little-scarecrow:

{ϟ};; — He would never hold her again. From that moment on out, he vowed to keep his distance from her. It was a promise he bounded himself to without sparing it a further thought. He would get her back to the village, and they would survive - what would take place after their recovery, though, was something he preferred not to dwell upon. He already knew what she was going to do. She’d pester him and pester him, beg of him not to blame himself, but he would ignore her. If he could have it another way, he’d take that chance in a heartbeat. But that wasn’t going to happen. There were no second chances. No miracles. He was going to be forced to isolate himself. Reality was a vicious and cruel thing - a wolf to the helpless sheep that they were.

      A gentle hand, smothered in blood - her blood - tangled itself within wisps of soft tresses, gingerly arranging it from eyes so undaunted. The notion was absent, based fully upon unfamiliar instincts. His focus was directed towards the landscape that lay vast beyond them - no, not even the fatigue that was so heavy on small shoulders would impede him. But the whim put into action without even his noticing was something that required not a fragment of his attention. It was on his own impulse, a gesture of comfort and of, he daresay, love. The love one holds so dear for a friend, their bond as strong as a family’s; or the love that possesses a being’s heart and takes them away from a reality so harsh? He couldn’t grasp the answer, not then and there, but he would etch the inquiry into the back of his mind. There would be time for mulling later - on an eve not so fraught with suffering and woe.

     Whence had the viridescent glow, so muted and nebulous to his blurring eyes, appeared? Her energy levels were dwindling, or so, they should have been. Was this the work of the beast? The mighty brute that lay sealed, entrapped and mingling with her soul? Was he the very thread of which kept her from spiraling down into the realm of the unknown? Though he was incredulous of the idea, the pieces slid together without delay - the monster did not want to perish.

     Ah, so there was harmony between man and beast upon the subject of death, then.

     Neither of the two struggling spirits took notice of their opponents’ absences. Things were turned at an odd angle and the world was blinking in and out of existence before hues painted inconsistent. He was functioning on pure determination now, lungs burning and insides scorching with such pain he couldn’t bare it. Though somehow, he continued forward, his very essence passing with each step taken. They were dying - she, from a lethal would; he, from a crumbling body; and both, from anguish.

     The gates. He needed to see the gates. They would save them.

     Just a bit more, just a bit more, just a bit more. A weak mantra, repeated incessantly, overtaking his thoughts and becoming the only thing for which he breathed. When pale green awash with red peeked out from somewhere in the distance, the silver haired boy slowed, stumbling a few more steps forward - “Help…“ The ground. Where had it gone? ”Help…“ Things were going dark. ”Please, help…“ But that was all right. Rin was still there, cradled to his chest. ”Help her!“ He could discern through a fuzzy mind and cloudy eyes - movements. 

     “Someone! Please!”

     They’d made it. They were safe. She was going to be okay. We’re home, Rin. We’re home. You’re okay. You’re going to be fine. I promise. I -

     The imaginary lifeline he’d been clinging onto snapped, and his grasp on her fragile body fell limp.

     A world of perpetual nightmares awaited him.

The realization of faint affection, his fingers in her hair almost broke Rin’s concentration on the task at hand. Sweat formed at her brow and pooled at the base of her throat with continued effort but that gesture, no matter how absent, gave her a surge of renewed hope, though with it came a rush of shame.

     "Kakashi…. I’m sorry. I-I thought I had to do it, the seal….“

Speech did not come easy, the slightest motion sending fresh waves of pain through her chest while blood trickled from between her lips again though this time it was from the repairing of her lungs. Mending the internal membranes left the blood with nowhere to go so she had to force it out of her mouth lest she drown in it. Suffocating on her own attempt to save herself would not do. "I’m sorry….”

As if to provide indication of what she was referencing, inky symbols moved across the girl’s skin, though it was likely that the one carrying her was too distracted and exhausted to notice. Consciousness lurched, and Rin found herself transported more fully into that shared headspace with the creature inside her. “You promised!” Rin yelled at it, pleased to find that at least her mental self lacked anything that could hinder speaking. “You said you’d co-operate, that we could all live through this!”

For its part the beast did not react in as volatile a manner as the medic, merely cracking open a muted red and gold eye to look at her. “This is not my doing, little one. The seal keeping me inside you is weak; deliberately so. You were intended as a time-bomb, you know this. My agreement to work with you for both our sakes does not change the fact that the jutsu is unstable.”

Oh.

Rin felt slightly foolish for her outburst, though any self-consciousness was quickly outweighed by the more immediate concern for the survival of herself and her teammate. Regaining awareness of her physical body felt even more disorienting than being pulled into the shared thought-room had been, and she gasped loudly. Kakashi’s steps were slowing, dragging, Rin could feel the faint muscle tremors in his arms from how he fought to continue holding her as the gates came into sight. The gates. With any luck a patrol would detect them soon, and if they were exceptionally lucky the group might even contain a medic or fuinjutsu specialist. Without reinforcement there was no telling how much longer her seal would hold.

She heard Kakashi call for help and sure enough one of the teams that patrolled the village walls descended on them in a flurry of movement and questions. Rin could barely discern what was happening though as Kakashi’s grip on her went slack and she felt herself fall….

–

The familiar scents of blood, antiseptic and death greeted Rin on her return to consciousness. It was only with the slightest hesitance that she pulled herself to an upright position, staring at the pale walls and wondering how much time had passed. She was alone.

Where was Kakashi?

The dark haired girl had faintly hoped that he would be watching over her recovery, he’d stroked her hair, that meant something right? - but then for all she knew he could be receiving treatment himself. A heaviness settled in her bruised heart, the awareness of what her actions had almost burdened him with. Even though the sacrifice had been her choice, Rin knew that Kakashi would have blamed himself for her death. Would have accepted it as yet another cross to bear, just like how he had shouldered Obito’s loss.

But they had lived! Everything was alright now and each day was a second chance! They could visit the memorial together, tell Obito about what had happened and think about how lucky they’d been. And maybe, maybe he’d touch her hair again or tell her what it meant.

Pulling back the bed covers, Rin had intended on getting up to look for Kakashi but she froze as her gaze was drawn down to the thin material of the hospital gown she was clad in and the mass of raw scabbing and angry scar tissue that she could see even though the fabric. She supposed that her back looked just as bad, and though she was not a vain girl the medic could not entirely suppress the rising whimper that she tried to muffle unsuccessfully. Once that dam was broken her scared, mournful noises led to hot tears then violent sobs that wracked her fragile form.

She was alive. She was alive and should feel glad, but the reality of what she’d been through suddenly hit at once and all she could think of was her capture, imprisonment, how she’d almost gotten herself and Kakashi killed, and how her marred flesh only existed now to function as a flimsy cage for one of the most powerful monsters in creation.

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