Obito tugs on his bowtie uncomfortably, ignoring Deidara's irritating giggling. "What kind of restaurant is black tie?" he growls, glaring at the back of Sasori's head. The redhead glances at him in the rearview mirror, one eyebrow arched.
"It's a five star sushi restaurant, Tobi. It's at least 17,000 yen per plate. You might as well dress to impress." Sasori's eyes find Deidara, and Obito doesn't miss the way his honey eyes linger on Deidara. The sculptor, chattering excitedly to Konan while painting her nails – inside a moving car, how did the kid manage? – doesn't notice Sasori's bedroom gaze. Obito does, and kicks the back of Sasori's seat, rolling his eyes.
"Dei, what color are we doing today?" Obito asks. He examines his carefully manicured nails – no matter what Kakashi says, caring about your nails does not make you gay – and frowns. Wordlessly, Deidara holds up a bottle of orange nail polish, completely focused on Konan's nails. The color clashes horribly with Konan's pretty blue hair, and Obito scowls as he squints at the offending bottle. "That's shit," he says.
Deidara lifts his head enough to glare, then goes back to painting Konan's nails. "You're shit, un," he says, clearly offended. "This color is like an explosion, un! And I'm painting yours black, so don't complain."
Obito groans, letting his head fall into his hands. "This plan is ridiculous. I can't go into a five star restaurant alone! Why can't Konan come with me?" Nagato frowns slightly, and Kisame's deep, booming laugh fills the car.
"My nails are orange," Konan deadpans. "And I'm not wearing a dress. Take Deidara with you. He'll pass for a girl if we get him in a dress." Deidara makes a vaguely offended noise but keeps painting Konan's nails with surprising dedication.
"Oi, isn't that your shrink, Tobi?" Kisame asks, rolling down the passenger window and leaning out. "Hey, shrink lady!" Obito leans forward, looking out Kisame's window. Sure enough, Rin is standing on the corner in a knee-length purple dress, looking bored and a bit upset. She looks up, blinking at Kisame, confusion evident in her eyes. "Sasori, pull over," Kisame demands. "Tobi, you wanted a date, there's one. Get out."
"What? Hell no, Kisame!" Obito frowns, shrugging Kisame's huge hand off his shoulder. Kisame laughs again, and this time Deidara laughs, too. Obito punches Deidara, making the younger boy wail loudly. Konan glares at Obito and comforts Deidara, promising him that they'll stop by the new makeup store and he can give them all makeovers.
"Hey, doctor," Kisame calls out the window. "Um, shit… Nohara-sensei or something?" Obito flushes and shrinks down in his seat, covering his face with a hand.
Rin, damnably trusting, walks up to the car. It is, embarrassingly enough, a light blue minivan, and Obito would rather die surrounded by male strippers than be caught sitting in this damn van by his horribly attractive psychiatrist. She smiles at Kisame, sweet as always. "Can I help you, shark-san?" She blinks at Kisame, unfazed by his odd, almost-blue skin and gill-like neck tattoos.
He smiles, all teeth. "You're Tobi's shrink, right?" He checks her out, slow and obvious. "Damn, being a doctor must pay well." His eyes linger on her slim legs.
'I thought he was gay?' Deidara mouths to Obito. He just nods, sliding down further in his seat, a mortified blush spreading across his cheeks.
"I actually can't talk about work, doctor-patient confidentiality and all that." Rin tilts her head cutely. "But if you're looking for a psychiatrist, you can always schedule an appointment with me at Konoha General." Kisame laughs, and Rin looks past him, eyes falling on Sasori, Deidara, Konan, and… "Obito-san," she says, surprised.
Obito straightens, willing his blush away. He can still feel the tell-tale heat on his cheeks, though. "Rin-sensei…" he stammers, beyond humiliated. Konan watches their exchange with interest, amber eyes glittering. He can't help but let his eyes drift down her figure. Her legs really do go on and on, despite her short stature. "I'm sorry about Kisame…" he says softly. She smiles brilliantly, and he feels a bit better about his life in general.
"Hey, Rin-chan," Kisame interrupts. "You don't have anywhere to be, right?" She shakes her head, and he smiles, shark-like and dangerous. "Get in, Rin-chan! You're already dressed, and Tobi was bitching about not having a date for this op." Obito groans, sliding down in his seat and cursing under his breath. Konan pats his shoulder consolingly and hands him an origami crane.
"So what is this mission thing about?" Rin asks, all innocence and helpfulness. They're in Sasori's apartment, right across from the restaurant that Obito and Rin will be going to in half an hour. Obito has no idea how Sasori affords such a nice apartment, but now's not really the time to ask. Half-finished puppets lie on almost any available surface, and Rin eyes them with interest.
"There's a Yakuza boss eating at the restaurant today; he's meeting with a member of the Diet. We need to find out who it is and listen to their conversation, see if Prime Minister Namikaze has anything to be worried about. You," Konan says, smiling at the doctor as she finishes taping the wire, "are our lovely distraction."
"Ah." Rin swings her legs, gazing around the room with interest. "Do I get a gun?"
"No," Obito, Kisame, and Sasori say all at once. They're clustered in the far corner of the room; taping the wire to Rin had required taking her dress off, and they're all trying not to eye the half-naked girl sitting in Sasori's kitchen.
"Damn," Kisame mutters. "Itachi is definitely my type, but look at the legs on that girl."
Sasori nods appreciatively. "I wouldn't mind making a puppet that looks like her." Despite his words, his eyes are focused, once again, on Deidara. The blonde is dancing around the kitchen happily, singing along to the radio and trying to decide between matte and shiny plum for Rin's nails. He decides on the matte with an excited shout, lights something on fire in the microwave, and sits down to paint her nails.
"Okay," Konan announces, twenty minutes later. "We are good to go!" She helps Rin stand and smiles encouragingly. "Nagato is meeting Yahiko inside; they'll keep an eye on you and Obito. Are you ready?"
"Definitely," Rin smiles. Obito offers her his arm, and she takes it without question.
"Are you allowed to do this?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I'm your patient, and this might not be legal."
"We'll just say it's part of your recovery," Rin says, still smiling. "And if you're doing this for Minato-sama, it's not exactly illegal, either." She follows him and Nagato out of Sasori's apartment and across the street. Nagato goes up first; Obito and Rin wait ten minutes, then take the elevator up to the twentieth floor. The hostess leads them to a table by the window. Obito pulls her chair out for her; she sits and looks around in awe. Then she makes a face. "God, is this a sushi restaurant?"
Obito laughs. "I almost forgot – you hate sushi, right? The tempura here is fantastic, though." Rin's eyes light up, and Obito smiles in response. His smile fades as Sabaku no Rasa, Sasori's uncle and a prominent politician, walks in, followed by Ginkaku and Kinkaku. "Shit," he curses lowly.
"What?" Rin looks around, eyes widening as she sees Rasa. "That's Rasa-san," she says. Obito stares at her, stunned.
"You know Rasa?" He struggles to keep his voice quiet.
Rin looks a bit uncomfortable. "I treat his youngest son," she admits softly. "Is he the one meeting with the Yakuza?" Obito nods, and Rin's face falls.
"It doesn't mean anything," he assures her hastily. "We're just here to make sure that nothing happens. We don't know anything for sure." He prays to every god he knows that Rasa isn't mixed up with the Yakuza; Sasori, and his cousins Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara would be crushed.
The waiter comes to their table, and Obito has never been more relieved. Rin orders tempura – Obito smiles at this, feeling a bit smug for no discernable reason – and teriyaki and he orders tako nigiri and unagi. He leans back in his chair a bit, listening to Rasa's conversation with the brothers. When their food arrives, Rin frowns at the sushi before nibbling on her tempura. "Well?" she asks quietly.
"So far, so good," he replies. He turns his attention to the brunette in front of him, smiling at her. "So, Rin-sensei. What brought you out here today dressed like that?" He raises an eyebrow at her.
She stares down at her food, and unless Obito is way, way off, she's blushing. "A date," she admits softly. She looks embarrassed. Obito leans forward, curious and more than a little jealous. "Kakashi-kun set me up," she explains. "With some ass named Shiranui Genma."
Obito laughs. "Genma? Kakashi set you up with Genma?"
Rin smiles, tilting her head. "You know him?"
"Yeah, Kakashi and I went to school with him. Hold on…" Obito watches as Rasa stands and shakes hands with Ginkaku and Kinkaku. He glances at Nagato, standing by the bar with Yahiko. Nagato nods at him and discreetly follows the two criminals out. Yahiko follows Rasa at a safe distance. "Looks like we're done here. Yahiko, Sasori and Dei will take care of things from here." Obito stands, leaving a pile of yen on the table. He holds his hand out and, to his surprise, Rin takes it. "I'll, uh, take you back to Konan's so you can get the wire taken off." He doesn't want her to undress in front of him just to get a stupid piece of equipment back.
The hideous minivan is gone when they leave the restaurant; evidently Konan and Nagato hadn't waited, and Obito knows that Sasori will be confronting Rasa with Deidara – the twenty-one year old blond, while annoying, never leaves Sasori alone in uncomfortable situations. Obito hails a cab, feeling a bit self-conscious. He'd loved driving, before the accident in Sudan. (No matter how many times Obito assures Deidara that he doesn't mind the loss of sight, and that it's not the younger man's fault, he really does miss driving.) Rin sits beside him in the back, smiling as she brushes her hair out of her eyes. "That was exciting~" she says, even though all they did was eat food and watch Rasa talk to some convicts. He raises an eyebrow at her.
"Really? That was exciting?" He questions. "You must live a very dull life, Rin-sensei." He smiles. The cab driver pulls up outside Konan's house, and Obito tosses his jacket to Rin. It's raining hard, and Rin's dress is sleeveless. She pulls it on gratefully, and the run up the narrow path to Konan's front door. Obito tries the door; it's locked. He curses and bangs on the door, not stopping his assault until Nagato pulls the door open. He's wearing another frilly pink apron, and Obito glares at the offending piece of clothing as though it murdered his family. Not that he'd mind, exactly. "What the hell, Pein?"
"Nagato," Nagato corrects mildly. "It's only Pein when we're working." He steps back and lets them in out of the rain. "Hello," he says to Rin. "I'm making cupcakes. Do you like them?"
Rin smiles up at the lanky redhead. "Yeah. You're the one who baked those cookies for Minato-sama, right?" To Obito, she adds, "Let's work on breathing exercises in our next session. You need some Zen or something."
Nagato leads them into the kitchen. Konan is sitting on her usual stool, carefully placing the cupcake wrappers in the tray. "They were for Kushina," he explains softly. "She's my aunt." Rin looks at him for a moment, then nods, smiling.
"You look like her," she says. Nagato's face lights up, and Obito suddenly feels much better about involving Rin with Akatsuki. At least Nagato isn't terrible. Konan stands and walks over to them.
"Your cupcakes will burn," she reminds Nagato gently. He slips away to attend to his baking, and Konan takes Rin by the hand. "Let's get you something to change into," she says. "And I'll take that wire back, so Sasori won't be listening to you all day." Before Konan manages to sneak Rin upstairs without anyone else noticing her presence (Kakuzu and Zetsu are around, somewhere, though Obito isn't sure where), the front door opens with a bang. Hidan storms into the room, soaked to the bone.
"What the shit!" he cries angrily. "What the actual shit."
"That's what I want to say," Obito murmurs. Konan gives him a reproving look.
Hidan notices Rin, but other than the slight widening of his red-violet eyes, he didn't react. "I was on the street," he explains (without being asked – as if anyone would ever actually ask Hidan what's wrong), "looking for new recruits for Jashin-sama. And some asshole," he glares at Obito when he says asshole, as though Obito is the one who caused this whole mess, "called Jashin-sama a false god! Said I was going to hell!" Konan and Nagato exchanged faintly amused glances. "And no one else wanted to convert, either!" he complains. "Not a single convert for Jashin-sama! It doesn't make sense!"
"Hidan, no one wants to kill a goat every month," Obito hisses, clenching his fists.
"Every week," Hidan spits back. "It's every week, you rutting heathen!" When Obito falls silent, Hidan turns to Rin, curious. "Hey pretty bitch," he says. "Wanna learn about Jashin-sama?"
Rin tilts her head as she examines Hidan. "Wow. You're all kinds of messed up," she comments. Somehow, the words don't sound insulting. Hidan smiles.
"Is that a yes, bitch-chan?"
"I'm a doctor," Rin says. "So bitch-sensei would be more accurate. I'd love to hear about Jashin-sama, but I'm going upstairs with Konan-san right now. Next time, maybe?" Without waiting for Hidan to respond, Konan drags Rin upstairs. The three men left in the kitchen stare at each other in shock.
Then, Hidan breaks the silence. "Hell yeah!"
Obito punches him, and Hidan doubles over, hand covering his bleeding mouth. Nagato calmly pulls his cupcakes out of the oven. "Do you feel better now, Tobi?"
"Not really." Obito wipes his hand on Hidan's shirt, leaving a streak of red down the wet white fabric.
The club is crowded and dim, and Obito is pissed off. Not that that's unusual – he lives his life in various states of anger. But this is an unusual sort of anger. It's been years since Obito has been this upset at Konan. He can't help it, though. She'd pranced down the stairs with Rin in tow – the brunette dressed in a pair of scandalously short shorts and one of Obito's sweaters – and announced that they were all going out for drinks. Except Hidan. He had a goat to ritually slaughter.
Although, as Rin collapses into the booth next to Obito, his anger lessens a bit. Her legs really are nice to look at, and getting drunk with his psychiatrist, while clearly inappropriate, sounds beyond appealing. "Done dancing already?" he asks, leaning closer to her.
"I'm not really dressed for clubbing," she replies breathlessly, and takes a sip of whatever alcohol she had ordered – Obito hadn't actually paid attention; he'd ordered a bottle of sake and settled down in the booth, resigned to an evening of silent drinking. Now, things are looking up.
She shivers, the cold catching up to her since she's no longer dancing. Casually, he slides an arm around her shoulder. Rin looks up at him, eyes a bit glazed from drinking. For a moment, he's worried she'll push his arm off and storm out. But she smiles and leans a bit closer. It's a subtle shift, unnoticeable to anyone watching. To Obito, it's all he can focus on. "Hey, Rin," he says faintly. She blinks up at him, completely trusting.
"Yeah, Obito?"
He leans closer, until their faces are centimeters apart. "I think I want to do something really stupid…" The pounding bass makes his whole body thrum, and Rin is so close and so willing… She's pretty, and smart, and he hasn't gotten laid in ages – not that he would use Rin like that, she's too sweet, too trusting, too Rin to just be a casual thing.
"Well," she says coyly, "as your doctor, I'd recommend thinking all your decisions through."
"And as Rin?" he asks, voice a bit lower, rougher, than usual.
She glances down at his lips, and bites her own. "Obito," she murmurs.
He closes the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers softly. She wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him impossibly closer. His tongue traces her lower lip, silently asking permission. Her lips part, and…
"Damn," Kisame's booming voice interrupts. "Didn't know you had it in you, Tobi." His hand lands on Obito's shoulder heavily, and Obito grunts, turning to glare at his roommate. Rin pulls away, cheeks flushing.
"I should go," she says quietly. "I'll see you next week, Obito-san." She's gone before Obito can protest.
"Well," Kisame says, flopping into her recently vacated seat. "That went well, I think." He downs the remains of Rin's drink. Obito's drops his head against the table. What the hell did he just do?
This chapter is longer than expected, and I actually split it in two. Sorry it's late, and kinda rough (not that anyone reads this *cries*). As always, reviews are appreciated~ If all goes as planned, I'll be posting another chapter later this week; I have almost all of the story outlined. There will be some KisaIta next chapter (mostly KisaIta, actually lol) with a bit of awkward ObiRin flirting.