Mischief, Sorcery and Growing Apart

In some places, Jackals symbolize the afterlife. In the shinigami's shadow they lead people into the next life. In others, they are mere tricksters, playing around and leading people astray, often with a bit of mischief.

Desolation, loss and despair. Abandonment… Other symbolism associated with the animal.

And of course, a favoured form of the clever sorcerer…

Tobi is a jackal.

Maybe not entirely. Maybe not truly. But… A jackal was the animal which had its DNA merged into his own. And despite what most would initially assume based on the way they appear. None of the children are really 'human' the way everyone else is. Just enough of animal is in them. Although, they are not close to the wild animals that roam Ikioi… no… rather they are more like the summons.

And, the Jackals… from Veredi Yabu are very close to their dimension twisting roots that come with being associated with death and the Shinigami.

And Tobi inherited that.

Also, as the wind whispers, Tobi inherited facets from Obito that slot in alongside these features. The kamui although years out of his reach, he only has two spinning tomoe in his eyes. But he would share it with his brother, with his aniki. Although really, at the same time…

He does not need the Kamui to teleport.

Not with his heritage from the Jackals.

So Tobi is a Jackal, with space-time natured chakra, Jikuuton, as they all do. It is as easy as breathing, as listening to the wind. And as he curls up, fisting his hands and gritting his teeth, his chakra rumbles and roars within. Rising in response to his emotions, and when his eyes snap open they glow with a red light within.

Tobi is not home.

Only the Jackal remains. Tako.

Not human. No thoughts. Just instinct. The thing that had terrified Shāo. Because there are no thoughts, nothing to process. Only instincts and wants and the single driving priority.

JACKAL.

JACKAL.

JACKAL…

The only thought that does make it through. The only thing that he is able to understand. His tail lashes, his entire body twitches, his eyes glow, the red rising through the entire room. Tomoe spinning, and his nails all sharpen, toughen. Just like Kama's change. Just like Kama's alteration, and he snarls. Ears sliding down, back aggressive. He snarls and rights himself.

There is someone there.

Tako snarls, looking up at the taller man. The one with straight chocolate brown hair, dark coal eyes. A long shirt with a high collar. Tako snarls, tail lashing out, and he can only just register that the man is startled as he launches himself forwards.

"JACKAL!"

"CHIKISHOU!"

"Fugaku! Watch the language you use around children!"

Tako is already gone, racing away on all fours, not thinking. Only moving, determined to find Jackal. Determined to find his companion. Behind him Fugaku leans on the wall with his face in his hands and shakes his head. Mikoto frowns disapprovingly at the man, and Itachi stares. Finally Itachi looks between his parents and back after the other child.

"What? What just happened with Tobi?"

Yue's ears spring up, and she looks up startled. Her hand is still in Rin's and they are in the middle of the street. Not on the way to the Academy, just heading down the street to get some groceries. Rin has already explained that she wants to keep a careful eye on her. Yue's nose twitches, and her ears swivel before dropping down.

"Oh… Oh kuso…" Yue mutters. "Tobi, something is going wrong…" she mutters, shaking her head. It's more exasperated than anything else. Before it abruptly just clicks and her eyes widen. "Jackal… he must have, he must have temporarily lost Jackal…" Or it had been stolen, but the Uchiha did not seem to mind Tobi keeping his precious toy. In fact, as far as she had been aware, they had been somewhat like Shāo, careful to make sure that Tobi always had it…

Perhaps not.

The fact is of course that Tobi is clearly freaking out. Tobi is freaking out, she can hear him. So she tugs Rin back, just barely in time. As Tobi races past, in a rather feral state.

"Great…" she sighs shaking her head. "Rin-nee?"

"Should, should we get Orochimaru to help? Or find Mikoto-san and Fugaku-san?" Yue shakes her head, before pointing. Because the Uchiha couple are already there, along with a rather dizzy and disorientated looking Torikeshi. Yue looks at all three of them, rather unimpressed. Fugaku shakes his head and Mikoto frowns, looking rather disapproving herself.

"Uchiha?" Yue asks lowering and tilting her head, allowing her ears to swivel. "Where is Tobi's Jackal?" she asks and Mikoto blinks, before her eyes widen. She must have just realized the significance of the plush. Just realized why it is such a big deal. Mikoto snaps her head around to glare at Fugaku who merely groans, and Yue hums. "Okay, so you do not know… so where is Tobi?"

"Tobi move really fast, and gone!" Yue tilts her head, slowly turning to face Itachi. "Also, Tobi moved on all fours." Itachi mimed and Yue nods her head.

"Of course! We just saw him…" Yue says her ears flicking up, there is barking. Howling, and yelping. Her ears swivel around and she shakes her head. The barking is followed by two voices swearing in tandem.

"Kakashi!" Rin curls a hand, her smile sharpening and her eyes closing. Yue simply shakes her head.

"We already knew how to swear…" she says, resting one hand on her cheek. "So do not blame Kakashi, or Obito-nii, blame Shāo-sama!" She smiles, before bounding away and easily landing by a rather dazed looking Kama. Who mumbles something into the dirt. He lifts his head and rolls over to face her before groaning.

Pushing himself up the wolf boy snarls before wiping himself down. He rapidly shakes his head before turning to them. Kama's tail lashes out behind him and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Something is very wrong… Tobi, is not… he…" he stops and takes a breath. "I went a bit feral myself a few days ago… but it was in response to a threat… Tobi is just reacting… Bull has Jackal…" he huffs and lashes his tail, a single ear flicking in annoyance. "And I do not know where the dog is…"

"Well… That is going to be a problem…"

There is a howl in the distance and they both turn to face it. Ears drooping.

Tako, does not need to think. Does not need to know anything more than what their goal is. And Tako knows what their goal is. Jackal. Their most important possession. Their first possession. The one thing that they know that they have always had. Always. So they move, all senses on high alert to attempt to track it down.

The scent familiar, firm in their mind. In their memory. Impossible for them to forget. Musky, dirt with a small bit of copper and lavender mixed in.

Something that they can not forget. That they will never forget.

It is their comfort in the darkness, the familiar in the strange and it is their home. Constant companion and the one thing that they have left. So they do not care to wait, and just allow Tobi to sob and wail about it missing. They force themselves forwards and breathe deeply. Tracking and compiling every scent. Every feeling, and they let themself loose. Let the rage and anger and everything that Tobi has been holding back push them forwards. Push them to their goal.

The wind howls around them and they snarl, eyes slit and teeth bared. Claws clearly visible and their hair even wilder than Tobi's normal hair.

Tako is not human.

Tako is the jackal within.

And Tako is furious because Jackal is their toy. Their companion, and only theirs. No one else has it and no one else can take it. Especially not some black furred mutt with a spiked collar. So they snarl and push themself forwards even more, the wind screaming warnings that only they can understand and hear.

Because the wind is theirs. The wind is Tobi's. Part of their nature.

And they howl. Gleeful and triumphant when they land on the canine's back, before sinking their teeth, their fangs down.

"GIVE JACKAL BACK!" The howl echoes around them, claws dig in and they feel the wind whip around them. "Give. Jackal. Back!" Their eyes glow, spinning with the sharingan and they ignore the screaming and swearing from the silver haired boy in a mask nearby. Tako does not care, they only care about Jackal.

As soon as the canine drops their plush they snatch it up. And snarl, tail whipping around. This is not the end. It is not over. No where near, because they lost jackal, even if only for a moment. And…

Tobi is still not happy.

Obito-nii can not come home yet… the wind whispers in Tako's ear and they flicker them both. Konoha is not safe yet, not with the danger in the shadows… And Tako growls. Hands digging into the familiar plush of their toy, and toes curling in the damp grass beneath their feet. Tail lashing the boy turns and he sniffs. Breathing deeply and opening his mouth. No, Obito-nii can not come home yet.

And…

Tobi still does not like this place. Because they did not want to come here. Not originally, afterwards they were not allowed to go home with their chosen guardian, and… they snap their head around and snarl at the silver haired boy. At Kakashi.

Because he left and never brought Obito-nii back home.

So Tako feels, knows, believes that there is still more to be done. Raising themself up they deeply breathe. Feeling the wind around them, playing in their hair and more. Another breath, in and out. Another, feeling their chakra, the energy around and within and. Eyes snap open and they howl. Disappearing from their spot between one blink and the next.

Tako lands somewhere unfamiliar to them.

It is also unfamiliar with Tobi, so both of them then. Tako takes another deep breath, feeling the pain and fear, sadness that just lingers in the halls. That weighs over the place like a heavy blanket and they close their eyes. Taking another breath they swish their tail and lower their ears.

This is wrong.

This is wrong, danger. Tako jumps to the side, spinning around and snarling. The one attacking them is barely a few years older than they are. Maybe just over the age of eleven. And Tako snarls, because the wind whispers about the secrets this place has.

Seals on tongues and fear, in the control of one going against the village. Already a traitor in his heart. If not in his soul. So Tako ducks down and crouches, Jackal secure against their chest. A snarl, eyes that memorize every detail and they launch forwards, slipping right through the fabric of the dimension to land back in their room.

And…

Tako slips back and away.

Releasing control back to Tobi. Who laughs and hugs Jackal with a huge smile. Heedless of the chaos that he has just wrought. That Tako wrought when in control. It is not like it matters in the long run either, and Tobi smiles. Closing his eyes, before opening them. Looking out the window and blinking.

"Tobi… Tobi, jackal to." the small boy mutters, before holding his hands up and breathing deeply. This is not something that he needs to think about. After all, it is in the nature of his chakra, natural. Innocent. Easy, and he just makes it appear. The small roll, the small object that Tako had marked.

A scroll.

One that they are not supposed to know about.

Not supposed to see.

Tobi hums, and taps his leg, before smiling. He looks at the plush beside him before standing up and tucking the scroll away into the box of shoes. He settles back on the bed and stares up at the roof with his hands behind the back of his head.

"Do not worry… Tobi can keep a secret" he says closing his eyes and smiling. "Tobi keep scroll safe for Obito-nii!"

After all… there is no one else in the house to hear him, aside from Jackal. Back where the plush belongs.

Yue stares disapprovingly at Kama, at Kakashi. At Bull as well because this is somehow the dog's fault. The deep bite marks left in the canine's flank are evidence enough of that. But, Yue is also disapproving because she knows, that it is not all their fault, not all the canine's fault. After all, none of them noticed that Tobi was missing his jackal.

None of them noticed that the plush was gone.

None of them, and that is what led to this.

So Yue acts disapproving. Because she is not happy about it at all.

Not. Happy.

They are the older siblings. They are supposed to notice these things. So why did they miss them? Why did they miss that Jackal was missing? Why?

Because, she realizes, they are growing apart. Split as they are now, they are less together. Tobi is free like the wind, and he is happier. Maybe not entirely, but as long as he has Jackal, and the support that those people, that the Uchiha give… that is all that Tobi needs.

And she…

She has Rin. Rin-nee. Who has shown her so much, given her so much, a new way to see the world. And even Kama…

They are splitting up. Walking down different paths, and no longer together the way that they once were. Not like they were down in the Lab, down where they grew up and… Yue still does not know how to feel. She is alright with the changes, but at the same time.

Bunnies are tricksters…

Jackals are tricksters…

Wolves… Wolves, like Kama are different. Pack, and family, but also freedom.

Kama is not settling. Not as well, not when they are changing, but as Yue realizes with this incident. They are all starting to forget, to not see. To walk in different directions and down different paths.

This is something that they can not change. And Yue… she does not believe that they should change it. She thinks that this is just another step, another way for them to break free and really. She shakes her head and reaches out to Rin. Allowing the older girl to lead her back home.

"It is time we stepped away…" she mutters looking up at the clouds in the sky. "Because change can not be stopped."

"What's that Yue?"

"Nothing, Oneechan!" Yue smiles up at the older girl before giving a quick look backwards, to what is behind them. "Absolutely nothing…"