Original title: Shu

Rated: MA (M)

Original summary: He was pretty sure he was a deadman. But that kid with the blinding red scarf made him not-dead, and Scarf Kid reminded him vaguely of Kakashi. Who is supposed to be dead.

Four main genres: Supernatural, Action, Angst, & Hurt/Comfort.

Pairings: MinaKushi & offscreen!KakaRin (later).

Recommended songs: 10,000 by Kick The Habit, Breathe Me by Sia (Butch Clancy remix), Little Talks, Dirty Paws by Of Monsters and Men & Icarus by Pompeii.


I changed the warnings and stuff because I have decided that this is a vent story. I also added one or two songs and changed the pairings. No ObiRin. My resolve for the ending is here, just the ladder to get to it is still being built.

Jleath123: Naruto will only be mentioned in this story with very little interaction. Thanks for your review. :3

nurr: Thank you! :3

KaiaRenkin: Thank you! Here's chapter two. :3

Original word count: 3.3k~

Enjoy :p


Chapter 2: Contemplation


Coal grey eyes stared darkly in the reflection, dead with exhaustion and blank. Pale white skin made black hair pop out more than it should, a frail body making his look worse. His clothing was unkempt and dark circles outlined the bottoms of his eyelids.

Uchiha Obito turned his head away from the kitchen window, staring down at the cup of cold green tea he prepared nearly two hours ago. He wasn't entirely sure why he was still sitting around and doing absolutely nothing, but he just wouldn't move.

He was both physically and emotionally exhausted. He was hungry. He needed sleep. He needed to shower. He needed to leave for the next team mission that was gonna take place in about fifteen minutes. He needed to—

stop, he thought darkly. He needed to—no…he wanted to stop. To just stop thinking and remembering, to stop living and inflicting all sorts of wounds on others…and on himself.

But watching Kakashi die under his watch—twice—was a bit too much.

After all, getting where he was just seemed to have happened all at the spur of the moment.

He remembered his and Kakashi's death quite vividly.

After his best friends death, Naruto had enough. They had hid, and rounded up all Edo Tensei's they could find and unsealed them; only the revived four past Hokage's were found. Sasuke took control of said Kage's, giving them enough free will to fight independently.

They all came out of hiding, and the final battle with Madara began. It reflected their very first battle with him, in all honesty. Power bounced back and forth and blood was spilled. It lasted for nearly three days before Obito finally decided to give up and end everything.

(He was one of the weaker ones there, standing in front of Kakashi and Sakura because of the fact that he had held the Gedō Mazō and some Rikudō Sennin mojo in him.)

By the end of three days, every one was beaten up, tired, bloody and just mentally destroyed. Even Naruto and the bijū within him were done (and if he remembered correctly, the blonde knocked out along with Sasuke). Sakura was practically unconsciousness, and the Edo Tensei's limbs were gone.

Now that I think about it… he reflected absently, I had the most power then, didn't I?

What happened next honestly scarred him more than watching his childhood friends and family around him die and get picked off one by one rather veraciously at the hands (or strings) of his forefather.

His right forefinger rubbed the cup anxiously, the sound of something dripping echoing in the dark dining room catching his attention. He looked down at the kitchen table, and saw the transparent liquid of tears.

The Uchiha blinked, realizing that he was crying. He huffed irritably, though it sounded more like a sob than anything. The thirteen year old put his elbows and arms on the table, tucking his head down.

The tears continued, and he just wasn't sure why.

Only after a minute or so did it stop.

He got rid of the tears, sitting up and staring down at his hands. They were calloused and rough, with rings around both forefingers rather evident due to have kunai rings around his fingers often. He rubbed his fingers together, and got lost in thought.

This is pathetic, he thought bitterly. Why did I even cry? I'm not sad

A small, uncontrollable bubble of laughter rose in his throat, a cringe-worthy expression appearing on his face. It was replaced with slight surprise.

He paused for a few seconds before sighing hopelessly, slumping over and letting his hands rest on his lap. He stared for many moments in a daze of exhaustion and numbness.

It felt like he sat there for eternity. Thoughts, songs, memories, love, hatred, depression, happiness, patience and anger flashed across his mind and faded just as fast as they came; he was obviously wandering, just sitting there like a dead guy.

"—to!"

Obito snapped out of his distant and random train of thought, but he made no movement to acknowledge the voice of his blonde sensei. His muscles were so relaxed that he couldn't remember what position he was sitting in or where he was at. (Am I in bed…or…?)

A pair of large, gentle (but rough) calloused hands intertwined with his own, making the dark haired teen blink and slowly look up. His lips were parted only a centimeter apart, his eyes were puffy from crying, and they were still dead with exhaustion.

Minato frowned sadly, his mouth twisting sympathetically. His grip tightened, briefly letting go to pull the Uchiha in to a hug. Said child tensed, once relaxed and unmoving muscles bunching up with reflex.

The blonde's grip tightened again, "…You were crying."

Obito stayed silent, simply letting go of the tension as much as he could. He gripped the jōnin vest his sensei wore, burying his face into the crook of the mans neck. The lovely warmth of the embrace was something he hasn't felt since…

…He sobbed quietly, realizing that the only time he was hugged was when he training with Madara (attacks from behind, capture methods being demonstrated, assassinating methods, and so forth).

Basically he was never legibly hugged before.

"Why were you alone?" Minato asked quietly. When he got no answer, he sighed quietly. "You scared me pretty good a few moments ago…you looked like you were actually dead. I-I mean…you're paler, you're lacking in sleep, and you didn't even look like you were breathing…"

Obito blinked rapidly, feeling tears well up in his eyes again. He sucked in a deep, half-sob breath, his grip tightening to the point of where it was starting to kind of discomfort him. But he didn't care, really; discomfort was a luxury.

"…You took it harder than expected," Minato whispered to himself. He ran his fingers through Obito's ratty and greasy hair, blinking owlishly.

"I'm sorry…" Obito croaked out, his voice cracking as he spoke. "I'm sorry…M-Minato-sensei…I'm sorry…I-I—I'm…j-just…I'm sorry…"

The blonde blinked again. "For what?"

Obito only sobbed, tears flowing as he started to cry again. Only this time he knew exactly why: Regret.

He was sorry for killing his sensei, for killing Kushina, for defecting, for failing Rin, for siding with Madara, for hurting Naruto, for treating the bijū like shit, for starting the Uchiha Coup far more earlier than intended, for manipulating Nagato, for provoking Sasuke, for hurting Itachi, for being weak, for having dark thoughts, for being broken, for failing Kakashi twice, for bearing hate—

For existing.

He caused a lot of trouble and burdens. Every time he looked at his sensei, he saw the brave hero who protected his son, his village, and died proudly. He saw the man who defended what he loved against the devil—the evil, hurt, pathetic, weak creature who fought in the name of an empty dream.

He sobbed again, leaning forward into the hug and wrapping his arms around his sensei.

The blonde was obviously surprised, but didn't object.

Obito really truly did want to stop. He wanted to remain numb, oblivious to the world and pain around him. Anonymous. Alone. Numb. Gone. Dead.

But suicide was selfish. Hanging himself via rope, pointing a gun at his own head, bleeding to death, purposely dying on the battle field—anything suicide-related was honestly very selfish at this point. He had someone who cared deeply for him—more than one person really.

And he had even more before ending up in where ever the fuck he was now.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen—hell, he was pretty damn sure the rest of Naruto's generation became attached to him before they died, and they just didn't show it.

It was true that Kakashi died protecting him twice (why the Hatake even did it in the first place at this age seemed to be another story all on its own), but the stupid jōnin did it to let him live.

I'm so pathetic… he thought again. Why did I even contemplate suicide…?

Minato chuckled almost bitterly once he calmed down; his crying was only reduced to puffy eyes, shaky breathing and a damp face. "…Suicide, eh…?"

Obito froze, realizing that his lips had moved and that his voice box had worked themselves out to speak the last two sentences of his thought train. He let go of the tension, quickly slipping out of his sensei's grip and backing away. He stood, his head tipping forward so that he stared down at the ground, his fists clenched at his sides.

"It was only one death," Minato murmured. "Once I've lost everything and everyone is only when I'd think about taking my own life. I've seen it happen so, so, so many times, and I know you're strong, Obito. So please don't think about death like that."

The Uchiha raised his shaking hands, staring down at his palms. He imagined gloves—red gloves that were once black. The small patch of skin that was exposed was dripping with blood, and the ground he stood on was ankle-high with even more blood. His breathing subconsciously hitched, the brief illusion disappearing and leaving a disgusting aftertaste.

Obito's shaking had noticeably intensified, and he was lightheaded. His jaw bunched up, rapid breathing coming sharply from his nose. It was obvious that he was on the verge of hyperventilating, because that specific flashback was that of a literal child slaughter.

He had killed all the children, newborns, children in the wombs, pets and surrounding animals of a village in Hi no Kuni, soaking their land in their blood and corpses. It was one of the more memorable rampages of his.

"Obito? Are you okay?" Minato asked.

The Uchiha swallowed, the lump of regret and hurt forming in his throat. He dropped his shaking hands, staring robotically at the floor boards. "I'm fine," he murmured.

"Obviously not."

"I'm fine."

"I know depression and sadness when I see it," the blonde countered.

Obito snapped by then. He knew it as well, but his situation was so very fucking different. "You don't get it!" he shouted almost desperately. "You don't get it!" He sucked in deep breaths, but it was useless; he was pissed off, tired and wanted sleep. "Do you have any idea what it means to lose someone twice because you're a failure?!"

Minato blinked in surprise, standing up from his kneeling position next to the chair. It took a few seconds, but the words registered and he blanched. "Twice?" he echoed half to himself. His eyes widened, his pupils dilated—and then he collapsed, knocked out cold before he even hit the ground.

"Sensei!"


Obito's hands were shaking again. He stared down at them, resting them on his knees that were right next to his chest. His limbs were freezing because he had forgotten to turn on the AC, and honestly he didn't want to move. Outside, it was pouring down rain; distant thunder echoed in the distance, here but not quite here yet.

His sensei was on his bed, still unconscious for some unknown reason. (Nothing was medically wrong, though he was extremely stressed out).

Obito himself was on the floor, sitting against the end of the bed with his knees pulled up to his chest. He was still shaking and shivering from the cold, though. He sighed, wrapping his arms around his legs. He tucked his chin in, and stared blankly at the floor. He wanted to sleep, but he couldn't, and he knew that if he did he would have nightmares.

It was his ninth day without sleep. If he stayed a coward, he would die.

Knocking himself unconscious wasn't very smart, he was too stressed out to physically tire himself to sleep and he didn't have any sleeping pills. But even if he did, Minato most probably would compensate them because of paranoia. It was understandable, though…if he was in his sensei's shoes, he'd have done it as well.

He heard Minato shift awake, quickly sitting up in an obvious, frantic mess. Obito made no movement to help the man. But barely a second later, his sensei had him pinned to the ground with one of his special kunai pressed to his throat.

The blondes only reaction was the shift of his students eyes. "Who are you?" Minato snarled.

That got a reaction. Obito's eyes widened slightly, his blank expression turning into one of surprise. "Minato-sensei, what are you doing?" he questioned calmly.

Minato froze, his eyes widening with shock. He instantly dropped the kunai, drawing in a deep breath and staring at some place that wasn't his student. "O-Obito…"

The Uchiha waited patiently, though the weight on his waist and arms were starting to cut off his blood flow. It was giving him Pins And Needles. Eventually, realization dawned onto Minato, and the blonde got off.

Obito sat up, crossing his legs and staring at the ground in front of him. They basked in silence, with the blonde jōnin obviously thinking.

"What did you mean by twice?"

It took a second, but the words registered eventually. Obito slumped slightly, losing the poor posture he had left. He stared down at the ground, thinking about whether or not he should tell his sensei about it. It wasn't a light subject.

Even he wasn't sure, but everything pointed towards time travel. He was pretty sure Minato wouldn't be in the afterlife just yet, and the fact that Kakashi died pointed the arrow even further towards that theory. Then there's the timeline. He was currently thirteen, and the war was supposed to end a week ago.

And then there was the mission. That specific mission was supposed to be the bridge mission, not a slaughter-the-bandits mission. He would especially know.

"Do you remember your death?" Minato suddenly questioned.

Instantly, Obito winced. Yes, he silently replied. He remembered it vividly—his own, Kakashi, Minato, Kushina…Rin. He remembered them all like they happened just yesterday. The blood, the words, the movements before, the movements after, the ripples…he avoided sleep because of it, despite the need and want to acquire rest.

He suddenly froze. I see what you did there… he thought.

"…Don't worry," the blonde murmured. "You don't really have to say anything. The sun shines yellow and the moon bleeds red, so summon the ten tailed beast for a plastic bottle and sun shine for a sharp sword; let the sun shine on."

Obito almost smiled. So I'm not alone.

'The sun shines yellow and the moon bleeds red, so summon the ten tailed beast for a plastic bottle and sun shine for a sharp sword; let the sun shine on' was a verbal code created by Obito to prevent fraud. It worked up until he died…

"Why'd you die?" Minato murmured. He reached out and rubbed his students head, sympathy crossing his face. "…Do you…remember…?"

Obito shook his head, pushing the hand off of his head.

Said jōnin sighed. "When was the last time you slept?"

"…Well over a week ago," Obito murmured. "This is my ninth day of no sleep…"

He hadn't slept after the assassination mission, nor had he slept the week after said mission—he didn't sleep in the two out of three days Minato was in the hospital, either. He knew that death was inevitable if he stayed awake any further. He was well aware that ten days with no sleep caused death, but ever since he was fourteen he never needed sleep because of the Zetsu flesh he had.

It wasn't intentional. He was suffering severe depression.

And then there were the nightmares.

"You're having nightmares," Minato said. He sighed sadly. "I know that you were independent for quite some time, but Obito—"

"There was a village," he interrupted, changing the subject bluntly. "It was small, unknown…well, not widely-known but known locally by surrounding villages. It was filled with young animals and children because it was new. Over half of the population were children under sixteen. Animals were included."

"…And…?" The blonde sounded curious, unhappy and impatient.

"And one day, a missing-nin passed through that village," he continued. "The ninja wasn't particularly happy that day and took out all of his anger on the children. Can you guess what happened?" He didn't wait for response, "He killed them all, even the young and unborn—animals included. The adults fled and that village was flooded with up to three inches of blood."

"You're talking about the Ketsuyokuko," Minato said.

Obito nodded. "That ninja was me," he murmured. He looked at his shaking hands, lifting them up and staring specifically at his palms. "I killed them all because Madara introduced the plan to k-kill you and Kushina-nee…"

Minato was left speechless.

His Uchiha student still had a lot to learn.

And a long road of redemption.


A few hours later…


Ginka sniffed the air. Smoke filled his lungs easily and he ended up coughing a few times, the action making his chest ache irritably. He steadied his breathing and jumped up in to the tree branches, enhancing his leaps with trickles of chakra. He kept the scar over his mouth, racing past the grey bark of Kusagakure trees.

His goal was to reach the source of the smoke. Where ever it was and whatever caused it was highly likely to be the Kannabi. But that mission wasn't supposed to come for another week or so, if his being infiltrating the mission room was accurate—and it was.

So it was either a fluke on Iwa's part, or something happened and caused it to collapse.

Or something else happened.

The rustle of movement caught his attention, and he turned his head towards his left. There was a dark shape dashing behind the blurs of trees, the only notable thing being the long cloak he wore. The front stopped at his waist, revealing shinobi pants and zori. The sleeves sagged and the hood cast an eternal shadow over his face, revealing only two glowing red eyes.

The other man sped up considerably fast, black cloak waving wildly in the wind. Ginka scoffed, easily catching up to the other man. But already he felt limited (he hated his kid body).

The cloaked stranger turned his head towards Ginka, raising his arm. His hand was covered by the long black cloak, but it was pushed out of the way to reveal the skin tight, long sleeve muscle shirt he was apparently wearing underneath the cloak. A gloved hand tapped their fore and thumb together in morse code, saying "peace".

Ginka blinked, staring at the other name. He taped his own fingers together in morse code, questioning both objective and his name.

His response was "Kannabi Bridge" and the name of "Koshō".

Ginka responded with his own name and objective.

The rest of the way was in uneasy silence.

They reached the source of the smoke within the next few minutes of traveling, landing on the grassy forest edge.

Kannabi Bridge was destroyed.

Both Koshō and Ginka blanched, but they didn't show it. They just looked around with calculating eyes, trying to spot the cause of the explosion.

Barely seconds later, they spotted another man. He had the standard Konoha shinobi uniform, all in black. The tape was replaced with black cloth and no skin showed. His head was covered by an odd full head helmet; it reminded both Ginka and Koshō of a sci-fi manga, where the main character wore a full head helmet…no tinted windows, no buckle, no indication to take it off like a normal helmet.

The bottom of a helmet had a scarf sewed to it—black and survivor material. It covered the mans neck and rested on his shoulders quite nicely. He put his hand on his hips, a pair of glowing red eyes flashing behind pitch black glass.

"Do you know him?" Ginka spoke.

"No," Koshō murmured. "He doesn't even have a chakra signature…"

The man lifted his right foot, and moved it in more morse code: "I am Shu, and I have won."

Sudden thunder clapped overhead in the distance, briefly distracting Ginka and Koshō. "Shu" got away in that time.

He left nothing but a burning Kannabi Bridge.


"Ketsuyokuko": "Child Bloodbath"

"Koshō": "Failure"; "Accident"; "Objection"

"Shu": "Vermilion"

Peace! :3