the Sanbi inside of her.”

“Your Rin was a jinchuuriki?”

“Briefly,” Kakashi admitted. “They put a seal on her heart that directed the Sanbi to be freed when we arrived back in Konoha so that the village would be attacked. I didn’t know that because another seal had been placed on her to stop her from telling me. She was so desperate to make sure it didn’t happen that when I was about to use my Chidori on one of our enemies, she intercepted and took the blow to the heart.” He gave her one of his eye smiles that couldn’t be anything but fake. “Rin died that day.”