Archive of Our Own

The first time Rin met Obito, they were three. Or maybe it wasn't the first time they met, and it was just the first memory of them that they remembered. They were in preschool, they were laughing, and there were colours everywhere. Obito remembered them jumping, Rin remembered them falling, but they firmly agreed that they'd been covered from head to toes with orange un-washable paint. Rin's parents had cut her long hair after that, and Obito had started wearing orange clothes every day. Rin kept her hair short because it was more practical for a kunoichi, and Obito claimed orange was a good colour to play diversion during tag exercises, but they both knew the real reasons. They'd been best friends since that day, from the age of three up to Obito's death in the field when they were thirteen.

They're still best friends, if you ask Rin. But people will talk about anything but him nowadays. Except Kakashi, of course. He mostly talks about how he owes Obito until death, and how it is now his responsibility to protect her, with more seriousness in his voice than when he thought he was better than everyone at the age of nine, but still. He talks about him, remembers him, and misses him just like her. So they spend a lot of their free time together. The others think they're dating because of it, and maybe it's the closest word to describe them. Before Obito's death, she would have been overjoyed at the idea, but now, their common grief is a feeling far too strong. There is only death and an Obito-shaped empty space between them. But since it's Obito-shaped, they'll take it over nothing at all.

***

The man is hanging from a tree with his legs. He doesn't seem to have noticed her. He's singing a happy melody that she doesn't recognise, upside down, seemingly without a care for the world.

And, most importantly, he's doing that on a tree planted in one of Konoha's training ground. But while he very much looks like a shinobi, he doesn't have any sign identifying him as a Konoha shinobi. No headband, even at unconventional places. No uniform, just plain black clothes. And his mask doesn't look like anything she knows. It's not animal themed like the Anbu, and not even pure white like the ones you see sometimes, when the situation becomes both problematic and political. No, it's bright orange with a swirling pattern on it. Rin is pretty sure not a single shinobi unit in Konoha uses something as garish as that mask.

Maybe Obito would have. He did always like orange.

But if this man truly is an intruder who entered the Leaf without a permit, security would have noticed his chakra signature by now. And yet, this man is here, without a care in the world. Hanging from a tree in the old training group of team 7, only meters away from the cenotaph. So either he knows how to go through the barrier without triggering it, or he is from the village or one of its allies. The second option would be the most logical one, if he didn't look like he has no allegiance at all but his own.

She must have made a sound, because the man suddenly turns his head and his orange mask locks into her face. There is a silence for a time. Then the man jumps down to the ground and walks toward her.

"That's a big bouquet you have there, lady!" he says in a cheery voice. "Who are those flowers for?"

She looks down to the flowers in her arms. She has come to see Obito, or at least the only thing left of him. It's his birthday today. She prefers to see him at that time of the year, unlike Kakashi who finds his death day more calling.

"A friend," she answers.

She passes the man, who doesn't look like he has any intention of attacking her, and puts the bouquet in front of the cenotaph.

"And what is this stone for?" the man continues.

"For the people who died on the field, but whose bodies couldn't be recovered. They don't have any tombstone, so it's the only way we can honour them," she explains.

"You lost someone then?"

"Like everyone in this village at some point, yes," she shrugs.

"That is a sad thing to say."

She turns to him and raises an eyebrow.

"And what should I say, then? How lucky am I to be alive?"

"No, no!" the man shrieks, and moves his arms in exaggerated embarrassment. "I don't think before speaking, I'm sorry for your loss! I just think it's sad, that so many people die fighting each other! And that people are so normal about it! That shouldn't be normal!"

"That's just the world we live in, swirly, do you live under a rock or something?"

"I did, actually."

Huh. She wasn't expecting a positive answer. She looks back to the man, taken aback. He is almost entirely covered by his clothes and his mask, but she can see a bit of his skin on his feet. They do look very white, like they've never seen the sun before.

"No, really?"

"Yes! The place under the rock was named Hell. It was difficult to get out."

Oh, this explains that, this guy is nuts. No way she's letting him go like that. She's taking him to someone, a trauma psychiatrist or an anti-terrorist unit, she hasn't decided yet. She grabs a senbon soaked with anaesthetics and prepare her shoot.

"... but I guess once you get out from there, nothing is difficult to escape any more. Even the T&I this morning was a walk in the forest!"

Rin stops moving. The man, too. There is silence between them, for the time of a heartbeat.

"... oh, why did I say that?" he says. "I put my guard down for a minute, that shouldn't happen. Did you do something to mess with my brain, lady?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, I should kill you, I suppose. Since you heard me say that."

So much for her day. Rin takes a step back and her hand tightens around her senbon, as she makes sure to keep this man in her view.

"... but I don't really want to. You feel a bit familiar, I don't know why."

Then he gets so close that she throws the senbon by reflex. She's certain she's touched him, but the stick continues its flight as if it missed it's target entirely and gets stuck in a tree far away. And now she has an orange mask just in front of her, blocking her view. It's so close that she can now see the complete blackness inside of the only eyehole. It's not a normal darkness, not at that distance. It must be a genjutsu, so people don't see an eye colour or a bit of skin. And the nothingness feels heavy. She can't move, can't speak, can't look away.

"... I've seen you before," the man says. "Once."

She doesn't remember meeting someone like that, but again, anyone could be hidden behind that orange mask. It feels like hours, but is probably only seconds, until the heaviness starts weighting a bit less.

"Oh," the man then says. "I remember now. It was you."

"Wha... what do you mean?"

The words are difficult to get out of her mouth. But the man doesn't answer. In an instant, he has disappeared without a sound, without a flicker of wind, and the heaviness is gone entirely. And Rin is alone in the training ground 7, as if there was never anyone else with her.

***

Rin and Obito entered the Ninja Academy together, and always sat next to each other in the classroom. Rin was good at remembering the lessons, and Obito was good at thinking outside of the box. When they worked together, they were the best team ever. But no matter how well they did, they could never do as good as one Hatake Kakashi. He was younger than them, and very, very good. He was proud, and solitary, and a bit wild. He talked like he knew better than most people, teachers included. While he stayed in their class through the years as per customs, it was very clear the teachers favourited him so he would graduate early. There was no doubt in anyone's head that he would become one of the best.

All of this infuriated Obito greatly. Rin, not so much. He was different from Obito, in such a complete opposite way that was fascinating to watch. Where Obito was noise, Kakashi was silence. Where Obito was colours, Kakashi was shadows.

Obito told everyone how much he hated Kakashi, and Rin was the only one to know he actually didn't. And Kakashi didn't say anything to anyone, but she knows that he never hated it either. He actually enjoyed their banter, he just didn't know how to express it.

She knows that because he remembers that time fondly when they talk about it, side by side in front of the cenotaph with Obito's name on it.

***

The man is back. This time, he's crossing an avenue, seemingly without a care for the world. People don't seem to notice that strange man who is jumping, turning, almost dancing in the middle of the street. They simply walk around him like they do with every other passer-by.

Rin notices. She also notices that he goes firmly toward her. She doesn't move from where she is sitting, on a bench near a bar she just left. Kakashi and her have been dragged there by their old teammates, but Kakashi has since been kidnapped into one of Gai's famous challenges, and Kurenai is too busy flirting with Asuma to be a good conversationalist, so she excused herself and left ten minutes ago.

She likes her friends, of course. But every time she gathers with them, she can't help but remember that Obito isn't there with them. He's not here, and people don't talk about him. When she mentions him, they get uneasy and quickly change subject. But she knows he would have loved those outings, so much. He would have directed the flow of conversations, kept the mood up, made everyone feel included the whole time, without having to try, he would have made dump jokes and she would have laughed at them when no one else did.

But he's not with them any more, so Rin got bored. And she's here now, alone in a crowded street, with no one to see her but that strange man in an orange mask that no one seems to see either despite his antics. After a long time of jumping here and there, he finally sits next to her. For a long time, neither say anything. But the man looks like he wants to say something and can't find the courage to say it, so she starts the conversation for him.

"Hello, swirly. Where you spying on T&I again?"

"No, I didn't go anywhere I wasn't waited for today! That's a point for the nice list. But I still heard some terrible things nonetheless. You shinobi are not a happy bunch, but the people above you are so much worse, you have no idea."

"I'm pretty sure that sentence alone can be considered treason."

"To be a traitor, you have to be alive, lady! And from the village, I guess."

"Oh, right, I forgot. Mr I-come-from-Hell."

"You remember!"

"You are difficult to forget."

"Did you tell anyone about me?"

She didn't. And since he's asking like that, she's pretty sure he already knows. She still isn't sure why she kept silent. This man, whoever he is, is terrifying without even having to try. But he also feels familiar in a way she can't exactly place. To tell anyone about him feels wrong, somehow.

"Who are you?" she says instead.

"A ghost," he says. "And the carrier of a dream. But I'm not that interesting, really. You, however, you intrigue me. What's your name?"

"Why should I tell you that?"

"I suppose I can search it myself on the village database, it's not that difficult. But I'd really, really like to hear it from you, if you please."

That is very concerning. First he can infiltrate T&I, and now consult the database without problems. Not to mention what he said earlier, that implied he met some high ranking people within the village. That man is dangerous, and there is still no indication whether he works for or against the Leaf.

And yet, she doesn't feel threatened by him right now. She should, but she doesn't.

"I'm Rin."

"Rin? That's a pretty name."

He ponders for a time, his legs jumping in the air.

"Rin... Rin... it sounds like little bells! Rin, Rin, Rin!"

He stops.

"But I don't remember anyone called like this. I remember you, though. You were crying."

"Why?"

"Why, because you were sad, of course!"

What a genius deduction.

"Yes, I figured that myself, thanks. What is your name anyway?"

"I don't... really have one. I was lent one, but I can only use it when I work. What do you do for a living?"

"I work at the mortuary, I'm a forensic surgeon."

"Oh, weird... I thought you were a shinobi."

"Why?"

"Because you were one, that time you were crying."

"It must have been a long time ago, I quit the field at the end of the last war."

"Why?"

Because she didn't want to be a shinobi if Obito wasn't. It was their dream, the one they made together: Obito becoming Hokage, and Rin encouraging him at every step of the way. What was the point to be a shinobi if Obito wasn't here to be one with her?

"Let's just say I lost interest in that field during the war."

The man hums a bit, and moves his head a bit. He looks like he wants to ask something else, but doesn't dare. Rin doesn't mind. His presence was as heavy the other time as it is comforting right now, in a familiar way that she can't explain. But the nameless man fidgets and fidgets, and after some times, he gets up from the bench.

"I should go, my genjutsu is getting tiring to keep up. See you later, Rin!"

And just like that, he's gone again and Rin is alone on the bench.

But she doesn't move. Because that carefree goodbye he just gave her... it's painfully familiar. Familiar, in the same way his presence is, every time, but raw, and intense, and...

It felt like Obito. Reminded her of all the times he said that to her, with a big smile on his face, with the promise of coming back the very next day.

When Kurenai gets out of the bar, she finds Rin crying on the bench.

***

Kakashi left the academy a lot sooner than them, and no one was surprised one bit. But Rin and Obito still met with him, alongside Gai. The three of them started leaving the academy together at the end of the day to go and see him, Rin because she liked to talk to him, Gai because he liked to challenge him, and Obito because he liked to complain about him the whole time, and especially when he was here to hear about it. He mostly trained with a jônin named Minato who was his personal teacher until a fitting team was found for him, and was overjoyed to see that Kakashi "had actual friends". Both Obito and Kakashi vehemently argued otherwise in perfect synchronisation, which did few to convince Minato he was wrong.

It continued like that for a time, until... something happened. Kakashi closed himself up overnight, and rejected their presence whenever they came. None of them understood what was happening, and even Obito who pretended to not care was worried. It was only after pestering Minato that they learned that his father had died. Even though they didn't know how, they tried to show support, but it was like the mourning had closed him up even more that before. And soon, he was rejecting them, not in the half-hearted way he did before to keep appearances, but obnoxiously and angrily. No matter how hard they tried, he ignored them and went to train somewhere else. And after a time, Obito and Rin stopped trying.

She regrets it, now, looking back. Kakashi says it wouldn't have changed anything, but she knows it would have. She knows how Sakumo died, now, and the lesson Kakashi took from it. If they'd kept trying, just a bit harder, maybe history would have been different. Maybe they wouldn't have lost Obito during that mission, and maybe the three of them would have been happy, together and well today.

But, well. It happened. What matter is the present, and presently, she is hoping. They say it's useless to hope for something that can never happen, but, well. They never say when never starts, exactly.

***

He's here again, but this time, Rin has been waiting for him. She's looked over her shoulders, searched the trees and the rooftops and the dark alleys, for weeks, hoping he would come.

In the end, he materialises inside of her home. One moment, she's alone, cooking herself some sort of dinner with leftovers, and the next, he's beside her, seemingly fascinated by the pot. She jumps out of reach, grabbing a cooking knife and points it at the intruder before she realises who it is. And he's an enemy shinobi with no allegiance who can spy anything and anyone, who can freeze people with his presence alone, she shouldn't sigh in relief as she recognises him. But she does. She does, because... if she's right...

"Swirly," she greets.

"You were waiting for me, Rin?" he asks.

"I was."

"Why?"

"We didn't properly end our last conversation."

"How so?"

"You say you remember me. What else do you remember?"

"I don't know if I should tell you. I'm not supposed to talk about it, you know."

"Why?"

"Because it's from before. They don't like when I talk about it, they say there is no point in dwelling in what happened in previous lives."

"Who are 'they'?"

"My family, the one from Hell."

"And yet, you are talking to me right now."

"I suppose I do. I can't help it. It's funny, you know? It's like I know you'll know, if I lie to you, so I may as well say the truth from the beginning."

"If it helps, I think I know you, too. Who knows, maybe if we talk more you will remember? That's why you came back to me, after all."

He doesn't answer. His body was fidgeting before, but now it's still, his head turned toward her.

"That's why you came back, right?" she continues. "You could have killed me that first time, but you didn't. Instead, you let me go. And when you saw that I didn't tell anyone about you, you came back and made yourself as likeable as possible, sharing fun nothings. You want me to like you enough that you can keep talking with me. And you hope that if you keep talking to me, you will remember something."

He stays silent for a long minute. And then, he laugh.

"You read me waaaay too easily, Rin. If you were anyone else, I would have already killed you."

"And yet, I'm still alive."

"You are. You're a dangerous woman, you know that?"

She takes this as a compliment. She comes back to the kitchen, takes her dinner away from the fire, and takes some utensils and some bowls and takes everything to the table.

"Here. You can have some if you want."

"That's very kind of you, but I can't eat."

"How so?"

"I am not human enough to eat human food. I can't sleep either. Or pee. Or all those things human do every day."

What happened to him? Who did this, and why? How can he still be alive that way?

"Well, more for me I guess. But while I eat, you tell me everything about you. I swear what is said in this room will not leave the room."

He laugh again, and then he talks like he was waiting for her to ask.

The furthest memory he can grasp is of him killing someone. The second one is helping a boy who is bleeding from one eye. The third one is her, tied up in a cavern. The fourth one, everything is collapsing. The fifth one, she's crying.

It's the last thing he sees, before he wakes up in Hell.

"It took a long time before I remembered that. It was... around the time I got out of Hell. And I never remembered anything else from before."

"I see."

The food is cold in front of her. It's been long forgotten, for there is a miracle happening just in front of her. She gets up, and comes close to him. He starts to move back, but she gently grasps his clothes to keep him close. And, slowly, she takes off his mask.

The right side of his face is full of scars. That's the first thing she notices. The second is the only eye staring back at her, a full sharingan blazing inside of the iris. But, other than that... he looks exactly like she thought he would look like, as an adult. He looks... a bit desperate, and a bit hopeful. She smiles.

"Hello, Obito."

"Obito? That's my name?"

She nods.

"It... does feel familiar. A little bit."

"You don't think I'm lying to manipulate you?"

"No. You wouldn't do that. Not to me."

She laughs. And then, she cries. And cries again. Because Obito is here. He doesn't remember her, doesn't remember himself, and yet, he still came back. Still recognised her. He's here, and she's never letting him go, never again.

Whatever happens from now... it's going to be okay.

***

When Obito and Rin graduated, they were put in a team with Kakashi. As far as the teachers were concerned, they were the only one except Gai who had ever interacted with him more than the strict minimum. And now that he had closed up like an oyster outside of the sea, they needed someone who had even the slightest chance of working well with him. It worked... mildly. Kakashi seemed to have overcome his grief, but in exchange, he had lost most of his personality, as if he had erased it to make more room for jutsu training.

It infuriated Obito. He had hoped, a little bit, to have... not his friend, but something, back. But the person in front of them could as well have been a perfect stranger. They battled together, did missions together. Were sent on the battlefield, since there was a war going on. But, despite their best efforts, he never went back to the boy he was before, the reserved shy one who secretly liked to have people around.

And then, Obito was lost. Kakashi changed after that, but neither were the same again. Obito, before disappearing, had succeeded in breaking his thick layer of impassivity, and reached the broken boy underneath. Made him go from the boy mourning his father to the boy mourning Obito. At least Rin had someone to cry with, then.

She's crying again, now. But for a completely different reason.

***

Obito doesn't remember, even now that he has a name again. But he comes back the next night, and the one after that. She keeps her promise and doesn't talk to anyone of what happens in her kitchen. For a time, she thinks that maybe, when Kakashi comes back from his mission, he can enter the secret too.

At least that's what she thinks at the beginning. But then, Obito asks her questions and he answers hers, and she realises what his life is, now. The person he pretends to be. And she knows that Kakashi must never know about it. He may be a bit less strict with the rules than during his chûnin years, but no matter what he feels, he will act if he thinks the Leaf is in danger. And right now, Obito is a very, very big danger to the hidden village. And all the others hidden villages, too.

She doesn't know what to think of Obito's family, made of numerous plant people and one deceased old man who called himself Uchiha Madara. They saved his life at the cost of his humanity, but kept him imprisoned underground for who knows how long, without a name or a memory that he could own.

She doesn't know what to think of Madara, who bequeathed an impossible dream to Obito alongside his own name, one of a better world for everyone, where children don't die in wars and people can be happy without afterthoughts. Obito loved him like a child loves his parent, but the last thing he asked him was to kill him with his own hands.

But those people kept Obito alive by making sure nothing can ever kill him any more. And Madara sacrificed himself to give Obito the power he needed to come back from down under, and back to her. That's all she cares about.

But she knows Kakashi will think otherwise. He will only care about the parts where Obito is currently part of an international terrorist organisation that is actively mining the main villages' influence on the continent, and plotting to steal the Tailed Beasts from them. She... definitely needs to ease him out, before telling him anything. And she needs to make Obito remember his old life, too. Once he is fully himself again, he'll know what he really wants to do, and whatever he chooses, Rin will help him in any way she can, as she promised him all those years ago.

But until that day, she can live with the knowledge that Obito is alive, and that they will be back together, someday.

***

She never really got used to living without Obito. They'd been together since forever, and to not have him by her side was like missing a limb. It made it difficult to do very simple things like smiling for no reason, or appreciating the village's views. Beside her, Kakashi and Minato were grim and Kushina was heartbroken, and yet, the war didn't end. It should have, though. It felt strange, for the world to keep turning even though Obito was dead. But it did, and they had to do other missions after Kannabi. Paired with people who had also lost their own teammates during the war.

And then, it ended. Rin wasn't privy to the details, but still, the war stopped. The village slowly started to built itself again. Minato was named the new Hokage and married Kushina, Kakashi got tangled in some Uchiha political feud because of Obito's eye, and Rin gave back her uniform. Not her headband though, that was something you could never give back, no matter how long you lived. You had to be ready to put it again if need ever arose. But her shinobi clothes, she gave back. And then, she went to the hospital to put her medical skills to use. It took some time to convince Kakashi that she didn't need a constant bodyguard inside of Konoha's hospital, especially during peace time. So he let her be, and entered the Anbu. He didn't say it out loud, of course, but it was easy to guess.

And then, time passed. Minato and Kushina had a child, Kakashi came and went depending of his missions, and since there was way too many medics in the hospital now that the war was over, Rin was offered a job at the morgue. It was calm and well paid, but also a bit too silent sometimes. So, often when she was alone, she imagined Obito was here with her, commenting everything she did and making jokes about the dead people she was studying. Sometimes, they had long conversations about the most random things, and she always felt better after talking with him, even thought he was only a part of her imagination.

She doesn't need to do that any more, now. He's alive, and she can talk to him in person. And that's a million time better than a ghost.

***

Obito comes back, and talks and talks and talks. Sometimes, he can't come, because he needs to work, with the name lent to him by Madara. Sometimes, he can't come, because his family would be suspicious and as much as he loves them, he knows they wouldn't approve of him meeting up with Rin like he does. At least, that's what he says.

"They also want the plan to start as soon as possible, above everything else. If they ever hear that I come here so often, they'll think I'm wasting time. I need to make up for all the time gramps' was stuck in Hell and couldn't do anything."

"What's their deal, you don't have to live for the mission every hour of the day! I bet Madara did stuff just for himself, too, in between his plans to change the world."

"Not really. He did when he still lived in the village, but after his battle with Hashirama, he didn't have a reason to have fun any more."

"You seem to know an awful lot about his life, did he narrate his entire life to you when you lived together?"

"He... did, yes. Several times. We didn't have anything else to do in Hell except that and my body growing back. And at the end, he even showed me his entire life so I could be him better, so I even got the details I would have preferred to not know."

Rin sits up from where she was laying on her bed to look at Obito better.

"He showed you his life? How?"

"A sharingan trick. He projected his memories directly in my head."

"Projected his memories... can you do that, too?"

"I can, now. My sharingan is powerful enough. But I don't really need to show anything to anyone."

"And the reverse, seeing someone else's memories, would that be possible?"

"I suppose... but that would be a lot more difficult. I'm not the best at it. If the other person is okay with it and helps to bring out the memories, it should work, but I don't see why anyone would show their memories willingly."

"I can."

He turns his unmasked face toward her.

"You?"

"Who knows, maybe if you see my memories, you may remember?"

"Oh. Good idea."

An idea so good that they try it immediately. They sit face to face on the floor, and Rin watches Obito's eye turn and turn, until the sharingan that never seems to go away transforms and become a strange circle with a triple scythe motif. It's so hypnotic that Rin couldn't look away even if she wanted to.

"Now, I'm counting on you, Rin," Obito says.

So she remembers. Everything, from the smallest details to the biggest milestones.

The orange paint, and the hair cut.

The academy, and the shared homework and chakra training, and Kakashi's perfect results, and Kakashi and Obito's pretend arguments that they both secretly enjoyed, and searching for him with Gai after his graduation.

The days spent together, and Minato's smile, and Kushina's laugh, and Obito's dream of becoming Hokage, and Rin's dream to help him however she could.

And Kakashi closing off, and the war, and the missions, and the shattered dreams, and Obito's death, and his eye on Kakashi's face, and his name on the cenotaph.

She shows him the rest, too. Her lonely life, and Kakashi's lonely life beside her. All the places where he hasn't been, all the things he hasn't done. All the flowers she gave him, every single one.

It feels like eternity has passed when she comes back to herself on the floor of her apartment. She is exhausted, both in body and mind, and getting up is almost impossible. Obito is beside her, on his knees. And his only eye is crying. Crying and crying, like a waterfall, and when he looks up, and looks at her, for the very first time, she sees recognition in his eye.

"... Rin?

"Obito?"

And then, his arms are around her, and he's pressing her against his chest, and his whole body is shaking, and he's still crying, even more than before, and they fall on the floor together, and Obito is not letting go.

"Rin, Rin, Rin!"

He looks at her like he's seeing her for the very first time, and he puts his hands on her cheeks, and he looks close, and his hands are shaking, and he's saying her name, over and over again. He could have said it for eternity, it would have felt the same for Rin. She's holding him back, and she's crying too.

They stay like that the entire night.

***

"That's a big smile on your face, in what honour?" Kushina asks when she comes over for dinner to the Namikaze household three days later.

"Oh, nothing in particular. I just saw something funny when I came here."

"And what?"

"It's stupid."

"I love stupid, tell me more!"

She humphs, and she goes set the plates on the tables while Naruto runs between her legs. The boy babbles about the academy and the friends he has there, while his mother continues to pester Rin, who ends up telling her some story about a drunk man trying to seduce a tree. She didn't see anything like that, but she simply hasn't been able to hide the smile on her face ever since Obito remembered and talked to her like he never left. Even if she had still been a kunoichi, she wouldn't have been able to hide her happiness.

"Oh, by the may, do you know when Kakashi comes back from his mission?"

"Minato said he should be back in two weeks, top. The reports he sent were optimistic. Why, do you miss him~?"

Yes, she does. But she mostly want to know when it will become more dangerous for Obito to come and see her. Kakashi has the bad habit to come without warning at random, to make sure nothing happened to her. And Obito doesn't want to see him yet, for the same reason Rin didn't want to tell him about Obito before.

Obito knew about Kakashi, even before remembering. He'd recognised him from his memories, when he saw him do some missions outside of the country, and it took him one minute and a half to understand that he was a perfect shinobi with no desire to act on his personal opinions whatsoever, and that reaching out to him, even for the sake of his memories, would only sabotage his whole plan.

And now that he remembers, he's more sure than ever: it's better to act on the plan first, and only show him the result.

"Auntie Rin, are you listening?"

She looks down to see Naruto with his frog plushie up above his head.

"Ah, sorry, no. What did Gero-gero say?"

"He says I should have a little sister, but mummy keeps saying no!"

"Well, obviously you should back up Gero-gero, he can't convince your mummy alone. If you ask her both at the same time, I'm sure she'll say yes."

"Okay!"

"Rin!" screams Kushina from the couch, with false indignation. "Stop putting them against me!"

"I'm sorry. You are now in minority. Good luck."

"That is mutiny! I shall take offence! That will not stay unpunished!"

***

Obito remembering his past makes things easier. But it also makes things a lot more complicated. He's not the same person he used to be. He has travelled a lot to make Madara's dream come true, and he has seen things. He knows how people think, how people work, in the other countries. He knows how cruel people can be. He has seen what it was like, before the hidden villages were a thing, through the eyes of Madara. And he has seen that things are not that better now. People still fight, people still kill, they just are better organised.

No matter how people try to change things, it never really work, in the grand scheme of things.

And it makes Obito angry. He was already angry, before he remembered, but now, it's like that anger has become even more tangible. He's not going to stop what he has started. No, he's going to do it, all the way to the end, with even more determination.

Because he knows about Madara's brothers. He knows about Kushina's people. He knows about Kakashi's father. He knows about a lot of people from others countries, too, people Rin has never heard about, and never thought could suffer too, because that's not things the people up above let the people down under talk about, when the peace between wars never lasts more than a couple of years.

And the more Obito talks, the more Rin agrees with him. She is the lucky one, having the person she lost coming back to her. Others didn't have that chance. Others had to live entire lives with empty spaces beside them. They live in an endless cycle of wars, only separated by short moments made to prepare for the next one. And the cemeteries are always full, and the cenotaphs have new names written on them constantly, and every new death is the soil of a new grudge toward the enemy.

It's time to change things for real. Even if there are some sacrifices to be made along the way. Besides, it's Obito's dream now. He doesn't want to be Hokage any more, that title is just the symbol of this world's dictatorship, a pretty way to call the commander of radicalised children not allowed to think for themselves. He has been a Kage, once. Not officially, but in all the way that mattered. It only showed him just how rotten this world is, and how much it needs to change.

So Rin has a new dream, now. It's not helping Obito become Hokage any more. Now, it's to help Obito become the saviour of this world.

It's not that different, really. It's just the normal evolution of a dream that grew up, too.

***

"You look happier, these days," Anko notes when she comes to her with a corpse to examinate.

"Thank you."

"Did something happen? Did you and Kakashi had a cute date or something? Or did he try to be romantic and failed spectacularly?"

"No, that would be difficult, he's not even back from his mission, Anko."

"Then what? I want to know! I call dibs on the juicy blackmail stuff, don't forget that!" she jokes while hitting Rin's waist with her elbow.

"Don't sweat it, Anko, it's personal. But yeah, I did learn some good news recently. I don't want to talk about it now, but..."

"Buuuut you're smiling for the first time in forever. I get it, girl. Keep your secrets for now, and cut that dead man in pieces for me in the meantime, would you? I'll be waiting for the good food all the time you need!" 

She laughs as Anko winks at her before leaving, and then she starts working, alone in the cold mortuary, dissecting one of the Leaf's shinobi who's died from an unknown toxin used by the Mist, so she can know it's effects better.

And then, she hears the wind. It shouldn't be here, in a room with no windows, but she recognises the technique Obito uses to teleport. The next moment, he's here, his mask on, sitting on a chair a meter away from her. He doesn't say anything, he just watches her work, and she smiles while opening the intestines as far up as she can. It reminds her a bit of when the ghost of Obito was here with her, except this time, he's the real one.

"This one must have had a bad time before dying," she notes out loud like she always does. "The guts are blackened from the inside as if he'd eaten the poison, even though the entry point was clearly that kunai cut."

"Chakra?"

"That's always a possibility. The first question is always "toxin or jutsu". It could be both, I know the Mist has been experimenting things recently."

"The Mist?"

Obito gets up and look at the man. His mask is only centimetres away from the opened guts.

"Oooh, yeah, I recognise it. That's a mean one, but still experimental. If you open the kidneys, they should look the same."

She does, and like he says, the inside of the organs are as burned as the intestines.

"Sweet. Can you tell me more about it?"

Obito looks at Rin for a second, and laughs.

As he says everything he knows about the toxin in the greatest details he can, he puts an arm on her shoulder. The contact feels good. It's been a very, very long time since he last touched a human body without killing it. The heat soothes him, and he can hear every heartbeat under his fingers. Rin keeps opening the body, and as every discovery she makes, he gives her another tip. He knows that toxin well, he supervised it's creation after all. But who cares if Konoha knows about it, if it's so Rin can know everything about it?

She's always been curious. She's always loved to study and discover, even more in the medicine field. She learnt how to transplant eyes after studying Obito's own eyes, when they were searching for a way to activate his sharingan during their late Genin years. She could have become an incredible medic, or ever a surgeon, had tragedy not destroyed their future. She deserves better than staying alone in the mortuary. She deserves to be recognised as the incredible person she is.

"What at you thinking about?" Rin asks with a smile, her head still nested inside of his arms, her scalpel now cutting the spleen.

"That once we create a perfect world, you'll have better than the mortuary."

"Oh? Tell me more?"

"First thing, an office with big windows."

"Oh, good. It must have a view of the forest."

"We'll make sure of it. Oh, and people won't be creating poisons any more of course, so you can use your time for more interesting stuff."

"Huum... What to do with all that free time? Maybe I'll work on new medicines? Or surgery, maybe. That sounds good. You always need that, even in perfect worlds. And after that..."

***

Rin is a traitor to the Leaf, now, simply by keeping silent while knowing everything going on with the Akatsuki. She doesn't mind, for she's loyal to Obito first and the rest of the world second. So Obito has no problem telling her everything he knows.

"... and then Kakuzu said that if he was to spend a single more ryo on nail polish before the year ends, he's going to cut everyone's fingers so we don't need nail polish any more! Nagato was the most heartbroken but no one could see it because he hides his real face in the basement. But again, it's his fault, he has waaaay more fingers to paint than everyone else!"

Of course some informations are more problematic than others. But she listens to all of them without distinction, with a smile on her face and gentle nod for Obito to continue. It feels good to have her back, so much that even Akaktsuki members find him even more hyperactive than usual.

Since the plan is getting close, he finally took an official place in Akatsuki. He has a cloak with red clouds now, and a ring, and he names himself Tobi when regular shinobi have the misfortune to cross him. He told Zetsu if was a pun about the Tailed Beasts, but in truth it's Rin who called it that first. He has way too much fun with it, and can't help but tell her every single detail about his adventures with his terrorists friends, and how he drives some of them crazy, and how others are more annoyed by him than anything, and how some of them think he's being hilarious and add their bit for the hell of it. (Tobi is hereby forbidden of doing any more mission alongside Kisame. At least they gained a Tailed Beast out of it, and the Stone a new-found fear for shrimps. Don't ask.)

"... but never mind that. We do have some other stuff to do. We have located 7 of the 9 vessels, and figured how to take 5 of them. Zetsu wants to take them now, but Nagato says it'll be more efficient if we snatch everyone at the same time. Weeks apart at most. That way people from the villages won't be able to make a proper counter-attack."

"Do you have any idea where the last two are?"

"Yeah, they're just deserters. Once we locate them, they'll be the easiest to snatch without anyone noticing. The real problem are the vessels who have a public identity. Those are protected the best, we need to make a solid plan for each one."

"You're talking about Kushina?"

"She's definitely one of the trickiest. Not only is her seal very strong, she never leaves the village any more. And I'm pretty sure she has one of Minato's teleportation seals on her at all time. It will be difficult to take her tailed beast."

"Good thing you're keeping her for last."

"I guess."

She puts some of her food in front of her and some in front of Obito. It's useless for his organism, but he can at least taste it. He just can't swallow too much, as he hasn't eaten for literal years and his stomach is the size of an egg, but he likes to eat with Rin. It reminds him of the old times, when he was a normal human, with a normal dream and a life as normal as he could get.

He misses his old life, now that he remembers it. He didn't before, he only knew the cave. For years, it was only him, and Madara, and the plant people. He was happy as he could be. He was hurt, but he couldn't remember a time he wasn't. He was trapped, but he couldn't remember a time he was free. All he knew of the real world, he knew from Madara's stories. The Plan wasn't as much an evidence as the reason why he existed.

But now, he remembers. And he knows how he used to love his life, and the people in it. And it makes him angry, just thinking of everything he lost, just for a war that no one wanted except the Kage and their council. Even if he wanted, he wouldn't be able to come back to the Leaf. The Plan is the only thing he has left to have a normal life once again. No, not a normal life. A good one. As good as they can imagine it.

***

"Is something happening?" Kakashi asks when he comes back from his secret mission in some country in the north that he legally can't talk about.

"Nothing important."

Kakashi frowns. He has been by her side for years now, and he knows her better than the others.

"You are hiding something from me."

"Maybe it's personal."

"Rin..."

"Listen. I just want to be happy today, is that too much to ask?"

"Why would you want to be happy today in particular?"

"Since when do we need a reason? Maybe I'm just tired of being sad. It's not what Obito would have wanted. He would want us to be happy, so, from now on, I'm going to be happy, got it?"

"Okay but what's the real reason?"

"You really want to know?"

"Of course."

She smiles, and whispers in his ear:

"Kushina is pregnant again. But don't tell the boys, they don't know yet."

Kakashi lift his eyebrows.

"Again? Minato is going to panic."

"Obviously. That's why we're not telling him yet. Let Kushina deal with it."

***

She knows that Akatsuki is moving before any village even know of it. Obito lays the whole plan on front of her, listens to her inputs. And when they starts moving, she follows the plan in her head, predicts which Vessel is to be taken soon.

"Mercenaries are moving," she hear people say. "They are attacking a lot of different villages these days."

"Yeah, I've heard they attacked the Sand, recently. They even kidnapped the Kazekage's youngest child."

"Do you think they want a ransom?"

"No idea. The Kazekage didn't receive any letter, from what's I've heard."

Shinobis on Konoha are warned to look for any cloak with red clouds on it, without knowing that the most dangerous one can simply teleport in the middle of the village and stay there without being seen. And, one by one, every Vessel disappears. The firsts one are the deserters that no one knows about. Then the least protected one, like the children. Then, the stronger shinobis are targeted. One day, the Mizukage himself disappears without a trace and without any trace of fight, and no one knows how it happened. Except Akatsuki, of course. And Rin, who knows now why Obito doesn't want to be a Kage any more. Then, tired of being trapped in his own village, the Raikage's younger brother escapes one day. No one ever finds him again, and Rin is one of the only one who knows just how difficult he was to capture every time until the end.

And soon enough, Kushina is the only one left. She's been hidden deeper than reasonable, underground in Konoha's tunnels for months, now that her pregnancy makes her even more vulnerable than usual. Obito made sure to warp the plan around her due date, and now, the Nine Tails is the only beast left.

Rin is one of Kushina's midwives, since she is one of the only ones who know about her pregnancy, and one of the few people they trust with that knowledge. They keep Minato away from Kushina by making the last members of Akatsuki publicly kidnap Naruto. It makes things awfully easy for Obito to teleport exactly where and when he needs to, right as Rin is holding Kushina's newborn daughter. They're guarded by way too many Anbu to count, but none of them lasts more than a few seconds.

Rin makes sure to keep close to Kushina when Obito reaches for her. And then, they are away, at the other side of the country, in the middle of a circle Obito drew beforehand. Kushina tries to get free, but she hasn't recovered yet. She realises, though, that something went horribly wrong.

"Rin, what are you doing?" she asks.

"Only what needs to be done. Don't worry, Kushina, it won't last long. If we work fast enough, you'll even be alive for the great finale."

"What great finale?"

"The moment when everything is good again, obviously."

"But why... would you betray the village like that?"

"I'm not. I've only been loyal to one person, and this is the person I'm helping right now."

She turns toward Obito, who activates his technique as soon as she gets away from the circle. It takes only seconds to break the weakened seal and free the Nine Tail, and just as much to trap him in a genjutsu.

"We need to go, Minato can come here at any moment."

He's still busy with Akatsuki, but who knows how long it will take him to save Naruto, come back to the hideout, and realise something happened?

"Who are you?" Kushina asks.

"Me? I'm Tobi. You should know about that, I'm sure Minato told you everything he could."

"I know that. Who are you, really?"

Obito ponders for a time.

"You know what? I can tell, now. There is not much time left after all."

And he puts his mask away. And of course, Kushina recognises him right away. Her eyes widen, and she looks from Obito to Rin to Obito again as they both get close to the hypnotised Nine Tail and touch one of his paw to teleport away.

"Oh. Oh, I see why. Rin, you..."

She doesn't have time to say anything else. Someone appears above her, near to her belly. It's not Minato, even though it's definitely Minato's technique. It's Kakashi. Minato taught him his technique, she knows. And if he's here, then Minato realised the Akatsuki is a diversion and sent him while he's stuck saving Naruto.

He jumps toward them without even thinking, and Obito activates his eyes. In seconds, they are teleported far away, exactly at the middle of the continent.

 Right in front of the great statue, eight of it's eyes open.

It's only when he lets her arm go that Rin realises Kakashi was teleported with them. She turns toward him, but he doesn't seem to see her. He's looking at Obito's bare face, who is busy activating the statue to trap the last Beast inside it.

"... Obito?"

He turns around for a bit, without going back to the statue.

"Rin, can you tell him everything? I'm a little busy right now."

"Sure."

"Rin," Kakashi says. "You... you knew about him? You knew he was alive and you didn't tell me?"

"Of course I didn't tell you, you would have run to Minato otherwise. It's a good thing you're here, though. Now we can tell you without putting the plan at risk."

"What plan?"

Behind them, the statue finishes absorbing the Nine Tails and starts screaming and ripping the ground open. Each of his arms and legs destroying part of the land. And then, Obito jumps on it, and the next thing they know, there is light and noise everywhere. Kakashi grabs Rin and run away as fast as he can.

"Rin, what is this plan? What did you sacrifice Kushina and Minato and Naruto over?" he pleads as he runs.

"A good thing, Kakashi. A better world, for everyone. We can make a world where we never lost Obito, where the war never happened, where Kushina doesn't have to be a living bomb, even where your dad is still alive!"

He stops. Behind them, the light has faded, but they can still hear screams.

"Rin. I don't know... how Obito is still alive, and what he has told you, but that plan can't be real. You can't change the past."

"Oh, I know. But I know everything about the plan, and I trust Obito to make it work."

"You know about it?"

"He told me all about it, I even helped him work on some parts so it would be more efficient."

"And you didn't tell me he was alive? All this time?"

"We didn't want you to feel guilty. Now, look. The last part is finally getting started."

Behind them, a gigantic tree is growing, so tall it reaches the sky, so wide it covers it. And at the top of it, there is a single flower on her way to blossom fully.

"What is that?"

"That is the beginning of a new world. A better world."

"You're being delusional, Rin."

"No, I think you're the one who needs to open his eyes. There, look."

Beside them, Obito is here. He's changed again, and barely looks human any more. Rin thinks he's beautiful. Kakashi doesn't seem to think the same, as he tries to attack him, but any weapon he throws goes through the white, floating body of the Ten Tail Vessel.

Then, as easily as catching a kitten, he take Kakashi and Rin in his arms.

"There, here we go."

"I... don't want you great world or whatever, Obito!" Kakashi screams as he tries to get free.

"Oh, it's not going to be a great world. It'll just be as good as we can imagine it."

"Because it makes it better?"

Obito doesn't answer. He flies, up and up, while the roots of the tree below them run on the earth's surface, toward everywhere at once. And then, they are in the sky, and Rin doesn't see anything else than the moon, and Obito's eye inside of it.

***

The sky is clear, today. It's a good thing, after an entire week of rain. Kakashi has taken the kids outside, and is watching them play while reading a book under the tree.

"This is how you babysit? How shameful."

He looks up to see Obito and Rin, smiling like they just learnt new blackmail material.

"Don't worry, they know how to play by themself. They're been building a tree house, see?"

It doesn't look like a tree house, since Naruto insisted on making the roof first and Sasuke ignored him as he made something vaguely looking like a floor.

"Are you not going to help them?"

"Better if they learn by themselves. If things get too dangerous, I'll body flicker to them. What are you doing here?"

"Gai is searching for you, he said something about a challenge. We're just here to warn you."

"Well, I'd better get ready, then. If I am ever taken, will you look after the boys for me? I don't want Kushina to think I left them alone."

"Sure thing."

They sit next to him, Obito in the middle of them and Rin at the other side of him. He keeps his eyes on the book but isn't really reading. He's listening to Obito and Rin's mindless bickering. They're talking about nothing in particular, Kushina's daughter's first words, Asuma and Kurenai's engagement, the academy's upcoming student exchange with the Wind's academy, or Rin's last paper about transplant rejection risks for eye surgery getting published soon. He's used to it: the both of them talking, and him listening, sometimes adding something and making Obito start arguments just for the sake of it.

At some point, Obito stops talking. He looks up, his eyes looking at nothing in particular. He frowns a bit for a second, and then, as if nothing happened, he leans against the tree trunk with a smile.

"Something wrong?" Rin asks.

"Nothing important, it's taken care of."

Kakashi looks up. For a second, Obito's eye seems to shine a bit. It's vaguely purple, but as soon as he sees it, it disappears again. It's not the first time it happens. Once he swore Obito had horns of all things. He should ask Rin to check his eyes again. She's told him how reading during the night isn't helping his eyesight, but he keeps doing it anyway. He's pretty sure all her academic research is because of him nowadays.

He has to stop thinking about that when Gai arrives in all his loud glory. He closes his book and gets up, letting Obito and Rin get more comfortable against the tree.

"Whelp, time to go. I leave the children to you."

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Have fun!"

And soon he's racing against Gai around the whole village, under the sun that finally appeared after a week of rain and the familiar sight of the shiny red moon that never leaves the sky any more.