Uploaded: 8/14/2017
Last Edit: 2/12/2018
Trespassing the Laws of Time
By ShiraChan-Desu
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 2
Second Thoughts
"Now that we know where we are, we need to keep an eye out for Kakashi."
Minato-sensei handed the both of them their own bag. It was fairly light and when they both opened it, their eyes widened.
Rin reached in and pulled out a black shoulder-length wig and make-up. Further inside were a bunch of clothing. No doubt, Minato-sensei went shopping while they had separated, which explained why he had come back to the hotel past sunset last night.
Obito shifted beside her, and her eyes absorbed the sight of his goggle-less face covered with a brown wig haphazardly placed on top of his head. He let out a shout of surprise so suddenly that Rin flinched, holding up a new pair of goggles.
It was sleek and silver, the lens a bit smaller than she was used to, but it was goggles, nonetheless. It would protect his eyes from drying most of the time.
Minato-sensei was watching him with amusement, and when he saw her looking at him, he gestured to the make-up kit. "Something to cover up the markings. Do you know how to use it, Rin?"
"Yes, sensei." She felt she was too young to use make-up on an everyday basis, but her mother had forced her to learn so that she could use it for special occasions. She never had to cover her markings before, but she had an idea on where to start.
Rin went to a mirror to the side, removing her hitai-ate. As she worked, her eyes caught Minato-sensei staring at the scroll he had placed on the table. "Sensei, what are you going to use?"
"Hmm?" He blinked at her. "Oh. I'll be wearing this." He took out his own bag and removed his hitai-ate. In no time, she was looking at the same brown-haired man as before, except –
"Minato-sensei, what about our eyes?" She always found Minato-sensei's eyes to be unique. No one in Konoha – their Konoha – had eyes the color as his. It was a dead give-away.
She blinked when he held up a small case.
"These are called 'eye-contacts'." He opened it and settled down next to her, showing her the contents.
It was creepy. Like a thin copy of the irises of their eyes. "And these are supposed to change your eye color?"
"Yep." He took one and she watched with horrified fascination as he placed it on top of his eye, covering the brilliant blue with a deep onyx.
"T-T-That's...is that safe?"
Minato-sensei burst out laughing, messing up her hair with a hand. She looked away from him and resumed her work, embarrassed. And also because it was a bit weird looking at two mismatched eyes.
Since they didn't know how long they would stay, it was only safe for them to put on proper disguises without extensively using chakra and risking detection to maintain the illusion.
"Hey, hey, what is it?" Obito came over, curious. In the mirror, she saw Minato-sensei look towards him, and had to bite back a laugh when Obito yelped and tripped over his own feet as he tried to back away.
Minato-sensei's good-natured voice and Obito's yells of shock washed over her as she finished applying the make-up, turning her face left and right to make sure her clan markings were completely gone from view.
Once she did, she moved past the figure pointing towards Minato-sensei on the floor, grabbed her clothes, and headed towards the bathroom to change.
Minato-sensei had gotten her a smooth pink sweater to put over a black fishnet shirt. The sweater was long enough that it covered half of her thighs, her black form-fitting shorts just peeking out from underneath. She fastened the belt holding her pouches around her sweater and adjusted the wig on her head.
After a small embarrassing episode of fumbling and nervousness, she finally managed to place the foreign objects on top of her eyes, making it turn the hazel color it had been before. It wasn't that bad, she realized. In fact, she barely felt the eye contacts.
She stared at the mirror. The shoulder-length black hair bunched slightly on her shoulders and there was a small fringe hanging on the left side of her face, far from the evenly distributed hair she bore underneath.
Rin nodded to her reflection and headed out.
Two completely different-looking males looked up at her. A man and a boy.
The only man in the room had multi-colored brown hair, straight and hanging calmly rather than the chaotic mess of blonde hair. He was in the standard uniform that she and Obito had seen several ninja wear, signaling their allegiance to Konoha. Sandaled boots donned his feet, and she recognized Minato-sensei's personal pouch on his hip.
The boy had lighter brown hair, but was quite messy in comparison. Blue eyes blinked at her underneath strands of black bangs. He wore a navy blue jacket with a white shirt. Black slightly baggy pants hugged his legs. The standard shinobi footwear was the same color as his pants, leading up to the wrappings adorning the lower part of his calves.
After a short period of briefing, they made their way downstairs, waving goodbye to the innkeeper who didn't seem to see their gestures, but stared blankly towards the doors as they opened and closed it.
"So where's the library, sensei?" Obito asked, eyes looking all over the place, absorbing the morning atmosphere.
After the emotion-fueled episode from last night, Rin and Obito had fallen asleep, exhausted from the mental activity their brains had overcome.
They had awoken when the sun hung high in the sky, translucent rays filtering through the open window, illuminating Minato-sensei's figure as he was setting the table with plates, the smell of breakfast flooding their noses in a disarming sensation.
They had eaten their food in silence, and after Minato cleared away the table, he sat them down once again, and began speaking in such a calm, reassuring way that eventually – slowly, meditatively – started to slow the turmoil in their hearts.
Minato-sensei was not just their Jonin leader, nor was he just a parental figure who cared and nurtured them in the ways they needed to survive.
There was a reason why the Sandaime had entrusted the unknown scroll to him. He was a master of seals, one of the most knowledgeable and prodigious shinobi Konoha has ever had a chance to come across. His own girlfriend hailed from a clan that had been famously known for their fūinjutsu.
If there was one person who would be able to decipher the sentences of gibberish and get them back home safely, it was Minato-sensei. That's the thought that Rin and Obito decided to hold onto, the string of promise that led back home.
Obito in particular seemed to recover quickly, not one to always mope around, deciding that he would use it as his own adventure, finding out as much as he could about how different Konoha is compared to how it was previously. On the outside, that is.
While they expected the future to be more advanced, they didn't expect it to be changed to the point of it being utterly baffling. But, as Rin started following after Minato-sensei who had begun to move down the road, she could still notice that some things didn't seem to change.
The buildings were still colorful, and there were even some houses that looked similar to some she had seen in the past. This area, in particular, had tall looming shapes, the likes of which made it difficult to see the landscape behind it unless they took to the rooftops. Just like some of the ninja passing by above them.
Children still ran through the streets, laughter pealing from their throats and arms waving around in their haste. Every now and then, Rin would hear the sound of birds chirping, flapping their wings across the vast open blue sky.
Right now, they had left behind their time period, the places and people behind them. But she had to remember that it was still home.
A young lady with long midnight blue hair gently smiled when Rin's wandering gaze happened to land on her at the same time the woman had scoped the market and briefly look at their little group.
She held a basket of fresh produce on her arm, turning back around to thank the person at the stall.
Rin belatedly realized the woman had pupil-less, milky eyes. The tell-tale signs of a Hyuga clan member.
She turned around and caught up with Obito and their sensei, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Yes, they may not have their family and friends beside them, but this was still Konoha. It harbored the future generations, and set Rin's heart and mind at ease that their Konoha would be strong and safe even after the Third Shinobi World War, and continue living strong enough to get through another war altogether.
It was strange to think that yesterday, after the time-travel revelation, she had been almost ready to break down and cry. Granted, she had been almost as excited as Obito when the shock had worn off after their meeting with Ino, and saw everything they happened to see in a new light.
But it was when Obito and Rin were waiting together for Minato-sensei and left to their own thoughts that the uneasiness started to trickle into their minds, plaguing the joy until it molded and festered into a murky ball of anxiety and fear.
Minato-sensei was able to bring them back up, relight the flame to scare away the shadows, provide them with a sturdy ground to step upon until they were able to get back. But there was still one thing that was left unresolved. One thing that their minds could not be placated through mere words alone.
Kakashi…
Rin gnawed on her bottom lip, a fist clenching by her side.
She had seen him disappear right before her eyes. He had been nearby her, the closest compared to Obito and Minato-sensei, but she couldn't help but doubt.
Had Kakashi not been in range of the scroll?
Was that why he was not here with them? Was he actually just safely back home?
"I won't deny that possibility, Rin," Minato-sensei said. The kunoichi blinked, not realizing that she had spoken out loud.
Obito walked beside her, attentive, eyes drawn away from a stall selling strange-looking masks.
"So you're saying that Bakashi could actually just be relaxing at home without us, Minato-sensei?"
"Well," Minato-sensei sweat-dropped, "I don't think Kakashi would be relaxing if he saw us just disappear like that. If he's back at home, he should have reported it to the Hokage."
Rin looked up at him. "How long do you think it will take for you to decipher the scroll, sensei?"
Minato-sensei's eyes narrowed as he thought. "As long as there is nothing too difficult to cause delay…I'd say a week. But," he looked at them, "don't be surprised if it takes longer. Fūinjutsu is nothing to laugh at, and it would be easier if there was another experienced eye to look over it with me."
"But you said you want this to remain a secret from anyone else."
"Exactly." Minato-sensei came to a stop and walked in front of them, bending to their level for privacy. "Remember, I'm allowing you both not to stay in the hotel until we leave because we don't know yet if Kakashi came to the future with us. We still need to keep a look out and I still need to work on this scroll. I'm trusting you to not try to figure out what has happened since our time or try to deliberately find people you are familiar with."
He stared at them with expectation until they solemnly nodded.
"For all the endless opportunities this could bring, we shouldn't even be here. It's only right that it is not our decision to figure out if there's anything we want to change. In the wrong hands, this scroll – our knowledge, could be taken advantage of. We can't let that happen, and so if anyone even speaks of anything that sounds important to the future or if you even see someone who looks familiar, I want you to walk away. Do you understand, Obito? Rin?"
"Yes, sensei," Rin said. Beside her, Obito frowned contemplatively before also giving his assent.
"After all, I don't think the sheer magnitude of what we may encounter will be particularly fun to erase from our minds," Minato-sensei smiled knowingly to Obito and patted their heads (it wouldn't do good to ruffle their hair like he usually does).
They reached the library less than 15 minutes later, and after an extra "be careful" from their team leader, Minato-sensei waved and disappeared into the building.
Obito was practically fidgeting beside her and she sighed good-naturedly, grabbing his hand and walking off into a random direction. "Let's go," she sang.
Rin could feel his hand spasm for a few seconds, but she dismissed her curiosity when he recovered like nothing had happened.
They walked down a street that seemed to subtly curve in a way that probably followed the circumference of Konoha's walls. She wasn't really sure, the houses, apartments, and towers around them were just that large enough to apparently conceal the border-line itself. That, or they were just far enough away from it to the point where it seemed smaller than usual.
To her delight, they came across an area that seemed to be holding a little mini-festival. Stall-booths full of games and food surrounded the square, decorated with an assortment of confetti and streamers.
She pulled her teammate around, wide hazel eyes eagerly absorbing the sights before her. She stopped before one specific stall, which, upon examination, was a game that dealt with catching goldfish as a prize.
Obito grabbed a fishing net, not noticing the shopkeeper stare at the row of nets in confusion afterward, and tried to hand it to Rin. She smiled at him and shook her head, but summoned a Bunshin to keep watch as they were otherwise occupied.
Rin giggled as she watched Obito valiantly attempt to capture a goldfish, nearly falling over in his concentration over the small pool of water.
In just a few minutes, Rin was holding a bag of water that Obito – who looked a bit wet – had grabbed for her at the stall, a small goldfish swimming around curiously within.
Rin spared a curious glance at the person in charge of the stall booth, who's frozen finger was pointing at the pool of water, staring at the bag in her hand with a shocked look on his face, before Obito burst out – "Look, Rin!"
They went to a few other stalls, but although Obito wanted to try out a few tossing and shooting games, Rin reminded him that it was unfair because they were ninjas and most of the people attempting to get prizes were civilians.
The two Genin wandered out of the square and Rin convinced Obito to copy her and send his own shadow clone to scope the area while they were outside.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the air of grilled food and market through her nose.
Cobblestone ground pressed against the soles of their feet, reminding Rin once again of the new age they had found themselves in. There was something remarkably fresh about this place, this future Konoha, that she felt she was strangely getting addicted to.
Ahead of them, a couple walked side-by-side, the male's arm swung over the woman, who held the hand on her shoulder with one of her own. The woman was smiling softly as she stared into his eyes as he talked.
Rin felt a trace of envy trickle into her heart.
One day, she would want to be that woman. Walking tall and beautiful, mature and loving. While the man…
She felt her cheeks heat up with the thoughts of silver-hair, before the flash of emotion was immediately replaced with deep worry.
What could Kakashi be doing right now? Was he thinking about them? Was he somewhere, wondering where they were?
Despite how deep her infatuation of him was, Rin wasn't dense. She recognized his flaws, bore with his cutting words with a smile and a heavy heart. Ever since he left the Academy, after word came of something unfortunate that happened to his father, he seemed to care less about the people around him.
There was a small hint of doubt in her belief that Kakashi would look high and low for his teammates, if he was able to, but she was willing to overlook it to believe in her teammate.
For all the rule-following bit that he was, he was still human. And she hoped that, if not her meager attempts in having him open up, Minato-sensei and Obito would break down the barriers that he held.
There were just some things that she found nearly impossible to understand.
"Y'know, Rin…"
Obito was looking at the blue open skies, and Rin could imagine that he had been whistling as she was lost in her thoughts.
"I wonder how far into the future we are."
She cocked her head at him.
"I mean we don't really know when the Fourth Shinobi War took place. What if we're like a hundred years into the future?" He turned to her with an excitement she could sense, even under the layer of disguises. "Do you think they have something so advanced that we don't even have to pick up garbage from the river anymore?
Rin rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Obito, wouldn't they make something more important first instead of helping get rid of D-ranks? Was it that traumatizing?"
"Of course!" He was pouting now. "Especially when Bakashi tripped me and Minato-sensei had to take that fish out of my shirt!"
"…Kakashi wasn't even close to you when you fell."
"His fingers twitched!"
"Obito," she sighed, shaking her head exasperatedly. It was a testament to her patience and fondness for her best friend that she wasn't annoyed at him. It also helped that she knew he didn't fully believe in his own words, either.
"Still," Obito calmed down, "Everything may look a bit different, but nothing big has changed."
Rin nodded in agreement. "I guess we're probably not that far ahead into the future, then. Unless they've created something to make all the houses here look so nice. And the ground..." She pointedly looked down as they walked, Obito doing the same. "How did they even make something like this? It's not even that bumpy."
Obito stopped walking and crouched down, sweeping fingers over the ground. "You're right," he said, wonder lacing his voice.
Rin continued walking and her best friend immediately caught up with her. They walked in silence for a long while.
Then Obito's stomach rumbled.
A blush dusted his cheeks and Rin giggled.
She looked around, a sign a ways ahead of them caught her eye. She turned and pointed towards it, looking at her teammate. "There's a café over there. Let's eat breakfast before you starve."
And at that point, her stomach chose just the right time to punish her for being left out.
Obito laughed, Rin's face flushed and, not being able to come up with anything to say, she quickly marched off towards the shop.
It took a while for his laughter to fade, but eventually he came up next to her again.
Except this time, he slipped his hand in hers.
She blinked at him. There was a sort of flush to his cheeks, but he was grinning broadly at her and she couldn't help but smile right back.
Even with those horrid goggles, I know he's just going to snatch you up one day.
Rin startled at the voice in her head, looking around cautiously, before concluding that it was just a memory of yesterday.
As they came up to the front counter in the café and Obito eagerly ordered, Rin's eyes cast down as she thought back to another important part of their mission.
Ino-san…
They had told Minato-sensei about their encounter with who they were sure was a kunoichi off-duty. After they finished describing it to him, he told them to try to avoid her at all costs.
Rin had no trouble agreeing to that.
Ino-san seemed like such a good person, but she was too observant for them to risk encountering once again.
Rin and Obito had been unprepared, caught off guard by how quickly they had been caught up in an almost compromising confrontation. She had to give credit to their confusion, as well, for their slipups.
But.
She knew they had to do better. Both she and Obito wore their hearts on their sleeves, but if they were to get into this type of undercover mission in their future, they would need to play up to their acting skills and learn to hide their emotions well.
This whole unofficial mission made her feel so uneasy.
Never before did she have to take such extra care in her words and actions. Especially towards people that they talked to.
And if Ino-san was anything to go by, there could be more than a handful of shinobi who aren't in full regalia all the time, thus making it even more difficult to avoid them.
She knew it would be simple for her to try to avoid talking to anyone they didn't need to. But Obito…
She loves her best friend, but sometimes he has a tiny problem of staying low. She knew he could do it when it counts, but that ability tends to…waver the longer it's required.
A hand slipped into hers and tugged, causing her to almost stumble and wrench her hand away.
She stopped, however, when she realized that it was the person she was just thinking about who was pulling her towards a table.
And now there was the handholding.
Since they were younger, it was usually Rin who would always initiate contact. Kakashi, being too uncomfortable with close proximity as it was, and Obito being too hesitant.
Rin wondered if it was because of the situation they were in that Obito was being even more protective over her than usual.
"I got us some onigiri," Obito said, grinning at her as they sat across each other. "I bet you'll find something surprising on your plate."
They were in the future, but some things never changed.
"Onigiri," she sighed with a smile. "I should've known." She blinked, then, "You put something else with mine?"
He just grinned that grin that made it seem like the sun was shining on her. "You'll see."
Eventually, the food was done and Obito came with two plates. He set one of them in front of her, and her eyes widened briefly before she laughed.
Strawberries.
Obito ordered strawberries to be put alongside her onigiri.
Rin looked up at him fondly, watching him bite his food with gusto. He paused when he noticed her staring, mumbling around his mouthful, "'fumfing wrrn?"
Her lids closed as she gave him a full-face smile. "Nothing's wrong, Obito."
~R~
Three figures neared a certain café.
There was sniffing, and an abrupt sneeze.
"So, this is where you've been hiding…"
~R~
Obito let out a loud burp. He leaned back against the seat, arms stretching up and around with a satisfied grin.
Rin stacked the plates up – Obito couldn't help but add another to their menu – and set them aside so that it would be easier for one of the staff to pick them up.
The epitome of kindness.
Rin's eyes connected with his. Hazel. A few shades lighter than the usual brown.
Sometimes, whenever he snuck a peak at his teammate, he had to remind himself that it was Rin underneath the layer of makeup and costume.
But she was still there, in her movements, her actions, the smiles that his eyes absorbed as if he were gulping for air.
As the days went by, it was becoming easier and easier to admit the fact that he was really head over heels for his teammate.
But then, this had happened.
Ever since he had woken up this morning, he had been thinking about Rin's reaction to the lady's words nonstop.
She had looked...confused. And not at all as embarrassed as he was.
He never knew the extent of which Rin's feelings were for Kakashi, more for self-preservation than anything else. But he would rather have had found it out on his own terms than have it flung into his face so harshly. Sort-of.
If you would call having your love interest be barely flustered at the prospect of a courting, then yes, he would consider that as at least a bit harsh.
He supposed he deserved it. For being such a humongous coward and not professing his feelings before it was too late. Before Rin could only think about Kakashi – tiny, jerk-wad, The-Rules-Are-The-Law Bakashi – as the groom to her wedding day.
Obito was just a friend to her. A best friend - which was more than he ever thought was possible, at least - and nothing more.
But he was not going to let that get in the way of protecting Rin however he could.
Kakashi was in no way, mind-set or emotions-wise, able to return Rin's feelings. And he knew he wasn't being naïve.
Kakashi was strong, talented, and had the potential to be one of the best shinobi in the village, even if Obito never admitted it out loud. But for all his knowledge, he was sure that the idiot wouldn't even know romance if it him in the face.
And that's where Obito comes in.
He sure as heck wasn't going to try to convert Kakashi and force him to gain real emotions. But he was going to save Rin from the unfortunate situation that she was in.
Because love interest or not, she was his best friend. And he realized now that if he wanted to save her from a sure path of hurt and heartbreak, he needed to do something about it.
And he knew Rin.
She, above all others, would never accuse him of anything. She was always so patient, so kind, the person who understood him the most out of everyone in the whole entire world.
And he trusted her. He trusted that she would forgive him if he managed to slip up along the way. If he broke the boundary that he had forged, for their friendship's sake, and ended up tripping over his own feet.
Obito just wasn't sure if he could trust himself. If he could ever forgive himself if he hurt Rin – beyond what Kakashi could unintentionally do to her – because of his impatience, or his stupid big fat mistakes.
But Rin…He knew she would be able to get through it. She was strong, in spirit and in mind.
And that's why he was willing to take the step forward now.
Because if it was the fate of her peace against his…he would choose her's every time.
"Rin...could I say something?"
His teammate, who had opened her mouth to say something, probably to ask why he was staring at her, barely blinking, paused. Her mouth closed, and then after a moment she opened it up again. "What is it, Obito?"
His hands that were laid on top of the table clenched tightly.
"Rin…I—"
Something sharp clamped over his head.
Silence reigned over their table, before Obito broke it with a screech, hands reaching upwards to dislodge the offending object – which, thankfully, didn't even pierce skin – from his head. But before he could even touch it, the weight disappeared, and he leapt up onto his seat, grabbing a kunai and holding it out in front of him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rin do the same.
But when he focused on what was in front of him, past the crooked visor of his goggles, he froze.
"Mind telling us why you felt the need to wear this, little brat?"
A large white dog he recognized as a ninken from the Inuzuka clan barked at him. The man beside him, bearing the markings of one from the said clan stood beside him, holding up a slightly slobbered brown –
Obito reached up in a panic, realizing suddenly why his head felt even less heavy than he would have expected.
"First a henge, and now you've upgraded to a full costume. Smart, but you probably should have avoided having people touch you at all, if you wanted to be really stealthy about it."
The last person, he recognized. Rin gasped.
"I-Ino-san?"
The blonde-haired young woman winked.
I didn't leave an A/N in the last chapter, so I'll do it now.
Hello, everyone! My name is ShiraChan-Desu. This is the first fantasy story I have created since my coming-of-age years of life, which means it will be more in-depth, and more about drama compared to any of the baby stories I had posted before.
My writing and planning is far from perfect, and that's why I will be relying on you to guide me along the way (and stop me from moving too close to the edge). This story was created to be self-indulgent - thus, it will be something I make up as the ideas come by.
A few questions:
Why did Rin and Obito use their real names? - I want to emphasize the fact that these Genin, at the time of their encounter with Ino, had no idea where they were, wore disguises, and had just graduated from the Academy a year ago (Rin and Obito graduated at 9). They had no reason, whatsoever, to believe that their names are well-known in the shinobi world. Unless, of course, they have had a spy in Konoha who knows they are students under the Yellow Flash. If there are still lingering doubts of the logistical perspective, that's perfectly fine. Their decision was not meant to be logical.
Shouldn't they have seen the Hokage Mountain by now? - As an avid reader of many Time-Travel fics myself, I understand that that is a common and reasonable conception. Who in the village wouldn't be able to see large heads carved into a mountain at some point? My answer to that - I've seen several different pictures of pre-war and post-war Konoha. There were some in particular showing that from the ground view, unless they were in an area not blocked in by buildings or on a road leading straight towards the Hokage Mountain, the buildings were tall enough to cover the monument in the far distance. The farther you are from something, the smaller it seems. I've dropped hints of their vantage point in this chapter, particularly.
Will this be a Romance story? - No, not primarily. There will be the expected elements as a result of Team Minato's love triangle and there will be some hints of the canon pairings, but romance will only be a side-focus. I like to think that it adds a little more flavor.
Constructive feedback is love. I will be gone for a much needed vacation, so don't expect a chapter until 2 weeks is up. Sorry for leaving at a cliff-hanger, but please feel free to review and leave in your own bit of imagination for the story and how you think it will turn out. Who knows, it may be possible to include in a future chapter, since I will no doubt be thinking of this story even while I am cleansing my mind.
See you all in the next one! ;)