Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Rin awoke to find her body aching intensely. She had a throbbing head ache, and could only lie on the bed motionless to prevent any more pain while feeling sick to her stomach to the point where she wished a bucket was beside the bed. Already the honey-haired medic was silently praying that her stomach wouldn't decide to throw out all of her food.

Grunting in pain, Rin pushed aside the thought of throwing up and sat up in her bed. A wet cloth she didn't notice slid down her face as soon as she moved, and she gently discarded it on the table beside her. White curtains were blowing gently to her left, courtesy of the opened window. Turning to the right, Rin gazed upon the familiar counter tops and cabinets.

She was in the hospital.

"You've awoken sooner than Tsunade expected you to."

Jumping slightly, Rin looked straight ahead in the direction her body was laid out in. Jiraya, the man who had taught her sensei, sat in a chair against a wall, seeming relieved, something you rarely saw, if at all. "Jiraya!"

"Long time, no see." the toad sage replied, giving her his trade mark grin. Holding up a familiar book, he added, "Got another volume published just a few days ago."

Although she found it suspicious for the man to be so quiet, she pushed it aside and clapped her hands once, saying with glee, "congratulations!" Of course she didn't read his books, but it was a habit for her to congratulate him.

"Thanks. You're looking a lot better than before. Yesterday you were still quite pale."

Rin couldn't help but blink. So that meant he'd been with her, or at least visiting her often while she was out. How long had she been unconscious anyway? Where was Kakashi? Her sensei? Rin held a hand to her forehead that was still aching. "How long have I been unconscious?"

Jiraya shrugged. "I dunno. A week, two tops."

Rin nodded. It was just like him to not know. 'So Konoha managed to beat the Kyuubi...'

"Where's Kakashi?" She asked next quietly, fearing for the worse. Her stomach suddenly felt sick again, and she wasn't sure if her heart could take the news.

"Room next door. Not awake yet."

"Sensei?"

The man didn't speak right away, but when he did, his eyes lowered before saying quietly, "Dead."

The words hit her hard like a ton of bricks. "Dea..." She couldn't bear to finish. No, it couldn't be him. Not the Hokage. Not the man who'd always been as close as a father to her. "How?"

"He chose to seal the Kyuubi into his son in exchange for his life."

Rin shot up in her hospital bed, wincing as pain struck at her arms, legs, and sides. Looking down, she then noticed the bandages that covered what felt to be burns. "What's going to happen to Naruto?! You couldn't possibly be thinking of killing him just for saving the village!"

"We've inspected him, and it seems that Minato successfully sealed the Kyuubi into Naruto. At the time being, you've been assigned a task."

"A task? Already?" Rin cocked her head to the side afterwards, remembering that their village's hospital had collapsed. "Where are we, exactly?"

"Earth Country. A good amount of their Shinobi came to help at the last minute. Apparently they wanted to gain our trust back and even sent out a medical squad to look for you. It's a good thing they did; otherwise you would've been burnt to a crisp."

"Jiraya-san..."

"Hey, what's with the sudden depressing tone? Although Minato may be dead, for you both to survive, then laying his life down is worth it. Of course, I'm sure you would've already figured that much."

"Is Kakashi heavily injured?"

Jiraya shook his head. "Just chakra loss. You should've seen the kid, trying to escape from the nurses just to see you. Ah, young love..."

"Young love?" Rin failed at her attempt to not blush.

"Good to know you survived, kid." He ruffled her hair the way her sensei always used to, "the grief will always be there, but Shinobi can't show it forever, can they?"

Rin looked down at her lap, nodding slowly. "I understand."

Jiraya stood back up. "Listen, you're one of the few remaining medical ninja we have left. However, there's a task we need done that only you can do."

Rin blinked in surprise. "Me?"

"Losing Minato is a great loss to our Country. We hate to send a valuable person such as you, but we have no choice."

"Wait." Rin finally found the courage to look him in the eyes, "are you saying that you want me to use my ability to revive him?" at Jiraya's nod, she added, "alright."

The man grinned, ruffling her hair the way her sensei always did. "How could I forget you were the polite one out of his students?" Making his way to the door, he turned back when he stepped into the doorway. "One more thing..."

"You are to leave before Kakashi has a chance to wake up."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The streets of Konoha were silent. Before, as this was about the time she'd be returning home from work, Rin would find her neighborhood filled with pedestrians. So far, the only people she'd seen were those at the monument or the graveyard. Not that she could complain, though. She had really wanted to visit Obito one last time, and bid her sensei and Kushina farewell properly, but she knew her duties had to come first.

"I know," she spoke to herself, feeling a little more happy now that she was out of the hospital, "I'll leave a note for Kakashi to take food to them!" it'd become a routine for her over the years. Those she knew who were no longer with them were given food as a sign of her gratitude. Many other nurses claimed it was odd to apologize to those she failed to save, but over the years they'd come to realize it was the only way for her to overcome her failure.

Perhaps her mother was right. No matter what good deed one performed, people would still die. She didn't regret her decision, though. Minato, Kushina, and Obito were in a safe place now. A place where there was no hate to tear them apart. A place that would suit such good people as them far more than here.

Finally reaching her destination, Rin smiled as she fiddled with the key to unlock the door to her house. No doubt, Kaka-chan - speaking of that name, it was beginning to make her feel childish, and a bit embarrassed - was waiting for her to come home. The woman's face fell as she stumbled upon the mess. It seemed Konoha had been shaken just as hard as she thought it had been. Glass littered the floor, as well as papers and other items. Kaka-chan, seeming to be unhurt, was curled up on the sofa, watching her contently. Within moments, the panda had leapt from its place to where she was at, demanding for attention.

"Hey there, Kaka-chan," Rin smiled as she ruffled the panda's fur, "are you up to going on a trip?"

After packing her belongings, Rin quickly wrote a note, saying her farewells to Kakashi. She knew the ANBU would rush here even if he was told of her departure, so she had no doubts that he'd find this message. Wiping her eyes, which were beginning to grow teary, she pulled her backpack onto her back and Kaka-chan into her arms. She was about to close the front door when something crossed her mind.

There was still something she needed to do.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kakashi was furious.

Of course, he was angry at Konoha for sending Rin away, but he was also angry with the medic. How could she just leave like that? She was a medic. She wasn't meant for taking solo missions on her own!

Tearing into her house, he made his way into the kitchen, hoping to find her there, still packing her bags. His prayers were unheard, however, and all he saw was a note sitting on top of his clothes, which Rin had been supposed to sew up for him nearly three months ago. He read through it in a hurry, silently begging for her to have left a location. It was just like her to not give him any information. In fact, everything she wrote was personal.

'She left food for everyone?'

Sure enough, she wrote in her note that she had. The home-made ramen was for their sensei; the vegetables were for Kushina (apparently, the woman believed feeding such foods would make Naruto more friendly towards them); and the rice balls were for Obito. Unfortunately for him, the note had been written three days ago, meaning that she was long gone by now.

Kakashi shut his eyes tightly, trying to control his anger. It wasn't Rin's fault. He was mad at her, but it wasn't her fault. If anything, it was his fault.

"The mission comes first."

What kind of comrade was he? Was he really supposed to be some jerk?

"I say we should burn the Rules and Regulations! That way, we can save Kakashi from his addiction!"

Those words, although at the time he had glared for what was probably the longest period at Obito, would've made him snicker if he wasn't so frustrated. Growling out, he threw his fist against the wall, creating a small dent in it. That only made him feel more furious, though. If it were his own house, he would've already been letting his anger out, but this was Rin's. Although it made him wonder why, he couldn't bring himself to damage her property.

'Anger won't bring her back,' he scolded himself as he frowned, 'she's out there, possibly hurt, because of you. You failed to protect her.'

"There's more than just physical pain, Kakashi. If you want to protect her so much, you must understand that."

Had he really been that selfish before?

"Of course I know about what goes through womens' heads! Or have you forgotten I'm married? That woman brings over her friends all of the time! I swear my home's become a spend-the-day area!'

If only Rin was here to laugh at that memory with him.

"Sometimes, although it seems impossible, you just have to look on the positive side. Obito's gone, but he's in a wonderful place now. He'll be given rice balls whenever he wants them - for free, even - and he'll be waiting for us. I believe he'd want us to think of the good memories, and not the bad memories."

Maybe there was a bright side to this.

He'd just have to find it.

Author's Note: There you have it, the ending of Innocent! I apologize for the incredibly late update! I won't bore you all with excuses, but I've had writer's block for a while. I just want everyone to know that the sequel will still be written. I originally wanted to upload the first chapter along with this one, but I didn't want to make everyone wait after having to way longer than they should've. If it makes it easier for anyone, I am willing to send a message to alert them when the first chapter of Innocence is available.

Also, I want to send out a special thanks to In Darkness Is Light for beta-reading this story. I wasn't sure if you were still up to it, but if you're still interested in beta-reading, let me know!