Bonus Chapter 2: Missions
Being a Genin was not what Rin would have expected. Instead of going on real missions, Team 7 was assigned chores, errands, and odd jobs. Nothing dangerous, and certainly nothing that required any sort of ninja skills. They were assigned anything from finding lost pets to doing yard work, and Rin was quickly growing restless, along with the rest of Team 7. Naruto was the only team member who openly, and thunderously voiced his discontent.
While her comrades were eager to begin real missions, Rin was eager to feel the thrill of a real fight. Maybe it was the demon, or maybe it was her past, but her soul craved the adrenalin rush of battle. Without any action, Rin felt restless and anxious. Between their so-called missions and training, she spent her free time training on her own, trying to release her excess energy.
Being on a team was not nearly as bad as she would have expected. Naruto was always friendly towards her, Sasuke made a decent sparring partner, and Sakura was... well Sakura. Rin didn't necessarily like the girl, but they stayed out of each other’s way. Her teammates accepted her, and that's all she could ever ask for.
One day the Hokage did not have any missions for them, so Kakashi said he had an interesting assignment for Team 7. Naruto was bouncing up and down in excitement, clearly thinking that they'd finally get to go on a real mission. His demeanor instantly changed when Kakashi handed him a bottle of dog shampoo, a hose, and then summoned his ninkin.
When eight confused hounds appeared in a cloud of smoke, Kakashi raised his hand in a lazy wave, muttered, "Have fun!", and disappeared. Naruto was yelling in frustration, it wasn't long before the pack of dogs noticed the bottle of shampoo in Naruto’s hand. The dogs took off bolting in different directions, clearly not happy about getting bathed.
Team 7 spent the rest of the day chasing down ninkin and forcibly giving them baths one by one. It all started off with a lot of yelling and arguing between Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, but then it turned into a game of sorts. Whoever caught the dog first, didn't have to bathe it. By the end of the day, Naruto and Sakura were drenched in soapy water, while Rin and Sasuke were moderately dry. That is until Naruto splashed Sakura, who retaliated with spraying Naruto with the hose. When she accidentally sprayed Sasuke in the face, all hell broke loose.
Sasuke ran at her, tearing the hose from her grasp and turning the stream back onto her, his eyes dark with vengeance. Naruto then tackled Sasuke, fighting him for possession of the hose. Sakura was splashing them both and Rin stood back with a small smirk on her face. The whole situation was completely ridiculous, yet she found it entirely amusing. That is until Naruto managed to get the hose from Sasuke. There was a mischievous look in his blue eyes as he place his thumb over the nozzle and aimed it right at her face.
Rin leapt to the side, barely missing the stream of water. As she landed on the wet grass, her feet slipped out from beneath her and she fell into a large puddle. Naruto was doubled over laughing and he didn't notice that the ninkin had gathered around the Genin, wanting in on the game. One of the smaller dogs had run up, grabbed the hose with his teeth, and pulled it out of Naruto's grasp. He then proceeded to dart around, spraying both ninkin and Genin alike with the hose. The other dogs pranced around in the puddles, splashing each other and shaking their wet fur, creating a fine mist of water.
Sakura screamed every time a dog shook near her. Naruto was busy chasing the dog who stole the hose from him, and Sasuke had found a stick and was throwing it for some of the ninkin. Rin remained seated where she fell, not caring that her pants were completely soaked. She watched the others in silent amusement, wondering if this was what childhood was like. She never had a childhood, never had the luxury to be light-hearted and have fun. No, her years were spent in darkness, her past stained with blood. But right now, it felt like everything she had gone through was all just a horrific nightmare. Right now, she felt at peace.
The sun was beginning to set, and the ninkin were slowing down. A few of the lazier ones were already spread out on the grass, sleeping under the dimming rays of the sun. Rin was deep in though, thinking about how much had changed in such a short amount of time. She never though that she could feel so peaceful, it was almost as if the weight of her past was no longer attached to her soul. She felt so free, so light, and it was a feeling she could not place. She had no word to categorize that feeling.
She didn't notice that Naruto had approached her until he was standing over her, a gentle look graced his face as he stared down at her. Before she could even lift a questioning brow, he spoke. "You look happy. You should smile more often."
She had not realized that she was smiling, but sure enough, the corners of her lips were upturned ever so slightly. It had been a long time since she had smiled. So long, in fact, that she was surprised that her muscles even knew how to do it. Naruto was right, she was happy. Happiness. That was what she was feeling. It was so foreign to her that she didn't know how to describe it. That overwhelming feeling of lightness and freedom could be attributed to happiness. A droplet of water rolled down her cheek. To Naruto, it looked as though it had dripped down from her wet bangs, however that was not the case.
Naruto looked up as Sakura yelled, "Hey, it's getting dark, we should probably head back now."
While Naruto was not paying attention to her, Rin quickly dried her eyes. It was strange, she was crying and yet she was not sad. Naruto offered her a hand up. She took it and they all headed back towards the main streets of Konoha just as the sun set behind the horizon.
AN: What? Two uploads in one week? What is this sorcery?? It's called I'm procrastinating on studying for my Biology test tomorrow.. ;P Anywho, it's just a bonus chapter, but I hoped you enjoyed it. Leave your thoughts in a comment below. :D Next chapter will be a bit of a time skip. Nothing major, but I am skipping the Land of Waves Arc because it is irrelevant to Rin's story. If you guys really want me to write that arc, just ask, and maybe I'll write it as a bonus chapter at some point :]
Shout out to my amazing editor, joannamay778, who gets my work back to me within a matter of a couple hours or less! :D
Have a fantastic day and thanks for reading!
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