Chapter 47

Guy watched as Genma knelt beside Rin. He remembered he had promised Kakashi he would take care of Rin for him. He stepped forward but Sandaime stopped him. Guy nodded and went to survey the fight scene. 

He stared at the craters in the floor and wondered just how strong Rin actually was. Then he froze at one of the craters. There Orochimaru lay.. Guy stepped into the crater and checked his pulse. None. A sword was stuck in his chest, his throat was slit, and one side of his boy with covered in blood. She had actually done it! 

Guy was about to tell the others. He turned and watched in amazement as Genma disappeared. Sandaime walked over to where Guy was standing and froze. He took in a shuddering breath, "Is he dead?" 

"Yes Hokage-sama." answered Guy. 

Sandaime turned away from the body and motioned to ANBU, "Clean this up. Bring his body to HQ." 

"Yes sir!" they responded. 

"Come on, Guy," said Sandaime, "I assume Kakashi will be needing some emotional support." 

Guy nodded and followed around. He could be good emotional support for his eternal rival. 

… 

A week passed in a blur but Rin didn't wake up. The second exam ended. Hayate did not die and Kakashi kidnapped a red haired child. Sasuke woke up and was training with Kakashi but he was different. Even Sasuke noticed that Kakashi was behaving differently. 

Naruto was training with Jiraya. Thanks to Rin, his training was much smoother and he was better able to control his chakra. Sakura and Ino frequently came and went to change the flowers in the hospital rooms. 

Genma worked during the day and spent his nights there, waiting. But she didn't wake up. 

…

"Hey Rin… when are you going to wake up? I really need you to wake up… please… I can't bear another day without you. Can't you just let me know that you're going to wake up? I'm afraid you'll never wake up. I'm afraid of losing you because-because I love you too much. I know that shinobi don't cry but I just can't help it. I love you and I need you or I don't think I can go on. I need you to be with me so that we can face these new changes together. You're powerful and strong and beautiful. I'm not the only one who needs you. Your students… kakashi… Kushina when she wakes up… so please wake up… no just for me but for everyone else. For the village… 

"You know Sandaime told me that the treasure of a village is its children and that you were protecting the children but I don't care. Doesn't your life matter? It matters to me so please wake up. In the end it is what you did won't even... Orochimaru will be revived and all your work will be for nothing. I don't care if it means that you didn't protect the children. I don't care… I only care about you. So please… wake up. I don't care if Orochimaru is alive… please…

"You said you'd marry me right?" he asked desperately, "You promised. You can't go now. Please wake up. And please wake up soon…" he stood up, "I'll leave this here." 

Genma gently put down a small purple box on the windowsill and stepped away. 

… 

I opened my eyes slowly. It was dark out. "Good morning sleepyhead," muttered Isobu. 

'How long was I out?' I thought of Isobu because an oxygen mask covered my mouth and I didn't want to speak. I couldn't have been that long right? I had no recollection of being in the mindscape either. 

"Not that long," he answered, "Just two or three weeks… I lost track." 

"Three weeks!" I coughed. My throat was dry from not using it for weeks. I almost sat up and groaned as pain shot through my body. "Ugh…" I slammed back down on the hospital bed. 

Something shifted to my left and I turned my head slightly and saw Genma. He was sitting in a chair and his head was using the bed as a pillow. He looked peaceful. Then he turned his head slightly and I saw a track of tears on his face. Instinctively I reached for his face and caught a rolling tear. 

His reflexes kicked in and he grabbed my hand hard. "Ugh…" I winced and he let go. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't-" he froze and looked up, "Rin?" He looked like he was seeing a ghost. "You're-you're awake… no, you're alive!" 

"Yes," I whispered, "Don't cry…" I sort of hurt to speak, probably because my throat was too dry. 

He turned away, "I'll be right back," he said, "I'll go get a healer." 

Sandaime came in instead. Why was this always happening? Someone goes to get a healer but the Hokage shows up instead. I winced and tried to sit up. "I wouldn't recommend moving," said a healer who moved to remove the oxygen mask. "I'll leave the heart monitor… just in case." 

I rasped, "So doc, when do I get to go back on duty?" 

"Never," answered Sandaime, "As long as I'm Hokage, you are never going back.But don't worry, Orochimaru is dead for now. He probably won't bother us for many years to come. And you… will forever be known as the Sanin-slayer." 

I let out a chuckle that turned into a cough. "Alright…" said the healer, "Rin-sama needs rest. I'm going to ask the rest of you to please leave." 

They filed out and only Genma stayed. The healer looked at him for a moment and sighed. Closing the door, they let him stay. He sat down on the chair and stared at me. "I'm glad you're awake," he said, "You don't know how worried I was." 

"Don't worry," I smiled, "I'm not going anywhere… I literally can't." my eyes drifted to the window. From the third floor, I could see a lot of Konoha. My eyes fell on a small purple box on the windowsill. Genma followed my eyes. 

He stood up and grabbed it, "It's nothing… I'm gonna go. You should get some rest." 

"Wait… don't go…" I whispered. He didn't hear me and started to walk away. 

I could barely speak. I forced myself to sit up. I swung my legs over and tried to stand up. My legs were too weak. My entire body was too weak. "Ah," I winced and fell forward, arms out. 

Genma turned around and caught me in his arms. "Don't go," I whispered, "I said yes, didn't I." 

He carried me back to the bed, "I'll leave this here," he said, putting the box back on the windowsill. Then he moved to the medical equipment next to me. 

"What are you…" I trailed off and saw what he was doing, "Wait, don't you dare." 

He pressed the button. I felt the medicine flow through my body, making my eyelids heavy. Did he really just sedate me…