literature

Warmth - Chapter V: Hug

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Literature Text

It was the night of the midwinter gathering. There was dancing to the beat of drums and singing to the tune of fiddles. People - both young and old - gathered around a bonfire. Food and drinks were shared, as well as stories. It was a night of laughter and merriment.

Rin was among the crowd. Like her, people from their small village looked forward to this gathering, held on a night halfway through winter, when the sky is clear. It was a reprieve from the monotony of the season which usually kept them cooped up inside their homes, safe from the cold and snowstorms.

She spent the night with her friends, listening to funny and sometimes lewd stories. She sang along to songs she knew, danced a little, drank a lot of cider, drank a little sake,  and was teased a lot for still being single. When about to be paired with certain available men, she managed to slip away unnoticed.

Like the previous gatherings, Rin enjoyed the event. But it was different this time. She felt somewhat lonely among all those people and it was not difficult for her to determine why. She bid goodbye to some people before walking home by herself. There was a snowman or two (or sometimes a whole family of snowpeople) on the front yards of the houses she passed by, with candles lit within a hole in their bodies. She smiled at each snowperson as she walked by.

When she reached her house, she approached the lone snowman standing in front of it. "Hello, my snowman," she said to it with a smile that was happy and sad at the same time. "How are you doing?" She re-arranged the scarf it was wearing, one she had knit herself. She looked at her snowman's face. One eye, the right, was a tiny smooth black stone. The other was a glass pebble, of the color red. Rin whispered to the snowman, "Are you coming back?"

***

"What was your question again?" Shiba asked.
"I said - if there was something you want right now, right at this moment, what would it be?" Bisuke said.
"Ahhh, I always want a pat on the head," was Uuhei's answer.
"Scratch on the chin," said Guruko.
"Woof (which everyone understood to be 'rib-eye steak')," barked Bull.
"World peace," joked Akino.
"Oh, shut up Akino," scolded Urushi.
"All I could think of right now is a tummy scratch," Pakkun said sleepily.

Kakashi smiled behind the Icha Icha Tactics book that was covering his face. His ninken were having one of their random conversations again.

In his home village of Konoha, there was a certain chill in the air but the sun shone as bright and intense as it always did. The afternoon was being spent by Kakashi lying down on the grass, dozing off under the shade of a tree, accompanied by his ninja dogs. Sunlight pierced through the gaps between the leaves of the tree making dappled patches of light on the ground, on the dogs and on Kakashi as well. Another mission was coming up so he was trying to enjoy what free time he had.

The wind blew. He felt it ruffle his hair. He heard the leaves rustle. The dogs had moved on to another topic, something about ninja cats. But his dog's question still floated in his head. He knew he had his own answer for it.

What did he want right then, right at that moment? Maybe what he actually wanted more than anything else that time? Easy. He just wanted to be with Rin.

***

The northern lights hung like red and green curtains against the deep purple night sky. They moved as if being blown by a gentle breeze.  Rin was watching it from the back door of her house. In a few weeks, winter would be over. She was already looking forward to spring.

The time Kakashi spent with her back at the start of winter felt like a dream, like it never happened. She had set aside the memories somewhere at the back of her head.  Somehow, she still regretted not going with him. She still somewhat wondered why he did not take her with him. She thought that maybe he just really didn't want her. Not one bit. Not at all. The thought pinched at her heart.

"Rin?"

Though it wasn't obvious, Rin had almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a voice call her name, a voice all too familiar to her.

"Kakashi?"

He came into view looking almost exactly the way he looked when he left. He had the white cloak with the hood down, showing his gray-white hair that stuck out to all directions. The scarf she gave him was showing from beneath the cloak. He wasn't wearing a forehead protector though he had one with him. Both his eyes were open, the sharingan showing distinctly as it reflected the light coming out of the open doorway. It was for Rin to know that it was really him.

Slowly, he walked straight into the house as Rin stepped back from the door to let him in, closing the door behind him. 'Sorry if I scared you," he said as he took off the cloak and hung it by a peg on the door. Rin could only shake her head since she was on a state of smiling speechlessness. She reached up a hand to dust off something that was on Kakashi's hair. As she did this, Kakashi stepped closer and gathered her in his arms to lock her in a hug. All Rin can do (which was what she really wanted to do in the first place) was to hug him back. "Are you on a mission?" she asked. She felt him shake his head and plant a kiss on hers.

As she hugged him, she was thinking how she would tell him that there was no way, no matter what he says, she will allow him to go back to Konoha without taking her with him. As he hugged her, he was thinking how he would ask her, if it wasn't much of a trouble or only if she really wanted to, if she might consider going back to Konoha with him.
Prologue [link]
Chapter I [link]
Chapter II [link]
Chapter III [link]
Chapter IV [link]


there. i think that's happy enough. ^_^

i was never a fan of fluffy stuff but kakashi and rin made me do it. blame them. ahehehe. crazy. i wuv em.:iconblushingplz:

---
kishi kishi kishi
he owns rin and kakashi
© 2010 - 2024 ulap
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winry7405's avatar
I've read all the chapters, your story is amazing. :iconloveloveplz: Are you going to stop at this or continue? I wish you continued. :D