| [May. 25th, 2015|02:50 am] |
A sixteen-hour shift with breaks for food and not much else meant Rin had no patience for frivolities. There were appointments to schedule, monthly evaluations to discuss with her new medical team, and a list of patients that never grew shorter. She looked at Naruto, who was staring at her with a hopeful expression, and then at Minato-sensei, who had more lines at the corners of his eyes every time she saw him. She dredged up a smile from behind the cloud of exhaustion and obligations. Her mouth felt stiff and creaky, lifting up in stops and starts, but something warm lit her up from the inside; Naruto and her old team would always have that effect on her.
Speaking of her old team…
“I trust Kakashi not to overtax himself about as much as I trust the sun will rise in the west,” she said, getting to her feet. “So, not at all. But if you’re looking after him, Minato-sensei, then I’m sure he’ll rest and refrain from using his chakra.” She smiled again, sweetly. “Right?”
Minato-sensei didn’t flinch, like some of her medical team did, but Minato-sensei had known her since she was ten. “I can set Naruto to guard him.” He paused while Naruto bounced and cheered. More quietly, he said, “Failing that, I could seal his chakra until he's more fully recovered. Do you think that's necessary?"
Rin sighed and watched Naruto’s ecstatic celebration. “For now, no, but I understand he’s invested in his ANBU team’s… situation. More invested than I’ve ever seen him, considering he’s only known them a month.” Kakashi never changed his opinions on people this quickly. Her brief conversations with him during her visits hadn’t covered much detail, but she could read between the lines. “No sealing for now, but tell him I’ve given you permission to put him in timeout if he starts to pull stunts again. Ripping his own coils out once was enough.”
Naruto was waving the picture frame in the air like a victory sparkler. Minato carefully rescued it and grabbed a tissue to wipe off the glass before returning it to her desk. "Tell him yourself. You need to eat at some point tonight, too."
She’d been sustaining herself on light, frequent snacks, eaten while dashing through the halls to her next appointment. An apple or a ration bar every two hours had nothing on a homecooked meal, though. Rin leaned over her desk and dug a small sheaf of papers out from underneath a pile. “Good idea. Let me fill out the release forms. Naruto-kun, are you ready to rescue Kakashi?”
Her chair squeaked as Naruto scrambled up onto it. "Do we haveta be quiet? Or can I make a distraction?"
A burst of affection made Rin chuckle and smooth her hand gently over his hair, ruffling blond spikes. “Can you make a quiet distraction?”
Minato smiled, wry. "Only if he gets to hum his theme song while he does it. Naruto, Rin-chan and I can run interference on this one. I need you to bodyguard Kakashi. He may be wobbly."
To Rin, he said, "I haven't seen him out of bed, yet. Can he walk? Or should I just Hiraishin us all straight back to my spare bedroom?"
“As his doctor, I should recommend that he walk back for the exercise,” Rin said. “It’s a good thing I’m on break. Hiraishin would be nice, Minato-sensei. Kakashi and I haven’t had a homecooked meal in a while.”
A warm, strong hand dropped onto her shoulder and squeezed lightly. “It’s been too long for all of us,” Minato said, quiet in a way that told Rin he wasn’t just talking about homecooked meals. He glanced aside. “Naruto, if you make yourself sick spinning, you won’t want dinner.”
“I always want dinner.” Naruto spun once more, just to prove it, and then hopped off Rin’s chair and went to stand by the door, bouncing. “Can we go now, Rin-neesan?”
He was growing so fast. She wanted to stoop down and hug him, suddenly, with a fierceness that made her chest ache. She smiled instead. It felt a little wobbly. “Yes. Let’s go get your Niisan.” |
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