"And I'm still looking after you..."
She was a fairly tall and fair-skinned woman dressed in a black turtle neck top and a purple mesh top underneath, black pants with bandages around her right thigh and calves, grey shin guards, black gloves that stretched to the top of her biceps and black shinobi boots.
For a long moment, he simply stared at her, his gaze caressing her face as if surely he were stroking her with his fingers.
"You're dead... How are you still alive?"
"Obito..."
"How are you feeling?"
"Free," she finally said.
He reached for her hands for her hands, but stopped in mid-air. He dropped his arms at his sides, clenching his fists hard.
Rin closed her eyes, savoring his image.
"You're alive... how can you be alive.. Rin?"
Rin touched the center of her chest, where her heart was. She remembered the chidori bursting the red muscle in her chest cavity like a fleshy balloon. That's how she saw it at least. She hadn't died that day at all. She had missed her heart entirely because of her own error.
She didn't remember much after-wards. She had seen infinite darkness and that was that. Then sometime after her supposed ' death ' she had met Tatsuya. He had taken care of her, reviving her through unknown means. She had gone through rehabilitation shortly so she could use her body again.
Ever since, Tatsuya had fed her information from Konohagakure to their own place in the Hidden Mist. She had remained there for so long, never really leaving the place. Tatsuya had practically raised her, trained her, everything. He even so much as told her top secret information that he gave very definite details of.
The nine-tails' attack on the village, the death of her sensei and his wife, the massacre of the Uchiha clan, the Akatsuki and the members in it, everything. It was as though she had never truly died.
There were also the details of Kakashi provided to her from Tatsuya, to make it feel as though she were there with him in the village. She had wanted to see him so badly...
All the breath left Obito's body.
He glanced again at his former teammate.
Rin.
It looked like her. But it didn't make sense how it could be her. He had watched her die, her body fell to the ground.
So...she's Rin? She's really gorgeous... thought Naruto.
"You must be Uzumaki Naruto...it's so nice to meet you finally. You really do favor Minato-sensei."
Naruto scratched his cheek, laughing nervously. A faint blush tinged his cheeks. Rin faced Obito, her expression hard and serious. Obito faltered underneath those brown eyes.
It was her. He remembered the laughter, the smiles the two of them had shared together. No. No fucking way. He wouldn't allow himself the small glimmer of hope that was battling its way through years of grief. This shit didn't happen in real life. People didn't get handed second chances on a damn platter.
He'd prayed for a miracle more times than he cared to admit, but his prayers had gone unanswered. Or had they?
"You're losing it," he muttered.
This woman who remarkably resembles Rin, albeit with no purple rectangles on her cheeks, was staring down at him.
He rubbed his hands over his face and then over the back of his neck. Then he stared down at Rin. He wanted to believe it. He'd be just the sort of dumb ass who'd give this any credibility. But this wasn't genjtutsu, no one was that good. He remembered standing over her, pressing his fingers against her neck, pressing against slippery cold skin, where her heart should have been. Where her pulse should have been. She had been covered in blood.
Rin was gone.
Rin was dead.
She wasn't coming home.
Rin...
….
…
Her name floated insidiously through his mind.
It looked like her. Made sense it could be her. He hadn't stayed behind long enough to see her body being shipped back. He was getting carried away. There had to be some other explanation. Someone was messing with him. He didn't know why. He didn't care. He curled his lips in disgust. This was probably all Kakashi's doing.
Obito scanned her face, her beautiful face, gorgeous brown eyes, her hair which had grown so much longer and her body with definite curves. He hated the hope that sprung to life within him. His heart thumped like a jack hammer inside hie chest. His pulse raced so fast that he felt light-headed, almost like the night he came across her lifeless form.
Was this what it felt like at the end of the road? Was all that was left was for him to start barking at the moon? The thought took him by the throat. It had teeth. It wouldn't let go.
"Rin.."
Her eyes became wide, taking in his drastic appearance.
"It is you... isn't it, Obito?"
…
…
…
Rin crumbled, her eyes filling with tears. Harsh, ragged sobs came deep from her chest and shook her entire body as they spilled from her lips.
"It is you! Why... why, Obito? I thought you were dead all these years... you've become..."
"I haven't changed... Rin—I ..."
"Yes, you have... I don't..."
"No," she said in an even voice.
He scowled. "You don't know what happened after your ' died ' Rin. A lot has changed. I have changed. "
"Obito..."
He clenched his teeth.
"Rin..."
"You got rid of not just me, but the memories you had of your life... and the memories you had of us as Team Minato. You've hurt yourself... so much it's left you empty and now your views of the world... the way you want it... it's all nothing but a fantasy. Sometimes a fantasy can not fulfill a wish."
Obito stared at Rin. It had felt as though it had been a million years since he last saw her. He felt as though he was looking at her... really looking at her.
"I promised to stay by your side...so that if I din you wouldn't be able to keep anything from me. It seems as though I've broken that promise... if only I hadn't become the host of the Three-Tails...I'd probably still be alive...and you wouldn't have ended up like this, huh?"
Rin gripped the hand she'd healed so long ago, squeezing it so hard it made Obito wince. Yep, that was her all right. He'd recognized that monster strength anywhere even if she didn't use it all the time.
"I remember...this."
She squeezed his hand again, harder than before.
"Rin, you're killing me here."
"Good, then that means I'm doing my job."
"You're suppose to heal people, remember? Okay, this seriously hurts."
Rin laughed. "Boy, do I have a story to tell you and Kakashi...it's kind of ironic how I just came back from the dead and all."
Naruto got in between them, scrutinizing Rin's face. She blinked at him, smiling.
"Are you sure you're not someone in disguise and trying to trick Obito are you?"
Rin giggled, then her fist came down unexpectedly on his head.
"Hell, no! Why would I do that?!" Rin realized her sudden burst of anger and quickly apologized. "Sorry, sorry. I don't realize my own strength."
You certainly don't...
Naruto held his head, groaning. It reminded him of when his mom hit him for mistaking her as the nine-tails. Naruto turned to Obito.
"Was she always like this?"
"Somewhat. The sudden lash of anger is new, but it's her alright."
"I'd check if I were you. I mean just because she's pretty face doesn't mean—hey!"
Rin struck a pressure point on his shoulder and his legs fell out from underneath him. A bit of cold sweat broke out on Obito's forehead.
She extended a hand out towards Obito. "You don't have to be alone anymore...we're all waiting for you, me also. Stop putting up a front...I'll definitely be watching you from now on. I won't be going anywhere. It's a promise!"
Another hand joined hers. It was Naruto's.
"What do you say...Obito?"
