Chapter 26

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It was unlike him to give up so easily, especially concerning the people he cared for so dearly. "You're not… You're not giving up are you? I mean, just because the clan is constantly moving and difficult to track doesn't mean that—"

"Oh no, I think you misunderstood my statement," the shorter blonde interrupted, his smile still in place. When the other two looked at him uncomprehendingly, he elaborated.

"They are a small group of barbaric, war-loving individuals that move independently. Don't get me wrong, that actually makes it much easier," Minato quipped easily with a cheerful lilt. The suddenly frigid gaze his azure eyes took on made Inoichi and Shikaku tense.

The smile itself still appeared warm, but the eyes. The eyes were frightening, and promised a world of pain. "… There won't be any political disputes if a nomadic clan is suddenly wiped out, since they don't have any ties to a village. Not to mention, since they are small, I'll know that any Kaguya I find is that much more likely to be the one I'm looking for." He paused as a thoughtful look crossed his face, not noticing the looks of horror that the other two present had. "… With their history, I doubt they would give up the perpetrator without a fight, anyway."

He turned back to the other two and smiled before giving a wave, and without another word, the blonde Hiraishin'd out of the room.

The spell broke, and the remaining two both breathed out the air they didn't realize they were holding. They sat in silence for a few moments before Inoichi turned to Shikaku with a wry smile. "… Er. R-remind me to never get on Minato's bad side, because to use your saying… It'd be rather…"

Shikaku sighed as he shook off the remaining vestiges of fear that had gripped him, unbidden. The word was muttered lowly with a scowl. "…Troublesome."

Violet eyes took in the bleak surroundings as the red-head gave a little huff in discontent.

Kushina didn't like hospitals. In fact, she hated them, what with how many times she had come to visit friends that had come in injured, many with death looming over them threateningly. It was the first time in many years that she had been the one admitted, but that only made her dislike it even more. It meant that she would be spending more than a few hours in the room that smelled of harsh chemicals and sickness.

With a sigh, she leaned back to plop onto the none-too-comfortable pillow attached to the raised incline of her bed. Her hand reached her stomach as she recalled her checkup.

The tests had returned, and the results had been worrying, in the worst sense possible. Absolutely nothing was wrong with her, but she knew better than that. There was something, something out of place, something wrong. She just couldn't figure out what.

She glanced down at her bare midriff with a frown. Outwardly, it was true that nothing was wrong. She could channel chakra into the seal to make it appear, and it disappeared with ease—no pain, no abnormalities. And yet, she was almost certain that her fainting spells had to do with the fox.

Kushina shook her head as she turned to face the window, which gave her a pleasant view of the village she had come to adore.

She could only hope that the foreboding feeling she had wouldn't harm the people she loved.

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Obito walked through the crowded streets of his home village, humming a random tune as his eyes drifted and took in his surroundings.

He had just finished another D-Rank with Team Seven and decided to take to the streets, wandering around while admiring the fact that Konoha was alive and bustling. It was a habit he had picked up when he arrived in the past.

He spent much of his free time either at the Hokage Monument or meandering about the place, absorbing every minute detail that he had missed when he was younger and more prone to taking advantage of the peaceful life.

Obito probably wouldn't have developed the little ritual had Team Seven been out of the village and handling C-Ranks(as they had been the first time around at this point in time), but the man-boy had apparently changed enough to the point where that simply wasn't happening this time.

They had been stuck with D-Ranks for a couple of weeks now, and as such it was easy for Obito to adopt the habit of quite literally walking down memory lane.

He was happy with the new arrangement if one were to ask, but the prolonged periods of time where he was alone made it difficult to keep up his metaphorical mask of 'younger Obito.'

Transitioning from his normal demeanor to what he remembered of his old self was no easy task, and while it would have been near impossible to maintain the facade over the course of a week-long C-Rank, it was also difficult to switch between the two when needed or when off-duty.

It was ironic, but in this case, the fact that Obito had been disoriented and with a death-wish when he first met up with his team at the hospital actually worked in his favor.

He was not the best actor when dealing with his loved ones, and as such, he tended to have small slip-ups where he would zone out and think about the past and future.

Luckily, both Kakashi and Rin seemed to attribute his sudden absence of mind to the traumatic event that they suspected him having experienced.

It wasn't exactly a lie, of course, and it was easy to use that to his advantage.

Obito had indeed changed due to a traumatic event… Though, it was less like the two-day-long one that they assumed it was and actually more of a near-twenty-year period of hatred, pained memories, and insanity.

They didn't know that though, of course.

A shock of golden-blonde hair spotted in Obito's peripheral's made him spin abruptly to the source.

He smiled as he recognized the figure and hurried to catch up with his sensei, who appeared to be somewhat lost in his own thoughts.

At least the sickly pallor he had a while ago was gone; he was still a little pale and seemingly drained of energy, but his spirits were certainly lighter than they had been.

"Minato-sensei!" The blonde looked up as Obito fell into step beside him, a grin in place. "What were you up to? I rarely see you these days."

Minato offered a small smile in acknowledgement of the boy's greeting. "Hello to you too, Obito. And I was actually on my way to the Hokage tower…" He trailed off, a thoughtful frown in place.

"… Sorry, I know I haven't really been around lately. Business and duties to take care of. But that reminds me." The blonde scratched the back of his head, as though nervous about something.

"I, uh… I wanted to know, how are the living arrangements for you?"

Obito blinked. "… Huh?"

"Ah, well, I've been busy with other things lately, as you know…" Minato gave a nervous chuckle at Obito's gaze. "I wasn't really able to ask until now. I'm really sorry about that, I wanted to make sure that you were completely comfortable at the apartment, but I never got around to doing so. Kushina wanted to make sure that you were fine with things, too, even though she hasn't been home for a while."

The Uchiha didn't miss how Minato failed to answer exactly what was going on. While he had made a silent promise to wait until the man told Obito himself, it didn't mean that the man-boy couldn't try and squeeze some information out of the blonde.

He was worried, and some reassurance could help. "Speaking of which, sensei… both you and Kushina-neechan haven't been around much. I get that you're busy, but Kushina-neechan hasn't been home at all." His eyes narrowed at the carefully blank look that Minato's features took before being replaced with a forced smile.

"Don't… worry about that, there are just a few complications." Minato's eyes darted briefly before he turned back to face Obito, an uncertain expression in place.

Apparently, Obito wasn't the only one who found it tough to completely lie to his team. "… Uh, by the way, Obito?"

The addressed boy looked at his sensei with an eager yet questioning look, inwardly wondering if Minato was ready to divulge the truth. "Yes sensei?"

Something odd and inscrutable flickered in the Jōnin's eyes before he smiled, though the assuring gesture didn't quite reach his eyes. The blonde shook his head. "Never mind. It's… It's nothing."

Obito frowned, but decided that he had prodded the man for information enough. He gave a small shrug. "If you say so, sensei. Anyway, I'll go now, you have to go do Jōnin stuff."

Minato smiled as he ruffled the Uchiha's hair, and with some final goodbyes, they parted ways.