Say Something (A Naruto Fanfic)

Ch. 39 Explaining the Kanji

I do not own the picture above! Rin's pajamas.

Previously

"Rin! Thank Kami your okay!" Kushina ran over to me and wrapped her arms around me. My eyes felt like saucers because of how wide they had become.

"You... know who I am?" I asked.

"Yep!" Kushina exclaimed and jumped back.

"How?" I asked. I turned and looked at her. Kushina had a mischievous glint in her eyes when I did.

Present

"You forget your not in your ninja gear?" Kushina asked. I looked down at what I was wearing. She was right. I had forgotten about what I was wearing pajamas instead of my ninja attire.

"You saw the kanji," I said. Kushina's smile left her face almost immediately. She didn't have to say anything for me to know that she did.

"I'm so sorry, Rin," Kushina said.

"Don't be. It didn't have anything to do with you and wasn't your fault. I've learned to play the hand I'm given, Lady Uzumaki, so please, don't feel as if the kanji was your fault," I said, trying to make her feel less as if it was her fault.

"I just wish I could've helped," Kushina whispered, a single tear slipping down her cheek.

"You helped more than you realize," I replied and stepped off the bed and onto the floor, a small smile making its way to my lips.

"What... what do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, for starters, you didn't force me to cook all the time. That was a first for me and was actually something I'm still grateful for. But considering you and sensei aren't really in the happiest states of mind, I think it might be better for me to handle the cooking for today. That okay with you, Lady Kushina?" I asked.

"I've told to to just call me Kushina, haven't I?" She asked, getting slightly annoyed.

"I've told you that I don't call the people I respect by just their first names, haven't I? I gotta trust you before I start doing that," I replied back.

"I missed you, Rin," Kushina whispered, just as I'm about to leave the room.

"I missed you too, Kushina," I replied and slowly made my way to the kitchen to make breakfast. It didn't take me long to start pulling out pans and ingredients. I had figured out what I was making relatively quickly based off of what I could find. I'd go out and buy more groceries to replace the ones I use and to give Minato and Kushina a bit of leeway before anyone had to go shopping again.

I heard someone pull out a chair at the table. I guess food really get people up and about quickly. I stole a glance to see who was sitting at the table and saw a mess of spiky blonde hair. I smirked. He was still half asleep, and knowing sensei, he probably forgot I was here and thought I was Kushina. I was going to mess with him a bit when everything was finished cooking.

It took me about another ten minutes to have everything cooked and put onto plates. I picked up two of the three I had prepared and set one down for Kushina and one in front of Minato. I smirked when I saw him sleeping. Messing with him was going to be so easy. I gently shook him awake. He slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head off his arms before rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands.

"Morning, sensei! I made food if your hungry. Oh! By the way, you might want to put a shirt on before you leave," I said and smiled. He blushed and his eyes widened. I turned away from him and headed back to the room I first woke up in to go see if I had anything to change into.

"R-Rin!" he stuttered. I simply waved a hand and continued on my way, smiling like an idiot. I saw Kushina leave the bedroom just as I was about to go in. She saw my smile and a knowing glint appeared in her eyes.

"You got Minato?" She asked.

"Only a bit flustered, but I suppose. He didn't get much sleep last night did he?" I asked. Kushina shook her head.

"He came back late last night. I don't think he got more than a few hours of sleep," she said. I sighed, starting to worry about Minato.

"He needs to sleep, at least for the rest of the morning and maybe part of the afternoon. It's not good for him if he doesn't get more sleep," I said.

"I'll talk to him, but I don't think he'll want to take any time off," Kushina replied.

"If he doesn't want to stay home because of his job then tell him I'll fill in while he's here. And if he asks, there's no way he's changing my mind. I'll give him a piece of my mind if he doesn't agree to get the rest he needs," I said.

"Rin!" Kushina called.

"Hm?" I asked.

"About the kanji..." Kushina trailed off.

"It's from my father. I've had it since my fifth birthday. He always seemed to think I wasn't ever good enough... always thought I was a... a monster. He carved the kanji for monster into my back after getting... drunk." I took a shaky breath, trying to calm down, if only a little bit. "I've never managed to forgive him for three things. That damned kanji is one of them."

"Three?" Kushina asked.

"Yeah. Three things I don't think I'll ever forgive him for. I may end up telling you the other two some other time, but not now. Its... a lot, Kushina," I replied, looking away from her. She walked over to me and pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged back, just as tightly. I could feel tears threatening to fall from my eyes as the memories of my fifth and sixth birthdays started flashing through my head.

I gently pulled away from Kushina and wiped my eyes. When I looked up, I could see a heavy sadness in her eyes. I didn't understand why, though. I had already told two people major parts of my past. I don't know if I would ever tell them the whole story, but maybe. Even if I did, that was still a long way off. I had to stay strong for as long as I could.

I didn't want anyone to get hurt because of me. It was already too late for that though. I had already hurt Kakashi, Minato, Kushina, and anyone that may have cared about me just to save the village. I didn't want the war to drag on any longer or for anyone I cared about to get severely injured or die — even if it meant I had to die myself.

The people I cared about here in the Leaf were all I had left since my mother and father had died.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I do not own the picture used in this chapter nor do I own any media used in this book!

Here's a little more insight into Rin's past. Her past will be looked into more as this book progresses.

Anw... I hope you have a good day/night and I'll see you in the next chapter! Bye guys!