Kakashi Hatake: Finding the Way on the Path of Life

Obito died.

And Rin almost did too.

By his own hand.

Wasn't he just the epitome of a failure.

Tears begun to swirl in his eyes.

What was he going to do next, doom Minato-sensei.

...Just why. Why could he do anything right?

He was just a detriment to everyone around him.

Should he even li -

"Kakashi, they're coming. We need to go!" The piercing voice pierced through his mind. Pushing him out of his thoughts with a shock.

His head shot up in the direction of that clear voice.

Rin.

He was still sluggish. He messily pulled out a kunai.

Rin took Kakashi's face within her hands and looked deep within his eyes – and soul,

Her grey eyes so piercing that Kakashi had to look away.

Her touch was gentle, yet firm. She truly was the embodiment of a medic-nin.

"It isn't your fault. None of it was. Don't delude yoursel-."

Kakashi was angry.

His voice cracked with too much emotion.

"Of course it was my fault! If I wasn't for me... if I wasn't for me...Obito would still be alive... and WELL!"

"If it wasn't for me..." Obito wouldn't have let you get kidnapped.

"If it wasn't for me..." We wouldn't be chased by enemy-nin.

"If it wasn't for me..." Obito wouldn't have pushed his father to death.

"If it wasn't for me-" Obito wouldn't have had to run from enemy-nin like this.

Rin's fingers tightened around his face.

"You were just following protocol. I would have abandoned myself too. I'm a liability, you made the right call. If anyone's too blame. It's me. I'm the useless one. I've always been the one dragged along by you two. So if your going to blame yourself, I'm even more at fault."

Kakashi...didn't know what to say to that.

Her eyes narrowed in determination.

"So stop it Kakashi. We're need to survive this. Together. We can't die now and waste what Obito has done for us!"

Rin, with a strength that Kakashi had never seen from her before, or had never been able to see, pulled him into a sprint.

They were rushing away with huge leaps and bounds.

But soon, Kakashi's strength was failing him.

His breathe became ragged.

And Kakashi had to stop.

Rin wrapped his arms around him.

"Let me carry you."

Kakashi pushed her away.

"I'm just going to slow you down. We can't travel any furthur like this. Your chakra reserves have been depleted, and your still wounded from fighting all those shinobi. You're in no position to be expelling any chakra."

"But the chakra seals."

He partially removed them, but he was no sealing master. If she used more chakra now it would surely hurt like no tommorow.

Rin smiled. It was a grim one.

"We both know that I'm in a far better postion than you to be using chakra and that eye is not helping matters."

So she had noticed than. That the sharingan was sucking all the chakra that was and wasn't left in him. Kakashi had definitely underestimated her.

"I can still keep going!"

"No you can't. You can barely walk as it is. Kakashi. Let me help you."

Kakashi couldn't refute that.

Rin was resolute and lifted Kakashi up and began to run.

Faster and faster. She bounded to each branch with power steps, as though she wasn't inflicted with heart splitting pain through each chakra point.

And Kakashi had to accept it. The adrendaline from the fight fading and the pain starting to kick in.

Before Kakashi could even blink. The muddy green of the few leaves on the trees had begun to become brighter. Indicating that they were encroaching closer to Konoha.

It felt another blink when Rin flinched. Almost mistepping on a branch.

Her face was grim.

They're here.

---

A flurry of kunai shot past Rin and she had to collapse with Kakashi in her arms to dodge them.

Kakashi grunted at the force of another person pressing down on him.

He readied his kunai.

Rin's body tensed.

Kakashi knew what was going to happen next.

In a blink of an eye, Rin threw a well-aimed kunai at the mist-nin that appeared and Kakshi .

They dodged.

But they were distracted enough.

Kakashi jumped up and rushed in to slice up the mist nine's face with a scary vengeance.

Rin rushed in behind him.

She was a lover not a fighter.

But pure desperation colored her face and powered her stabs.

She was able to get a few hits in with the chunin level nin with the surprise.

Kakashi essentially only has taijutsu in his repertoire as he danced around the mist nins, exhaustion weighing down his steps.

Kick. Slash. Punch.

Were to the extent of what he could do.

But it worked. Kakashi was applauded as a genius after all.

Power surged through him like never before.

They fought sloppily but the nin were pushed back.

That is... until from the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw a mist-nin ambushing Rin from the back.

Time slowed.

Kakashi summoned up all his chakra into his fist and he charged.

"CHIDORI!"