The night deepened.
Kakashi had no idea that his student had just watched his retreating figure with a complicated gaze. Holding an umbrella in one hand and supporting Rin with the other, he trudged awkwardly down the street.
After finally getting her home, Kakashi hesitated at the foot of the stairs. He couldn't just drag her up, as Rin wasn't completely immobile. However, climbing stairs was clearly beyond her current capabilities.
Standing there under the small black umbrella, which is just enough to shield them both, Kakashi had no choice but to press close to Rin to keep her from getting wet.
Behind them, the street lay silent, the surrounding area devoid of sound. Compared to elsewhere, the streetlights here were denser. The Anbu had already spotted Kakashi but deliberately turned away, pretending not to see.
The drizzle continued. Rin let out a soft moan, her eyelids fluttering as if she were about to wake. Seeing this, Kakashi tried calling her name.
"Rin?"
"…Hmm?" She opened her eyes weakly, staring at him for a long moment before recognition flickered in her gaze. Her voice was muffled, as if she had a mouthful of rice dumplings.
"Kakashi?"
"Rin, can you manage? We need to go upstairs."
"I-I can… don't worry about me… I can do it myself." As she spoke, she took a step forward… only to yelp as she walked straight into the wall.
Kakashi: "…"
"Let me help. Stay still." Without hesitation, Kakashi slid an arm under her armpits, pulling her back before hoisting her onto his back.
What should have been a simple act of carrying her turned into a ten-minute struggle on the stairs, thanks to Rin's uncoordinated, drunken flailing.
Finally, a door upstairs was flung open with a bang. A figure stood in the doorway, their features obscured and their voice dripping with irritation.
"What the hell are you two groaning about in the middle of the night?"
"Sorry, sorry! We're leaving right now!" Kakashi hastily dragged Rin up the stairs before slamming the door shut behind them.
With a click, the door was locked. Kakashi was stunned, then looked down at the lock, and then back up at Rin.
Her face was flushed, her whole body reeking of alcohol. At this time, she was looking at Kakashi with her head slightly raised, as if to say, 'How about it? Am I awesome?'
"Why did you lock the door?" Kakashi was dumbfounded.
"Sa... safety," Rin hiccuped, stating it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Kakashi thought to himself, 'You're just drunk—what does safety have to do with anything?'
He was about to guide her toward the couch when suddenly, a limp, boneless weight slumped against him.
Rin was completely wasted now, with no strength left.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Kakashi helped her onto the sofa, then fetched a warm towel to wipe her face. After hesitating for a moment, he reached down and took off her shoes.
But when he saw those pink socks, he froze, unsure what to do next. The living room was dead silent, save for the soft, rhythmic puffing sounds Rin made as she lay sprawled on the couch, mouth slightly open.
A minute later, he gingerly pinched the edge of one sock and smoothly pulled it off. The other followed just as easily, with Rin showing no reaction the entire time.
He didn't know how to feel about it. Back then, he'd noticed Obito's feelings for Rin. At the time, he'd been too lost in the shadow of his father's suicide to pay much attention to her.
Then so many things happened. Now that he's here, Kakashi looked back at the past, all his family and friends had been left in the past, with only him remained.
Rin's sudden resurrection felt like the world's answer to him. As if taking pity on his endless nightmares, it had let one single person slip through its fingers and back to him.
Right now, he didn't have any particular thoughts beyond 'Don't let Rin die again'. But this vague feeling carried a faint trace of possessiveness.
At the very least, he wanted to confirm her safety every single day, to know what she was doing at any given moment.
To most women, this would be called caring. No matter how intense this emotion was, it wouldn't be misunderstood.
Even if others misunderstood, Rin wouldn't delude herself into thinking Kakashi had feelings for her.
The whole story, everything starts with that pair of socks.
Under the glow of the ceiling light, Kakashi stood there, holding those small pink socks, staring blankly at the sleeping Rin.
He wondered if he'd gone too far right now, 'Did I really need to take off her socks? Wasn't that something a boyfriend would do? Maybe I should quietly put them back on?'
'...Wait, no, that would make him even more of a creep. Then this pair of socks…'
For a while, Rin's pink socks were no different from hot potatoes in Kakashi's eyes.
The entire time, Rin didn't wake. Under the light, her face looked as if it had been dipped in honey, her lips slightly parted, the soft puffing sounds now gone.
Scratching his head, Kakashi finally placed the socks at the edge of the couch, turned off the light, and quietly left the living room, closing the door behind him.
Only when the lock clicked shut, plunging the room into darkness, did Rin's 'sleeping' eyes snap open. Her pupils darted around in the dark, glistening with moisture.
…
The next day.
Naruto woke up and had just finished washing up with sleepy eyes. He was about to open the window to take a look at the midday sun in Konoha and leave, when suddenly, a figure appeared in front of his eyes.
Yugao landed soundlessly on his windowsill, separated from him by nothing but a pane of glass. Outside, the autumn sunlight was warm and inviting.
She knocked on the glass window twice gently, and her mouth moved slightly, mouthing the word 'Open'.
With a rustle, Naruto slid the glass aside, and a warm breeze carrying Yūgao's faint, intoxicating scent washed over him.
For a second, his heart skipped a bit, but he quickly steadied himself.
'Guess I'll never be the ascetic type in this life.' Naruto thought to himself.
"What?" He leaned to one side, crossed his hands and asked.
"Kakashi is looking for you." Yugao delivered the message with her usual brevity.
"You have become the Anbu Commander, so why do you still pass messages for Kakashi every day? Don't you have any pride?" Naruto smiled and asked.
"I'm used to it." After she finished speaking, she turned around and was about to leave, but her figure suddenly paused, "That thing you mentioned before, about waiting for the wind to rise… was it about Nohara Rin?"
"I never said that." Naruto shook his head and denied it directly, "I don't remember, maybe."
Yugao didn't seem bothered by his evasive answer. Instead, she smiled.
"I understand, maybe I heard it wrong."
With that, Yugao left directly, leaping onto a nearby rooftop in a few effortless bounds. Her movements were sharp as she gazed at the distant Hokage Mountain.
At this time, she only thought about revenge in her heart. As for resurrection, she never asked Naruto, and she didn't even ask if Rin's matter had anything to do with him.
A person should know their limits.
She understood her own capabilities and didn't dwell on things beyond her.
Under the sunlight, Kakashi's face was carved into the mountain, right after the Godaime Hokage's.
'The wind was too strong, so it was normal to hear it wrongly.'
Naruto didn't admit it, but it made her feel relieved.
'This world really is different now.'
'Nohara Rin had returned to life, and the winds of the Shinobi World had begun to blow.'