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vannahfanfics · 2 years

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How about a KakaRin fic where Kakashi gets protective of Rin after she gets disrespected despite trying to ignore his growing feelings for her and her continuing to be very thankful, sweet, and loving to him, making things more difficult for Kakashi? I know it's kind of cheesy, but I really like the trope of the stoic one falling for the kind-hearted sweetheart so much!

I, too, am a fan of the stoic one falling for the kind-hearted one TT.TT And let’s be real, this blog is 90% cheese

Surrender

Word Count: 4440

Romance, Fluff, Getting Together, Angst With A Happy Ending

Summary: As much as Kakashi tries to deny it, he's in love with Rin. But he can't surrender to his feelings... He just can't.

Whap-whap-whap-whap!

The shuriken struck the straw dummy in rapid succession, each of them burying their sharp points deep into its chest and abdomen. Heart, lungs, liver, spleen—all of them found their mark, the points where the vitals of a living person would be. It was honestly a solid performance, but Kakashi gleaned no satisfaction from it.

For once, his mind was far, far away from ninja training.

“It’s no good,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head. He hopped down from the tree branch that he had been perched on and landed softly in the thick green grass of the practice field. He walked up to the training dummy and began to pluck the shuriken from its round chest, sending a few pieces of straw fluttering down to the ground. One, two, three—Kakashi’s motions were robotic and methodical, guided by muscle memory. He couldn’t even focus on a task as simple as this; his mind was drifting…

Drifting to Rin.

The day had begun ordinarily enough. Kakashi had been focused and on-task, arriving to his team’s meeting spot thirty minutes early, as was his custom. Minato-sensei had arrived shortly after, and they’d spent the next few minutes chatting about their series of missions for the day. They’d been a team for three months now, so they were finally graduating from helping old ladies with their chores and running simple errands. Kakashi was glad for it, though he knew that no mission was beneath a ninja. One could only get by on training and simulations for so long before the boredom began to eat away at them.

Obito had arrived late, as usual, this time with Rin in tow. Obito had spouted some crap about finding a little girl’s lost dog or whatever. Kakashi hadn’t bothered to listen; he was well aware that the boy either had seriously weird luck or was just really good at ad-libbing excuses to cover up the fact he’d slept in.

No, Kakashi had been more interested in why Rin was late. He’d expected her to start apologizing to their sensei, but instead, she had walked up to him with a shy smile with something held behind her back.

“Good morning, Kakashi!” she’d chirped, then had revealed what she had been hiding—a hand-made bento box. “I brought you breakfast. Sensei told me that you usually skip it. That’s not good for you, you know? If you want to perform your best, you need give your body the proper nourishment to do so!”

Kakashi had just gawked at it, like she was showing him a puppy with two heads instead of a packed breakfast. Half of him was irritated with his sensei for spilling the beans; the other half of him was struggling to categorize the emotion he was feeling—happiness, embarrassment, gratitude, indignance, all wrapped up in some confusing little bundle. Regardless, he certainly couldn’t have refused it. So, he had timidly taken the bento box from her with a small “thank you.” Her face had illuminated like the radiant rays of the sun had suddenly fallen upon it, a smile blossoming on her face like a flower opening its bud to soak up the warm sunshine.

Obito had begun to whine about the fact that he hadn’t received a bento box from Rin, but Kakashi had been deaf to it. It had started as soon as his fingers had brushed over hers while taking the wrapped parcel from her—this thing where he couldn’t get her out of his mind, where his chest got tight and his heart palpitated just thinking about her, where he was obsessing over how to repay her kindness and if she would smile prettily at him again if he did so.

Sighing again for the thousandth time since that morning, Kakashi replaced his shuriken to his utility pouch. He couldn’t go on like this! It wasn’t just that these intrusive thoughts were interfering with his daily training; he’d made a fool of himself on their mission today. They had been assigned to escort a few merchants from the Leaf Village to their next stop, about an hour away, because there had been sightings of bears near the road. And Kakashi with his wandering mind had failed to notice a pair of cubs nearby, leading to a big angry mother bear charging at them from the green! Luckily, no one had been injured. The only thing that was wounded was Kakashi’s pride.

“Embarrassment” wasn’t the word for it. As soon as they’d set foot back in the village, Kakashi had fled, bounding away on the rooftops while his teammates cried out indignantly behind him. Kakashi just needed to be alone, sort out this tangle of crap in his head. If it had really been that much of an issue, then Minato-sensei would have used his jutsu to catch him long before he had reached the practice field. Thankfully, Kakashi’s mentor was much more in tune with emotions than he was; he’d probably sensed that he needed to blow off steam, so he’d let him go. And so, Kakashi had been here for the last several hours, wiling away the afternoon and trying to get Rin out of his mind.

He was not doing a very good job of it.

No, he couldn’t go on like this, he thought with another wan sigh as he looked at the practice dummy. If only he could be like it; just full of empty straw, not a beating heart that was currently caught in the thrall of Rin’s natural charm. There was only one solution. He would have to make things even. A favor for a favor. If he repaid Rin’s kindness, then it would just be bonding between teammates. Not her singling him out. Not them being in…

Kakashi dare not finish that thought.

I just need to find Rin as soon as possible and do something to thank her for breakfast. Just as he was turning around to do just that, he heard something that made his entire body pulse with a pervasive yet oddly nice feeling.

“Kakashiiiiiii~!”

“Is the universe out to get me?” Kakashi muttered under his breath. It must have been, because Rin came traipsing onto the practice field with a spring in her step and a bright smile.

“There you are!” she chirped, bouncing up to him. She stood before him, expression genial and hands clasped behind her back. “I was worried about you, rushing off like you did. Minato-sensei said you just needed time after what happened today…” she murmured, trailing off as her gaze slid down to her feet.

Always considerate, Rin was. Kakashi appreciated that she didn’t go into detail about his big blunder.

“Anyway,” Rin said, perking up and plastering a smile on her face again, “Minato-sensei was going to treat us to lunch, but I felt bad that you wouldn’t be included. So I went looking for you! If you’ve been training this whole time, you must be hungry. Why don’t we go grab something to eat?”

“Okay.”

Rin’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open a little bit. Kakashi couldn’t blame her. Most of the time, Kakashi blew off her invitations in favor of training or just heading home to replenish his exhausted social meter. Even the times he did agree, it was usually with a lot of convincing, or Obito manhandling him into it. He never just agreed right off the bat.

“I want to pay you back for this morning,” he explained.

“O-oh!” she cried. Her hands flew to her cheeks as they flooded pink. “Kakashi, you don’t have to do that. I—It was a gift. I just did it because I wanted to…” Her voice grew quieter and quieter, and her eyes gradually dropped back down to the ground.

Kakashi’s heart twisted in his chest. Adorable, he thought absently. When he realized what his inner voice had uttered, he quickly reigned his mind back in. He was a young shinobi, in turbulent times, at that. Now was not the time for such thoughts.

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to,” he urged. He didn’t tell her that it was because he didn’t want to owe her anything. He knew that would just make Rin sad, and he didn’t want to make her feel punished for simply being nice. Nice was just who Rin was. She was perfectly fine like that, and the last thing that Kakashi wanted to do was make her think that she wasn’t. Still, he had to do something to get his mind back on track.

“Okay,” she consented meekly. She peered through her lashes at him, and he was relieved to see a shy smile growing on her lips. “Okay,” she repeated with a little more confidence. “Where should we go?”

Kakashi tipped his head to the side as he considered the options. Usually, the team stopped by Ichiraku Ramen after their missions. They both enjoyed the food there, but Kakashi didn’t want to take her somewhere they ate at all the time. It wouldn’t be very special then.

Wait, her favorite food is strawberries, he recalled. There’s a restaurant near Ichiraku with a supposedly very good strawberry dessert. I bet she would like that…

“Yep, that’s the one,” he said with a satisfied nod to himself. He returned his attention to Rin, who blushed a little at the sudden eye contact. “I’ve got a place in mind, Rin, if that’s all right with you.”

“O-oh! Of course, Kakashi. Lead the way.”

It was a considerable walk from the training grounds. Kakashi and Rin walked side by side, naturally falling in step with one another. He had his hands in his pockets as he strolled purposefully—but not too fast, since Rin’s stride was a little shorter—while she kept her hands clasped behind her back. With the golden glow of the early evening bathing the Leaf Village in warmth, many others were out and about; though the two young ninja had begun with a good bit of distance between them, Rin soon had to come close to Kakashi’s side to avoid being swept up by the small crowds. Kakashi was acutely aware of her proximity, and he both relished and dreaded it.

“H-hey, um… Can I ask you something?” Rin piped up after about five minutes of silent strolling. When he glanced at her, she refused to meet his gaze, looking embarrassed. Or maybe a little guilty?

“What is it, Rin?”

“I really didn’t want to bring it up since I knew you felt bad, but… There was something on your mind today, wasn’t there, Kakashi?”

When she mustered the courage to look up at him, it was Kakashi that was averting his gaze. He fixed it on the buildings that they were slowly sauntering past. He was grateful for the mask concealing the lower half of his face, for it also hid the flush slowly creeping up his neck. He should have known that Rin would see right through him. She always did. He didn’t want to lie, but he definitely didn’t want to admit to what had been occupying his thoughts, either.

“... You could say that,” he answered evasively.

“Oh.” Damn. The disappointment in her tone was obvious. But, ever the optimistic one, Rin didn’t let it show for long. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but I just want you to know that I’m here for you if you ever need it, Kakashi. I’ll listen.”

I know that, and that’s the problem, Kakashi thought, biting back a sigh. Anxiety swirled in his belly, and the nausea it produced made him want to snap at her—but he couldn’t. It wasn’t Rin’s fault that he was confused like this, and he shouldn’t take it out on her. He turned back to her with a placid smile.

“I know, Rin. Thanks.”

It was honestly a pretty shitty response to her consideration, but to Kakashi’s surprise, she seemed incredibly pleased. Her expression brightened almost instantly, that warm little smile that made him feel like he was standing in the sunlight gracing her lovely face. He’d always thought that she looked so soft, especially her face. His fingers twitched in his pockets with the overwhelming desire to touch her. Just a little, just cupping her face or tracing over her jawline—

Stop it, stop it, stop it! he screamed at himself. What the hell was he thinking? The entire point of this little venture was to get rid of these intrusive thoughts. He shouldn’t be indulging in them even more! Suddenly weary, Kakashi slouched a little as he walked. Somehow, he had a sinking feeling that this wasn’t going to work out like he thought it would. But he couldn’t turn back now. Rin would be so sad if he suddenly blew her off…

They reached the restaurant just then, and that made Kakashi feel a tiny bit better. He was one step closer to accomplishing his goal. He stopped walking, and Rin did too, following his gaze to the building.

“Y-you want to eat here?” she cried in disbelief. “Isn’t this place expensive?”

“Is it?” Kakashi didn’t know. He’d never been. He’d just heard the adults talk about it frequently. Then again, if only adults talked about it, then it probably was a little expensive. That was fine, though. Kakashi didn’t really spend a whole lot of money, especially on things like this, so treating Rin to some place extra nice wasn’t exactly going to break his bank.

When Kakashi started walking to the door, Rin planted her feet and firmly shook her head.

“Kakashi, no! This is too much! All I did was make you one breakfast.”

“Then take it as thanks for everything else you do, too,” Kakashi responded simply, looking back at her.

“E-everything else?” she stammered, her eyes blowing wide and her mouth falling open.

“Yeah,” Kakashi shrugged, scratching at the side of his head. “This morning wasn’t exactly the first time you’ve done something like that. You’re always fixing up my wounds or making me take breaks when I train too hard…” Now that Kakashi thought about it, Rin really did a lot to look after him. It was even more when Obito was added to the mix. His mind was made up then. “We’re going here,” he insisted with a point at the restaurant. “And don’t give me any crap about how you don’t deserve it, because you do.”

“Kakashi…” she whispered. Her bottom lip wobbled, and Kakashi panicked for a second, thinking that he had been too harsh and made her cry. However, she then bounded over to him, looking happier than he’d ever seen her. “Thank you!”

“Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t even bought you anything,” Kakashi blinked.

Rin ignored him; she was simply too giddy. She grabbed his hand and all but dragged him inside, happiness radiating off her like sunbeams. He initially flinched at her sudden touch, but soon found himself relaxing, letting her haul him past the host and to a table. She was simply too much for him when she got like this, and what’s more… he liked seeing her this way. He wanted to do whatever he could to keep her smiling, at least for this little bit.

Her joy only seemed to intensify over dinner. Kakashi had intended to just be quick about it, but he found himself roped in by Rin’s blissful aura. Like she’d unconsciously cast a spell on him, he found himself forgoing his meal to instead indulge in conversation. Obito had always been the most talkative of the three of them. Perhaps it was because she was so happy, but Rin’s shell of shyness had fallen away, leaving her to cheerily chatter about anything and everything. For the most part, Kakashi just listened. He could have listened to her forever, honestly. Her voice was just that sweet.

An hour passed like a dream, and they’d finally finished the main course. Rin looked like she didn’t want to go yet. That was fine; Kakashi honestly didn’t, either. Once this was over, he was locking up those intrusive thoughts of his once and for all. It wasn’t that bad to stretch this out, then, right? Let Rin enjoy herself, and let him at least fantasize about what it would be like. The two of them.

Besides, they hadn’t even gotten to what Kakashi had brought her there for in the first place.

“Dessert?” she questioned when he slid the dessert menu over to her.

“Yeah. I brought you here for a specific one. You like strawberries, right?”

“I—Yeah,” she nodded with a bashful smile. “I’m surprised you remembered…”

“You’re my teammate,” Kakashi shrugged. “The better I know you, the better we work together.”

Though, if she’d asked, Kakashi definitely would not have known Obito’s favorite food even if he’d told Kakashi five minutes before.

“Oh,” Rin said. She tried to hide her overjoyed smile behind the menu, but it was pointless. The corners of her lips peered over the top of it, her grin just too broad to be concealed.

“Still,” she began, lowering the menu slightly to give him a concerned frown. “You’ve already bought me dinner, Kakashi. I can’t possibly accept this as well.”

“You can and you will,” Kakashi asserted. He then offered her a little smile. “Because I want you to, Rin. Let me thank you.”

And her resolve crumbled, just like every time before. Both joyful and subdued, she smiled shyly and murmured, “Okay…” She continued to fidget and fret right up until the moment the dessert arrived, and then, it was like a switch had flipped. Her attention was immediately captivated by the scrumptious-looking strawberry cake before her, light and fluffy and garnished with swirls of strawberry sauce. When she took a bite, Kakashi swelled with pride, because she melted into her seat with an exultant “Mmmmmmm…”

“This is the most delicious cake I’ve ever had! Kakashi, you have to try this!” she cried. Without waiting for an answer, she picked up a piece of the spongecake and frosting and held it out for him.

“Ah, no thanks,” Kakashi mumbled, tugging up on his mask to try and hide the blush creeping out from underneath it. “I’m not really into sweets…”

“Take it as a thank-you for thanking me!” she giggled.

“That kind of defeats the purpose, don’t you think?” he sighed. Rin giggled again, then held the little bit of cake a little closer. Kakashi shook his head in resignation. She really did know just how to get him to comply, didn’t she?

Kakashi was used to taking his mask off to eat with Rin and the others by now, but he found himself incredibly nervous this time. He could feel the heat in his cheeks, so intense that it made the fabric stick to his skin a little. He really didn’t want to show Rin that he was blushing… He’d just have to make this quick.

In one swift motion, he tugged his mask down, leaned forward to take the bit of cake into his mouth, and then yanked his mask back up the instant his lips were clear of the fork. He slumped back into his seat, chewing begrudgingly and face burning.

“How is it?” Rin chuckled.

“... S’good,” he admitted quietly. Kakashi really wasn’t into sweets, but the cake really was pretty good. The cake was moist and tasted of vanilla, while the frosting was more creamy than sugary. And the strawberries were just the right combination of sweet and tart to pleasingly tie it all together. Kakashi swallowed, then smiled at Rin. “Very good.”

“I knew you’d enjoy it!” she preened, pressing a hand to her cheek. “Next time, we should all come here so Obito and Minato-sensei can try it, too. I’m sure he’ll forgive us for abusing his wallet!”

“Right,” Kakashi murmured, barely more than a breath. “Next time…”

There wouldn’t be a next time. Not like this, anyway. And though that’s what Kakashi intended all along, he still found the thought to weigh him down. It felt like lead weights were attached to his feet as he walked out of the restaurant with Rin, like he had to drag himself out of there. Rin, on the other hand, skipped out of the restaurant, holding her arms out as she spun once on her heel. The sight literally pierced Kakashi’s heart, like someone had stabbed him with a kunai knife up to the hilt.

He had repaid Rin’s kindness. Why, then, had his strange feelings not gone away? Why were they worse?

He knew the answer. He just didn’t want to face it. He couldn’t. Kakashi couldn’t care like that again. He couldn’t lose someone like that again.

Just as he opened his mouth to bid Rin goodnight, a sharp whistle sliced the air.

“Hot damn!” came a slurred voice. Kakashi and Rin both whipped around to see a young man staggering toward them from a nearby bar. He barely looked old enough to drink, and he looked sloshed, the acrid stench of alcohol hitting Kakashi like a tidal wave even from over a yard away. The man paused to drain the last dregs of sake from a bottle, then casually threw it with a satisfied sigh. It landed next to Kakashi with a soft thump.

“Hey, pretty girl. Why don’t you ditch that little bean sprout there and come have fun with a real man?”

“Ugh,” Rin huffed in disgust and wrinkled up her nose. She stepped close to Kakashi and looped her arms around his. “No, thank you. This ‘bean sprout’ was just about to walk me home.” Despite her attempt to seem unperturbed, he could feel her shaking. “Right, Kakashi?” Her voice wavered, unable to maintain the illusion of strength she was trying so hard to.

“Tch,” the man snorted and stumbled a little closer. “Listen—”

But Kakashi did not want to listen. So he scooped up the empty sake bottle and lobbed it. The man cried out in alarm as it sailed right past his head to crash into the wall behind him, exploding into tiny shards. A few of them whizzed past his face, slicing tiny red lines into it. He slapped a hand to his face and whipped back around to Kakashi, but whatever he was going to say died in his throat.

Kakashi looked absolutely murderous.

“Beat it, or the next thing that’s gonna shatter will be your skull,” he growled. In fact, he didn’t even want to give the drunken deadbeat a chance to obey. He stepped forward, blood boiling.

“Kakashi! Kakashi, it’s fine!” Rin protested, tugging on his arm. Her grip kept Kakashi from continuing, and that gave the man enough time to scramble away, tripping on himself and knocking into walls as he went. Kakashi’s rage didn’t fade until he was well out of sight, and even then, it was only just a little.

“Kakashi,” Rin urged, pulling on his arm again. “It’s fine. It happens all the time. Let’s just—”

“Does it?” he interrupted. His voice was deadly calm, or rather, devoid of emotion altogether. Before Rin could answer, he began to laugh. A soulless, dry laugh of surrender.

Because Kakashi was surrendering. He was surrendering to the one person who could make him, and he would every day hence, even if all that earned him was heartbreak. At this point, he couldn’t do anything but surrender.

“Kakashi—”

Rin gasped when he suddenly whipped around to wrap his arms around her and hold her close. His forehead dropped to her shoulder, and his laughter died down to small, weary little chuckles. Rin was rigid in his arms, and Kakashi could feel her heart pounding—so fast, faster than his own that was nearly beating out of his chest.

“Okay, Rin. You win,” he sighed.

“I… I win?”

“Yes,” he said and slowly lifted his head. She looked so confused, and Kakashi couldn’t blame her. He was confused, too. “You wanted to know what was on my mind earlier today, right?”

Everything had happened so fast, she’d been rendered speechless. Her eyes as wide as moons, she just nodded slowly, mouth agape.

“You, Rin. You were on my mind.”

Her gaping mouth slowly closed, jaw tightening until her lips were pressed into a thin line. Even then, with an expression you could only describe as hard, Rin looked so soft. Kakashi’s fingers burned to touch her again, and this time, he didn’t deny them. He gently skimmed his fingertips along the underside of her jaw, feeling the tension loosen in the wake of his touch until Rin’s lips parted again in a gentle sigh. When he skimmed over her cheekbone and passed underneath her eye, her lashes fluttered, kissing his fingertips with their wispy little tips.

“I didn’t want to do this… I just wanted to ignore it, go back to the way things were before,” he admitted quietly. “But I can’t, not now, not after that. I’m not going to be able to leave your side now,” he chuckled wryly. “You’re too good for this world, Rin… It’s cruel and ugly, and I just can’t help but want to protect you from it.”

“... The world isn’t all bad,” she murmured.

Kakashi blinked, having lost himself in tracing patterns over Rin’s face and his own loathing. Rin peered into his face, looking serious despite the nervousness making her eyes shake.

“It can’t be all bad,” she insisted, voice small but impossibly strong, “because you’re in it.”

He melted.

“Rin,” he whispered, and he was pulling down his mask to kiss her without even realizing it. She was soft. Her skin was like silk, her hair like gossamer, and her lips—Kakashi couldn’t even compare them to anything, they were in such a league of their own. And so, so, so sweet, with the aftertaste of cake and frosting and strawberries. As he claimed them, he surrendered utterly to her, her sweet soul and her pure heart and her unflinching love.

He waved the white flag gladly, even if in the end it would lead only to his own despair. Even just a taste of this happiness, however momentary, was better than never having it at all.

No, the world isn’t all bad, Kakashi thought and smiled against Rin’s mouth. Because, even if you won’t always be, you are in it. You exist at the same time I do. And I just can’t stop myself…

I surrender.

#kakarin #kakashi x rin #rin x kakashi #kakashi hatake #hatake kakashi #rin nohara #nohara rin #naruto

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