Kakashi, along with three other Jonin, had just received their orders to guard the hospital and had re-entered its doors when the second explosion rocked the building. As wounded civilians screamed and startled medical-nin steadied themselves against the whitewashed walls, Kakashi could smell white-hot metal collide with powdery wall and rapidly-heating steel beams. Even worse, underneath the nearly overpowering odor was the subtle blooming of the blood of the freshly-wounded.

As he began to mentally curse his carefully cultivated sense of smell, he heard a distinctive scream pierce through the groaning building.

Rin!

Kakashi took off, jumping through a nearby hole in the wall, his body moving of its own accord as his heart began to pound, his blood rushing in his ears. In the few seconds it took for him to reach the floor beneath Obito's room, his mind fought back images—

His breath left him at the sight that was revealed.

Rin was moving, a rare curse leaving her lips as she struggled to stand.

Kakashi was before her by the time she had managed to stand, and he took her arm, steading her as he feet balanced on the top of two pieces of ceiling.

"Kakashi," Obito yelled above him. "Get her out of here!"

Rin turned to him, her body almost entirely covered in a thin sheen of blood. Her brows began to furrow in the way they always did when she was serious, a thin trail of glimmering liquid sliding down the ridge of her nose.

"I can make it down on my own," she said, her brown eyes steely as they locked with his. "My injuries aren't as bad as they look. Get Obito down. I'll follow you."

Kakashi almost frowned at the way his heart clenched at her brave words. His veins were still racing with adrenaline and unadulterated fear as she wiped some blood from her forehead, the crimson thinning as it was spread over her pale skin.

"Get. Her. Out. Now," Obito yelled from above, his voice uncharacteristically thin with terror.

Kakashi nodded numbly, taking Rin in his arms even as she yelled in protest. After he took off, she begrudgingly settled, her glare remaining. Before he could stop himself, he found his arms pulling her tighter, bringing her head closer to his chest.

Rin seemed as shocked as he was, but neither had time to dwell on it. Kakashi had already reached the main floor and then she was out of his arms, her eyes glimmering with confusion even as she yelled for him to get Obito.

Obito could barely feel the pain in his left side as Kakashi let him down on the hospital's main floor. Several yards away, Rin was working on an injured child's arm. In the time it had taken to get him, it appeared that Rin had healed herself, along with wiping the blood off her face and arms, though her hair and clothes were still covered with the evidence of her pain. After pale green chakra left the small girl's now-healed forearm, Rin patted the child's head, a comforting smile lighting her tired features as the girl's mother thanked her.

"Rin," Obito yelled, ignoring a medic-nin's protest as he began to move towards her.

Rin's gaze turned furious as she rounded on them, her short legs making quick work of the distance between them.

"You," she said, pointing to Obito. "Get some rest." Her gaze turned to Kakashi. "And you get to work."

Obito's brows raised, his heart tightening and his stomach suddenly feeling as if it had been punched, but he didn't get a chance to reply as Rin went to tend to a boy with a nearly-severed leg and he was dragged away by a very terse medic-nin.

Rin's filthy sleeve beat against her skin as she wiped her hair from her eyes. Five hours and…maybe…a hundred patients had been tended to in the time it had taken for the shelling to finally approach its end.

She had lost two patients.

One man with a family.

One little girl.

Rin's emotions had been buried in a mix of adrenaline and shock since she had begun her work, but as the last of the patients were being taken to one of the remaining rooms or were being released, the weight of lost life and bloody wounds began to attack her with it's usual, bitter brutality, making her limbs shake—

No, there are still some things to be done, she thought frantically, hoping that the usual after-affects could wait until she made it home, as they usually did whenever she had had decent sleep.

Not that she had really had that since she had returned from her last mission, with all the trouble with Kakashi, Obito's injuries, and the occasional nightmare that woke her with the sound of her own screams.

The door to the hospital opened, revealing a red-haired shinobi, and a silver—

Rin raced to Kakashi, her eyes catching the way his hand was futilely pressing against a gushing wound.

"Over here," Rin said, leading him to one of the few remaining patches of clean wall.

Kakashi watched her as she tended to him, his original eye the only one that could be seen as it traveled from her face to her ruined clothes.

Rin blushed, forcing herself to ignore his stare as she concentrated on the rapidly healing wound. Like her injuries, it had looked worse than it was.

As the green chakra began to dim, she barely heard Kakashi's voice.

"We both just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

Rin frowned, her blush deepening. "I know," she said, a soft, long-suffering sigh escaping her. "But you have to trust my judgment. I am a medic, after all. I would know the nature of my own wounds."

Kakashi nodded, his eyes catching hers as she finished.

Rin nervously tucked another loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I—"

Another infuriating flash of light danced across the blood-pinkened walls, but a high whistle, followed by the loud crush of metal colliding with sheetrock made them turn—

One of the large, metal doors of the hospital was wizzing towards them, the bottom of the door white-hot. Rin's eyes barely had a chance to widen before Kakashi's arms were wrapped around her, hurling them towards the floor—

Rin felt her body jolt, and saw her and Kakashi fly in the air, their bodies separated as a stream of crimson flashed between them, and then she was on the floor, her mind dimly registering that her back must have fallen on rubble, leaving the upper half of her body upside down as the a few medical-nin ran in her direction, their bodies upside down. In the distance, she could hear Obito scream her name, his voice filled with terror.

Her ears were ringing, her mind foggily moving and groaning in painful protest as she struggled to remember how—

Kakashi!

Rin looked wildly around her as a medic-nin righted her, saying word's she didn't care about as she tried to get her mind to stop spinning and to find Kakashi.

The medic came into her line of vision, forcing her to focus. Something about her shoulder…and….

Pop.

Pain radiated through her shoulder, tearing through the rest of her body's shock. A scream broke from her throat as her vision began to darken, and the panicked sounds of those around her began to fade.

Rin was first aware of a dim pain, followed by the feel of sheets and an austere mattress as consciousness groggily returned to her. Her sleep-fogged mind struggled against her, but her curiosity won, letting her open her eyes.

Kurenai smiled at her from a chair beside her bed. "So," she said, her voice warm. "You're finally up."

Rin's eyes widened, the reason for her pain—and her arrival in a hospital room—returning to her. "How long?"

Kurenai smiled waned. "Three days."

"How much damage—"

"You're fine. From what the medics have said, you've been out mainly due to exhaustion. They told me you were free to go once you woke up."

Rin's ears began to redden, her empty stomach churning with shame—

Kurenai's red eyes darkened. "Enough of that," she said, crossing her legs. "You know as well as I do that anyone in your situation would have needed the rest. You haven't slept properly in two weeks, you had been working on patients for hours, and you took a deep wound to the stomach, along with dislocating your shoulder."

Sometimes it's scary how well a best friend can read you, Rin thought, noticing for the first time that she felt refreshed.

Rin stroked her stomach, noting that there were no bandages. She had been lucky that—

Rin's veins ran cold. "Kakash—"

Kurenai smiled gently. "He will be fine. Apparently, he overdid himself in the battle and has been out as well. The medics expect that he will wake in two days."

Rin moved to get out of the bed, but Kurenai stilled her. "You're still groggy," she said. "Rest a few minutes before you get up." She glanced at the door. "Besides, Obito will probably be in in a few minutes, and I don't even want to think about how he'll react if he finds your bed empty."

"Has he been here often," Rin asked.

Rin was a little confused by the sarcastic look Kurenai gave her, but didn't have time to dwell on it as the black-haired girl answered her. "The medics force him to leave to sleep and do his physical therapy, but other than that, and his daily visits with Itachi, he is always here."

"Itachi was injured?"

Kurenai nodded. "It was a head injury, and, though there seem to be no effects, the medics decided to keep him for the week just to make sure."

Rin let out her breath. "Thank the gods," she said, thinking of Obito's favorite cousin. In the few times Obito had brought Itachi to observe their training, she had grown fond of the little genius as well.

Kurenai chuckled. "You should have seen the uproar within the family," she said. "I swear, the entire clan was here at one point, demanding to know about the status of their best brain. I thought Shizune was going to have a breakdown."

Rin giggled.

At that moment, the door opened, revealing Obito.

"Rin," he breathed, his one eye wide. After a moment, a smile broke across his face as he quickly made his way across the room, the injured side of his body moving with greatly-improved agility. As he made it to her bedside, Kurenai stood.

"I'll be back later," she said, an odd smile on her face as she left the two of them.

Obito took a seat, his hand taking hers out of new-found habit as he flashed the same, goofy grin she had seen so many times over the years. "You're finally up," he said, a blush coloring his pale face. As his gaze traveled to her stomach, the smiled faded.

Rin's stomach gave an uncomfortable churn. He's been frowning too much lately.

"Are you in pain," he asked, his eye meeting hers.

Rin shook her head, her throat suddenly tight.

Obito's brows furrowed, his gaze slowly traveling to her stomach again. After a long moment, he said, "I'm sorry."

Rin frowned. "What for?"

"I should have been there to protect you," he said, his foot scuffing against the floor as his hand gently squeezed hers.

Rin smiled softly. "That—"

Obito shook his head. "I'm looking out for you too, Rin. And I failed."

"You can't possibly be everywhere at once," Rin said, her heart tightening as he seemed to be fighting back tears.

Obito wiped his sleeve against his eye. "Got something in my eye."

Rin's grip on his hand tightened, forcing his gaze to meet hers. "And I told you not to hide your suffering."

Obito looked at her for a moment, analyzing her in that way that was so uniquely his. Finally, he scratched the back of his head. "You got me there," he said with a nervous smile.

Rin smiled nervously, though the expression faded as she looked out the window across the room. "We can't expect perfection from ourselves," she said softly. "It'll destroy us…." She looked at him. "I will always protect you. And you will always protect me…. But we can never be everywhere at once. It was like what you said after you saved me from the g-genjutsu. We can't promise that nothing will happen. We can only do what's in our power to save each other."

Obito nodded, his expression solemn.

After they had fallen into a few minutes of companionable silence, Rin thought of Obito's cousin.

"How is Itachi," she asked.

Obito smiled. "He's fine," he said. "Though he doesn't understand why everyone is fussing over him."

Rin laughed. "You watch, he'll be one of those geniuses with no common sense."

"Well it wouldn't be fair for him to have both kinds of intelligence," Obito laughed.

"Have you seen him today?"

"Not yet."

"Can I see him," Rin asked.

"Will that be safe?"

Rin remembered when Kakashi had taken her away from the rubble, and frowned. She turned to him, giving his good shoulder a poke.

"Hey! What was that for," Obito asked.

"I'm the medic here," she said. "I'll make the orders about what an injured person can and can't do!"

Obito blushed, his arm coming up to rub the back of his head again. "So that was why you were mad earlier, huh?"

Rin nodded.

His eyes was warm, but serious as it met hers. "I'm sorry."

Rin smiled, a little laugh leaving her. "It's alright."

Rin joined Obito outside her door a few minutes later, after she had changed. Itachi was only a few doors away, and was reading a book when they both entered. Rin inwardly frowned, seeing that the circles that were always present on his five-year-old face had darkened.

Obito sat on the child's bed, taking a stuffed bear that a relative had undoubtedly left. "Hey," Obito said. "Shouldn't a kid your age be playing with stuff like this instead of reading?"

Itachi smiled, putting the book away. "I suppose," he said simply before his gaze traveled to Rin.

"Hello," he said.

Rin smiled. "Hi," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine." He grimaced at an unfinished plate of hospital food. "Though I wish they had better food."

Rin chucked as an all-too-familiar glint formed in Obito's eye. "You want me to get you some good food?"

Itachi frowned. "Isn't that not allowed?"

Rin and the five-year-old frowned as the mischievous look deepened.

"That's part of the fun," Obito said, standing. "I'll have it within the hour."

Itachi beamed, his countenance actually resembling that of a five-year-old for a brief moment. "Thanks!"

As they exited the room, Rin asked. "How are you going to sneak food in?"

"The medics let me walk around the area close to the hospital now," Obito said. "And Ichiraku is right there! The medics said I can have some as long as they don't catch me eating it every day!"

Rin smiled, glad that he could eat at his favorite place, and more than a little impressed that he could already walk on his own. "That's wonderful," she said.

Now it was Obito's turn to beam. "You wanna come with me?"

Rin glanced back down the hall, the memory Kakashi protecting her returning.

"I need to take care of something first," she said, blushing. "Next time?"

Some emotion flashed across Obito's face, but it was gone too quickly for her to notice it. "Sure," he said, smiling, before he began to make his way down the hall.

Rin quietly entered Kakashi's room, and came to sit beside him on the single chair beside his bed. As she looked around the room, she noticed that there was only one get-well card on his nightstand, a gift from Minato. When she thought of the cards and stuffed animals and flowers that decorated her room, she felt her heart give a little twist.

There are so few that are here for you, she thought, squeezing her hands together as the silence lingered.

After a moment, she thought of how he had pulled her to him, shielding her from the hospital door as it had collided into them. As a blush colored her cheeks yet again, though it was quickly replaced by a bombardment of shame as she remembered how she had failed to defend him a few days before.

He's made so much progress, she thought as she smoothed a wrinkled section of sheet beside his hand. As she sat back, she looked at his closed eyes, and the long scar that ran over his right eye.

"I'll make it up to you," she whispered, her mind dimly registering that the door had opened behind her. A moment later, Minato had come beside her, his footsteps quiet.

"I think he knows that you were tired," Minato said softly.

Rin frowned, her gaze studying Kakashi's features. "I still have to make it up to him," she said softly.

Minato smiled softly. "You truly are a kind person," he said.

"Thank you," she said, blushing as she always did at complements.

Minato's gaze turned serious. "This attack has escalated the war," he said. "The Hokage wants for us to leave for our mission in a week."

Rin's eyes widened, her muscles tensing. "A week? Will Kakashi be ready by then?"

Minato nodded.

Rin's gaze turned out the window, the word S-Rank ringing in her ears as her heart pounded. "What is the mission?"

"We have to keep Orochimaru from creating a jinchuriki."

Rin's breath left her.

Author's Note: Sorry for the super-late update! As usual, studying and exams took over my life :( I didn't get a chance to individually thank everyone that reviewed like I usually do, so I want to thank you all here! The reviews really inspire me to keep going with the story, and I really appreciate them :) In regard to the story, the next chapter (or the following, depending on how it gets segmented) should be when the romance really starts! Also, since Obito doesn't end up being Madara's protégé in this version, the story will differ, as suggested by the last couple of lines. I do plan for it to go all the way through Shipudden though.

Thanks for reading!