8 Backlash

Obito was crouched low on a building overlooking a concession stand that Rin had stopped at. He had been following for a little over 10 minutes, trying to figure out how he would approach her. He thought it'd be pretty weird for him to just jump off the building and say "Hey Rin. I'm fine now." He knew it wouldn't work because it sounded stupid.

'Fuck this.' He thought. He jumped down just as she finished buying her treat.

"U-uh, Rin." He didn't know how to start but at least he said something to her.

She turned around, recognizing his voice. When she saw him her eyes softened. "Obito…"

She trailed off as well, not knowing what to say. They both stared at each other for what seemed a millennia, everything and everyone else fading away. That was broken when she reached out to him, gently grabbing ahold of his hand and staring into his eyes.

Somehow, someway he was able to put on a poker face. It was an attempt to hide what he was feeling, something he would probably have to do the longer he remained here. It was his only defense against the intensity of Rin's deep brown eyes, the only thing keeping his from hugging her and telling her he was sorry for what he did.

He might just have to stop looking his team in his eyes for a while. He didn't know if his poker face was working but he really wished he had a mask right about now. They did really well in hiding his emotion, especially the ones that appeared in his eyes.

Rin poked him in the nose and he blinked, confused.

"Don't do that." She commanded with a mixture of a frown and pout. It might've been cute if her voice wasn't so full of worry. "I know you're hiding what you feel from me. Please, Obito. Please tell me what's going on. We can help you."

Obito took her hands into his gently and looked down at the ground to avoid her gaze. Then he stepped back. "The only way to help me is to let me deal with this on my own." He shot her the best smile he could. "Please don't worry. Everything will go back to normal before you know it. You trust me right?"

"I do, but-"

"Then trust me on this." Obito interrupted. "I won't fail."

Rin didn't look convinced but said nothing more and mustered her own smile. "Ok, but I want to know about this if whatever is happening doesn't get better. Promise me that."

"I promise." Obito knew it would be the only way to for her to leave the situation alone. For now at the very least. It was all he needed though. Time.

XxX

'Kaguya, Kaguya, Kaguya," Minato muttered over and over as he searched books in the library. He had a Flying Thunder God seal placed practically everywhere in the village. One such place was the Shinobi library where he was searching for that name.

It was weird. The name itself just put him on edge. He didn't know why, but that didn't matter. The fact Obito talked about it with so much fear? Maybe sever caution? The blonde didn't know. But he'd have to find out who this was.

He pulled out another book, stacking it with four other books he had already picked up. This was most likely going to take a while but he could read fast. He had to find out whatever person could change Obito so drastically. What person by name alone could make even him tense up. He had to find out, no matter what.

XxX

'Please god let this be over.' Kakashi thought in exasperation as Kushina pulled him with an iron grip to just about every shop in the market district. She asked the same question over and over.

Did he want anything?

His answer was obvious to anyone who knew him and he was sure she knew he'd say no but she asked away. It wasn't like he was ungrateful or anything but he just wanted to be alone in his thoughts for a bit.

"How about here?" She had dragged him into another clothing store. His feet had been dragging into the dirt for so long that it brought dirt in the shop with them. "Want anything?"

"No, I really, really don't want anything. Can we just go to your house?" They had already bought the dinner she was going to cook for the whole team. She was planning to talk to Obito herself and dinner was just the right excuse to do so naturally.

She grinned at his expression. "Ok, ok you big baby. We can go ahead now." She laughed at the deadpanned expression he shot at her.

"Anyway," her voice dipped. "Now we just need to find Obito. Didn't you say you last saw him on the Hokage's Rock?"

"Yea, don't know if he's still there though." Kakashi answered, mildly skimming through his mind on where the Uchiha could be if not there.

"Well that's just fine," Kushina said, handing him the bag with the groceries she was going to cook with. "Can you bring this to my house and set it out? I wanna find Obito and bring him myself." Kakashi nodded and she said, "Might even get something out of him."

"I can start the udon since I know how to make that a little but you'll have to do the rest." Kakashi said, repositioning the bag to where it would be comfortable for him to travel with.

"Of course," she grinned and ruffled his hair. "Thank you, Kakashi. I'll make sure to give you more broth. Especially since you don't really like anything fried."

"Don't worry about it." He said, waving her hand away.

"But I wanna make sure every one enjoys it, dattebane. I'm not cooking too much pork cutlets though."

"It's fine." Kakashi said one last time before turning and walking off in the direction of her house.

The grin left her face as she walked off herself. Where would she find Obito? He could still be at the Hokage Rock. It was unlikely but it was worth a shot. She probably should've asked him how long it was till he last saw him but she could safely assume that it was almost forty minutes because she had spent about that amount of time with Kakashi.

Sighing almost inaudibly, she began her search for Obito.

XxX

Shikaku Nara had sighed at just how many books were stacked neatly on the dull brown shelves of the Shinobi Library. Of course he would have to deliver books to the information unit so that they could update the information. He wanted to sigh again at just how long the list was in his hand. And he would have to bring it all by himself.

Well he would've if he hadn't committed an underhanded crime on one of his best friend. Said best friend had about the same look he did when he remembered the list. "All these damn books," he complained. "I honestly don't know how I got roped into this."

Surprisingly, Shikaku had been the first to at least attempt to start. "Well, can't keep complaining about it. Might as well get it over with." He mentally thanked his luck when the first book he needed happened to be in front of him.

Inoichi still frowned but grabbed half of the list. "Easy for you to say," he grumbled, already picking out his own first book while Shikaku found his second.

"Stop your complaining. I'll buy dinner, how's that sound?" Shikaku asked, wanting to get him somehow to stop complaining. He was complaining to himself mentally enough. He didn't need to hear more of it aloud.

"I think you're speaking my language."

At Inoichi's light tone, Shikaku rolled his eye and laid down another book. "Lazy."

"I think that's the last thing you of all people could say to anyone." Inoichi grew a curious look. "Well except for your son."

Ugh, the blonde just had to bring that up.

The last part of that sentence had teasing written all over it. Shikaku just groaned. "Just get to work."

"Hey is that Minato?"

"Hmm," Shikaku turned slowly to a table where there was a large stack of bocks piled up. And in the middle of that was none other than the Yellow Flash himself.

And he didn't look to be enjoying himself. No, in fact it was quite the opposite.

The blonde sighed defectively as he closed the 5 book he skimmed through. It had been like this ever since he heard that name.

Kaguya.

He couldn't get it out of his mind no matter how much he tried. It had gotten so out of hand that he decided it would be best to see if Konoha had any information on this Kaguya.

To both his disappointment and frustration, there wasn't much. The most he found was about a nomadic clan that had no ties to any Village. Even then there wasn't any recent activity of the clan that had been documented. It only led him to believe the clan was either extinct or dormant.

Either way both theories led to the same conclusion. They couldn't have been involved with Obito.

'Then why did he write this name in such a way?' Minato thought, humming slightly. 'It was almost like a warning. No that was exactly what it was.'

So caught up his thoughts he didn't see Shikaku and Inoichi approach him until there were already standing in front of him.

Minato only raised an eyebrow.

"Um, Minato," Inoichi had been the one to speak. "What are you doing? You're kinda embarrassing yourself." He said that last part to himself.

"Ah," Minato laid the book he just read in another pile and grabbed another book from a second pile. "Just looking for something is all."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow himself. "With that type of look on your face?"

Minato blinked and brought a hand up to his face. He looked a little bit embarrassed. "Um, what face?"

"The 'I'm trying to kill you face' you got going on. You're scaring people." Shikaku pointed out.

Minato chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. "Really? I had that face? I-I never noticed."

"Never mind that," Inoichi looked absolutely confused. "What are you looking for anyway? This seems like a lot of books."

Seeing Minato's face fall had both the Jounin's gaining questionable looks. "Ah, it's just something I think is troublesome. Something I have to deal with."

Shikaku knew from the blonde's eyes that he was only telling half of it. "Is it a threat to the Village?"

Minato shrugged, unsure. Shikaku knew this was the full truth. "That's what I'm trying to find out. I'm not having much luck but I also just started so I can't count myself out. Not yet at least."

He had to know what happened to his student no matter what. And he would know one way or the other. He found himself with no other choice.

"Would you like help?" Surprisingly, Shikaku had been the one to ask. He pulled a chair and sat across from the blonde. Even Inoichi raised an eyebrow.

"Um, sure." He replied dumbly as he blinked. What brought all this on was anyone's guess.

Shikaku skimmed through the covers of the books. "What's the criteria we're looking for?"

"Anyone with the name Kaguya or some type of ability under the same name."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow as he picked up the first book off the smallest stack. "Why the sudden interest?"

Minato frowned and slowly said, "It's caught my attention."

Both of his friends raised an eyebrow. "Sure." Shikaku muttered before turning to Inoichi. "You should keep finding those books. It'll be easier to do two things at once."

Inoichi shrugged, not know the hole he dug himself in. "Sure."

XxX

Kushina was a fiery individual. It was a well known fact about her. But what wasn't well know was her fiery personality being directed towards a goal— well, other than hurting someone who happened to catch her in a bad mood.

That goal was to find and talk to Obito. She had heard what Kakashi had said about him but knew she needed her own opinion. What really surprised her was the fact that Kakashi said he lost his brightness. What could that have meant and, if true, what happened to him for that to have happened. She was sure they hadn't been out of the village in a couple of weeks, despite the war.

That brought her thoughts elsewhere. What would she say to him when she found him? She knew she could find him thanks to her special chakra. That wasn't the problem. How exactly would she start the conversation? Oh, hey Obito. Kakashi told me that you awakened the Sharingan and lost the brightness inside you. No, that would be stupid.

She rubbed her crimson locks, slightly leaving them slightly in disarray. She couldn't think of an approach that wouldn't be weird or awkward. Her face scrunched up when she used both her hands to smack her cheeks. She was Kushina Uzumaki! She couldn't let awkwardness keep her from helping her favorite of Minato's students! She had to say something!

While this ran through her mind, her physical display had passerby's looking at her as if she was crazy. Some even had the gall to say it and she heard it. That was all it took for her quick fuse to be set off as she whirled her head to face the man who recoil led visibly at the sight.

"What'd you say about me, huh?!" She yelled with gritted teeth. "Don't be a pussy, I'm right here! Say it to my face!"

The man surprisingly gained his composure and stood to full height. He easily towered over the red head but she wasn't frightened in the least. She'd seen squirrels scarier than this chump.

"You deaf or something, bitch?" The man snarled, glaring as he stepped up slightly. "I said your—"

He was stopped abruptly when a fist smashed into his jaw, sending a tooth flying as he tumbled to the ground. He spit the blood from his mouth and quickly got up with a glare.

Blood running down his lip, he gritted, "You'll pay for that!"

Her face hardened in barely restrained anger. "Just try it!"

He was about to lunge at her when a small voice broke through their little… moment.

"U-Um, Kushina-née? What's going on?" Kushina turned to see a very concerned Rin and to her surprise, Obito who was looking oddly analytic.

Obito was looking between the two, clearly he could see that she had hit him over an argument of some kind. It kinda made him wonder who in their right mind would even attempt to argue with her, knowing her reputation.

"Oh, nothing." She lied sweetly, a slight curve of her lip trying desperately to turn into a smile. She knew that she had been warned not to engage in anymore street brawls by the Hokage, but she just couldn't help it. She was easy to anger and was already frustrated. All she needed was a trigger for that short fuse. "Just having a little trouble."

The way Rin's face had twisted had showed the young kunoichi hadn't believed a word of that sentence. But she was to shy to really say that out loud.

"I don't think this is a little trouble." Obito copied pointedly, his expression deadpan as he pointed a finger.

"I'm telling you it's not what it looks like!" She cried out defensively. Yep, she was definitely in deep shit now. Hiruzen wouldn't take this lightly and she almost grimaced at that can of worms.

"I-I believe you, Kushina-née." Rin supplied slowly, red marring her features. That didn't sound at all convincing.

However, the red head went with it. "See, it's nothing."

Her adversary seemed to have different thoughts, obviously he didn't take a punch to the jaw lightly. "You think this is nothing, bitch! You have another thing coming!" He made to lunge at her once again but was again stopped. This time it wasn't by a voice or even physically. It was a cold, deadly feeling that rose all the hairs on his skin. Instinctively, he stepped back all of the anger leaving him. He felt overwhelmed from the strange pressure putting his senses in overdrive.

His head drifted to the source. It was the googles wearing idiot he'd seen before. But now, he looked like no idiot. His face hadn't changed but his eyes— those eyes. They held absolute darkness.

"Get lost." Those words rang through his head over and over before he all but ran away.

The three watched his retreating form and Obito closed his eyes, releasing his killing intent just as suddenly as it appeared. He sighed audibly as his face relaxed. He needed that. It was a bit unnecessary but it relieved some stress and got rid of an annoyance. It was a win win.

Unfortunately, the two females had different opinions on the matter. He froze when he realized he'd just messed up hard.

"Obito," Kushina's voice had hardened as if she was facing an enemy, changing from the light sweet tone it had been earlier. "What the hell was that?"

Obito only stared. Rin looked between the two, clearly nervous while her eyes held fear.

Seeing that look, Obito lowered his head. "I'm sorry. It was nothing." He muttered, tone devoid of emotion.

This was what Kakashi was talking about. The second she looked into his eyes she knew something was different—wrong. That brightness… that naïveté was all gone. And the only thing that replaced it was a cold, dead look that even she couldn't place. As minute as it was, even his chakra was different. It was more dark—deep, almost sad but it had a sense of calm. She honestly couldn't describe what she felt in words. It was simply too weird.

Obito what happened to you?

Tense was the silence that swept through the three. The only thing changing it were the bustling of the village that now just seemed so far away. It was like they were in an whole different world from everyone else around them.

Obito broke through the silence with a muzzled cough. "You came to speak to me, née-Chan. I can tell."

Kushina swallowed. She almost couldn't bear that look in her eye. "I," she tried but her voice cracked. She sighed but it came out shaky. She turned minutely. "Just follow me."

When she began to walk the two Genin followed behind.

XxX

Kakashi was humming a light tone, watching the udon boil in the pot as he leaned on the counter across from the stove. He was thinking but it wasn't too deep; he'd done enough of that for one day.

He was donning Kushina's pink apron he was sure was a gift from Mikoto. It might've been a little embarrassing but it was comfortable and keep him from making a mess on his own clothing. But still, he was glad no one was here to see it.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Minato appeared in a yellow flash right in front of him. Minato blinked owlishly upon seeing him and Kakashi stared back, glad for the mask covering his Redding cheeks.

Minato gave a small smile, chuckling a small bit. "Uh, hi Kakashi. Didn't expect to see you here. What are you doing here anyway?"

Kakashi regained his composure quickly and pointed behind the Jounin. "Starting dinner for Kushina-née." He said when Minato turned.

Minato nodded and turned back to his student. "I see. You must've meet back up with her after the briefing." Minato gave a reading smile. "But why the apron?"

Dammit, he thought he got away with it.

The embarrassment came back even worse. "You have nothing to say." He said turning his back to Minato and crossing his arms. "I've seen you wear this too."

Minato wasn't embarrassed though, shrugging lightly. "I never said anything was wrong with it. Pink is a good color."

Kakashi's nose twitched and he ran over to pot. "Crap, it's going to burn!"

Minato was over the stove fast. "More water needs to be in there, Kakashi. How much did you even put in there?" In his rush to pick the pot up, he forgotten just how long it had been under the heater. Only when he picked it up did he react.

He yelled loudly, tossing the pot into the air and away as he tried dealing with the burning sensation on his palms. As they slightly burnt udon flew through the air, Kushina, Obito, and Rin chose that moment to enter the house, watching it splat on the floor.

Suddenly a heavy pressure filled the house and Rin flinched away from the red-head as she looked ready to burst. Slowly and shakily, she lifted a tightly clenched fist into the air and glared at the two idiots like a burning sun.

"YOU'RE DEAD!"

Kakashi and Minato began cleaning the kitchen floor with steaming heads as Kushina stalked off to her bedroom she shared with Minato.

"Uh, what happened?" Rin asked unsurprisingly, a nervous sweat still dripping from the pressure of Kushina's rage. She felt like Kushina was about to kill them all.

Kakashi looked up from drying up surprisingly hot water with a blank expression. "Sensei thought it was a smart idea to grab a boiling pot by the sides with his bare hands."

"I-I thought is was burning." Minato defended weakly, udon slipping from his hand.

To the side, Obito was looking at the scene with a small hint of amusement from his slightly curved lip. He wanted to laugh along with them but knew he didn't deserve that. He didn't even deserve to be with them. To see them alive and well. The amusement went away quickly and was replaced by a small but bittersweet frown. He looked off to the side but suddenly fell down, clenching his burning eye with a startling loud yell.

His teammates looked at him with varying surprise as Kushina stepped back into the room. He writhed in pain as blood seeped through his finger clutching the eye. It was all a blur to the Uchiha but he felt he was being moved as someone called his name in worry.

He felt himself drifting off but he could tell it had been the Sharingan that was the cause. 'Fuck.' Was the only thing he could think when the memories from his clone came rushing back and he fell unconscious.

XxX

Minato sighed worryingly as he stood on the bedside of a sleeping Obito. Bandages had been wrapped around his eyes by Kushina and Rin when they had finally stopped the bleeding. It had been several hours since then and the Uchiha showed no sign of waking up. They had been considering taking the raven to the hospital but wanted to wait until they could see if he was fine. Rin had found nothing wrong with him nor had Kushina trying to use chakra to pinpoint the problem. Though she did tell him his chakra felt different then usual. But they all confirmed that he had indeed had a Sharingan and Minato eyes narrowed when it wasn't the same three Tomoe familiar pattern.

He glanced over to his student, hand tightening. "Obito what's happening to you?" He asked in a whisper-like tone. He sighed once more and got up, looking over to the dresser that set bedside. He walked over to it and opened it to find the notebook he found at Obito's flat.

He opened it and read what it said again. It didn't have any full sentences; just names and places. The one that struck out was Kaguya's, of course but he had searched even more for the name and only found a Clan that went by it. But they were nomadic and were said to have died out some time ago. They were bloodthirsty but there weren't any strong notable members. Not even the past Clan leader.

He didn't want to but, perhaps he'd ask Inoichi to take a look at it. It was the only way he could know what happen without the Genin telling him.

Dejected and worried, the blonde left the room.

XxX

"Are you sure you're ok, née-Chan?" Rin asked in worry, keeping her voice low from Minato who had just walked away.

Tentatively, the red-head rubbed her stomach, drawing circles around the seal. "Yea, I just think he's upset. More than usual."

"I really think you should tell Sensei." Kakashi told her, arms folded as he slightly leaned on the counter. Somehow he failed to notice he still had the pink apron on. "It'll only get worse the more you hide it."

She sighed and rubbed a hand through her locks. "I know, it's just— Minato he's so worried about Obito that I don't wanna give him something else to worry about."

"But that stomach ache was pretty bad. You almost fainted." Kakashi pressed.

"I know and I'll handle it." She said walking to the door. "Keep an eye an both of the other idiots. You know what trouble they could get in. And make sure Obito doesn't get up the minute he wakes up."

"I'll try." Rin said and Kakashi nodded. The watched as the door shut behind her before Rin sighed quite loudly and sunk into the living room couch, looking up into the ceiling. "What's going on?"

Kakashi wanted to reassure her but he knew it would only be more of false hope than anything else. He simply chose to say nothing and turned from her to look at the blank tv.

Kakashi had very sharp ears and heard his Sensei speak about something in the next room over. It was a bunch of names and places scattered but it was when he said one name that the Hatake felt all sorts of things. Ranging from fear to deja vu.

He wondered who was Kaguya.

XxX

Obito gasp loudly as he shot up, holding his head. Still breathing loudly, the Uchiha took in his surroundings. He was in a azure plan, streaking light passing by in the sky as he caught his breath.

"Where," he sat up slowly. "Am I?"

"We are in an entirely different plane of existence." A voice answered behind him and he turned immediately to see the Sage Of Six Paths with a light smile.

"Sage?"

"I see you are…accommodating quite well." The Sage said.

"I suppose." The Uchiha answered slowly. "What are you here for? I was under the impression that I wouldn't see you again."

The Sage hummed, bringing up his palm. "When I connected my chakra with yours it gave my soul something to latch on to. With this connection I should be able to slip into your subconscious if I were to use your chakra, like I'm doing now."

"So you use my chakra to contact me. Are you here to help give this place a future?"

The Sage nodded, lowering his palm and staring into the Uchiha's eyes. "Somewhat. I suppose I'm just here to see the decisions you make and what type of man this'll make you."

Obito's eyes narrowed and bile filled his words. "Are you using me for some type of experiment?"

The Sage raised his hand. "Of course not, young Uchiha. I'm simply using this to see what you turn out to be and the decisions that will shape that."

Obito crossed his arms, his face softening back to neutral. "So you're not here trying to give me advice? Just to watch my decisions."

"Not necessarily." The Sage answered, again lowering his hand as he looked towards his robes. "I'll be able to talk to you anytime as I'll just be another voice in your head until you've been injured enough to come to this plane. I'll set you on the right path if need be. But I believe you do not require assistance."

Obito could feel it. Hope. The hope the Sage had in him that he could actually contribute to a better future. He could feel no lie and no amount of doubt and it was startling. He had just been an enemy of the world. He killed without mercy or hesitation and did all of that in the name of escaping reality. And despite his that, the Old Sage believed in him.

Determination filled his gaze and he looked the Sage right in the eyes. "I won't let you down. You or Naruto."

Suddenly, the Uchiha felt a strong pull on his chakra. "W-What's going on?"

"It seems our time in the plane together has come to an end. Your chakra is running low and you will die unless we leave now. Naturally, your body is attempting to fight against it but it will only leave if you want it to." That Sage explained.

"Then I'll be going." Said Obito. "I can't die yet, not when the future is on the line."

"Do well, Obito."

XxX

"What could she have called me this late for?" Biwako wife of the Third Hokage asked waiting on Kushina to meet with her.

She wondered if something happened with the seal or anything else of real importance. The red-head was lucky she happened to be up and happened to like her quite a bit. Although she liked the younger woman her temper was something she couldn't get rid of. She heard about the little scuffle the red-head got into.

She was interrupted when a servant came in. "Lady Biwako, Lady Kushina has arrived and is being escorted in."

She nodded. "Thank you Mary. Please take the rest of the night off."

The servant now named Mary nodded in thanks. "Thank you, malady." She exited the room and Kushina walked in.

Biwako certainly didn't like the look on her face.