{004.} You live in my memories...but you die in them, too.

[medic_plz]

[accidental/involuntary video post]

Hey, wha--

[And then she can only sit and stare at her computer monitor as the memory--her memory--plays, stunned and horrified and struggling to stay in control of her emotions all over again, because for her, this still only happened about a month ago.]

...

[ooc: Apologies for manga (memory lasts from 243

Comments

[Action tag]

[copy_enigma]

[ Is currently sitting on the rooftop, reading by the ocher rays of sunset while he waits for Rin to show up. Hopefully she isn't too tired from being dragged around by Sakura. ]

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[medic_plz]

[Rin appreciated what Sakura had been trying to do, and having to get out and move around and interact with crowds of real, living people had helped somewhat, but there was no quick fix for that kind of guilt, no way to simply drop off that sort of emotional baggage. As good as the outing had probably been for her, it was still something of a relief to come back to the quieter apartment. Konoha's streets had always been nearly silent after a certain hour, at least in most of the residential areas, so it was rather strange listening to the constant hum of the City all around her; it never seemed to sleep, she thought absently as made her way up the stairs to the roof.]

[The sight of Kakashi's familiar silhouette, dark against the fiery tones of the sunset, was a relief as well, an easing felt almost physically. She couldn't help but smile just slightly as she padded across the warm concrete to join him.]

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[copy_enigma]

Though he'd sensed her presence before Rin had even climbed the stairs, Kakashi waited until his young teammate had gotten closer before glancing over his shoulder with a wave and a casual "Yo".

Otherwise he didn't move from his spot at the edge of the building where he could look out over the city but still remain aloof from most of its noise. It reminded him of being in a tree up here and it was even possible to catch the sounds of night insects coming from the distant woods and park. The air was still heavy with the heat of day so Kakashi was stripped of his flack jacket and hitai-ate, with shirt sleeves rolled up and ankles free of their usual ninja-tape/bindings. But there was something else a little unusual regarding his face that Rin was sure to notice soon.

[ooc : Have a maskless!Kakashi.]

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[medic_plz]

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[medic_plz]

Rin stopped abruptly, blatantly staring at her old teammate, all other thoughts sidelined for the moment by this unexpected occurrence. After a pause that felt much longer than it actually was, she blinked and started forward again, settling herself beside him on the edge of the roof. She made token attempts to look at the sunset, at the city below, at her own feet swinging freely in the empty air in front of them, but her eyes were drawn irresistibly back to Kakashi.

She’d been right, she thought, a faint blush coming to her cheeks as she studied his face: he really was good-looking beneath the mask…

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[copy_enigma]

"...Is there something on my face?"

Until now, Kakashi had turned his attention back to the open book in his hand (the same one Rin had peeked into before), finishing off the rest of the page... or at least pretending to. But now he closed it and looked up at Rin beside him, the corners of his lips curved in a lazy smile.

"Just kidding. Saa..." he sighed, gazing out over the city. "How was the ice cream?"

Re: [Action tag] SORRY FOR MY TAGGING FAIL, I WORKED LATE TONIGHT

[medic_plz]

It was both fascinating and strange to actually see Kakashi smile (and it didn't help with the blushing factor either); she found herself watching his lips move as he spoke, so intrigued by the simple but previously unseen motion that she almost didn't register the fact that he'd asked her a question.

"...Oh! It was really good," she replied, still shamelessly ogling him, though her expression had a hint of curiosity to it now. She wondered at the absence of his mask, but there were plenty of reasons why he might've left it off--it wasn't necessarily just for her, and she didn't assume it was: it was pretty hot after all, even now as the sun was sinking below the City's jagged skyline and the sky above was fading to deep indigo. "Have you been up here long? I'm sorry if I kept you waiting."

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[copy_enigma]

If Kakashi was at all self conscious about his face being observed so closely, he made no indication of it. Matter of fact, going maskless wasn't as difficult as he'd thought and the air felt good on his skin. More importantly, it seemed to be distracting Rin from whatever thoughts she was having earlier that day.

"No, not long. It's been a while since I've been the one waiting for someone."

His gaze didn't wander from the pinks and oranges on the horizon.

"...You saw Minato-sensei's memory."

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[medic_plz]

"Yeah," she said quietly, looking away at last, down at her hands folded in her lap. "It looked...pretty awful. Sensei didn't seem to want to talk about it, either, so it...must've been pretty bad, huh?"

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[copy_enigma]

"That was his memory of protecting Konoha when we were under attack sixteen years ago. The enormous red animal you saw was the Kyuubi kitsune, a nine-tailed demon that could level mountains with a swish of just one of its tails. For reasons that are still not well known, Konoha was its target. So like any good Hokage would do, Sensei put himself in its path. And stopped it."

Kakashi was frowning, gaze lost somewhere on the city below. He knew Rin had probably figured it out on her own by now and while it would only serve to deepen her wounds, he couldn't bring himself to hold back anymore, not when there was so much he was already keeping from her.

"...It was his last memory," he said carefully.

Re: [Action tag] 1/2

[medic_plz]

Before he was halfway done with his explanation, Rin was staring at him again, this time for an entirely different reason, her eyes wide and filling with tears.

"You mean he...but...n-no..."

She hadn't thought she'd had any tears left after crying for Obito earier, but learning that Sensei had...had...

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[medic_plz]

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[copy_enigma]

He couldn't bring himself to look into Rin's eyes just yet, not prepared to see the hurt, knowing it must be the same broken expression she wore on the day they'd lost Obito-- he could never forget that look of pain. But he wasn't totally unprepared. Without a word (and still not meeting her eyes), Kakashi pulled a couple folded tissues from his pocket and held them out to his tearful comrade.

"..."

Re: [Action tag]

[medic_plz]

She almost couldn't believe it. Sensei was...well, Sensei. He could do anything, and defeat anyone in a fight be it fair or foul. He was one of, if not the strongest shinobi Konoha had ever produced, and she'd always expected that he would beat the odds and live to be an old man, then pass away peacefully in his sleep...no, if she were to be totally honest with herself, she'd never really thought about him dying at all; he was too much of a constant, too vibrantly alive for the possibility to even cross her mind.

Losing Obito had been hard, like losing a brother, and her own feelings of guilt had magnified that pain; yet the idea of losing Minato-sensei was even worse somehow, like losing a surrogate father...

Rin didn't even notice the offered tissues; she'd already buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with near-silent sobs.

Re: [Action tag]

[copy_enigma]

"Rin...?"

Having an intimate knowledge of her pain, Kakashi stared at the unused tissues in his hand before placing them on Rin's lap. In times of grief, Kakashi was a man of few words. But actions, of course, always spoke louder than words. Carefully, he shifted closer, enough to drape an arm around her small shaking shoulders, drawing Rin into a silent embrace.

Re: [Action tag]

[medic_plz]

She curled into him reflexively, too grief-stricken to be at all surprised by the embrace, though the kindness in the action, so like Sensei's a few hours earlier, just made her cry harder.

Minato-sensei...he'd come to comfort her about Obito even after having seen his last memory again, and she'd been too caught up in her own sorrow, her own guilt, to consider how awful his own memory might have been...

Squeezing her eyes more tightly shut, she impulsively returned the embrace, pressing her face into Kakashi's shirt.