A/N: Sorry for the late update! Things got busy for me around the holidays, so while I kept updating this story on AO3, I fell behind on updating it here. I'll work on updating here until we're caught up with the AO3 version.

With Tobi sharing the same space and each stubbornly refusing to budge, Obito thought it would be impossible to fall asleep that night. There was still a lingering sense of doubt over their truce, a question mark with no answer.

Making matters worse was uncertainty over the next step. Rin and Kakashi had taken over his plans without hesitation, without asking—which wasn't a bad thing, considering how well charging in had served him so far.

But having to wait an undetermined amount of time him feeling nervous. What if it took days to find a medic that would help him? What if they found out his eye couldn't be healed? It might take weeks or even months to have full use over his kamui again.

"My medical skills are limited, but I do know a great deal about the Sharingan. Maybe I can take a look at it?" Tobi offered.

Obito nearly agreed, but then he remembered who was offering and stepped back, suspicion creeping in.

"You called me a replacement before," he accused. "You tried to kill Naruto in front of me so I might get the Mangekyou."

Tobi just shrugged. "Your choice."

In the end, Obito settled down to rest after banishing Tobi to the living room. He set rudimentary traps around the window and door just so he could fall asleep.

Not that they would do much good if Tobi seriously wanted to steal his eyes.

It was strange. Tobi rarely brought it up, but it had to be forever in the back of his mind, right? Getting kamui back would be a quick ticket to freedom for him.

Though he thought it would be impossible, Obito was so exhausted he fell asleep quickly, one hand curled around the knife under his pillow.

Very early the next morning, Rin brought him some good news. Apparently, the Sandaime had convinced someone to take a look at him, because the hospital said they could come in that day. Rin doubled down on making that her caveat for cooperation.

So, before it was even lunchtime, Obito found himself shifting awkwardly on the thin paper over an exam table.

Waiting. And waiting.

"This is taking forever. I bet he forgot about us," Obito said. He noticed he was bouncing his leg nervously and stilled it.

"It's still hectic here. I'm just glad they agreed to look at you," Rin said. She and Kakashi sat in chairs against the wall in the small exam room.

The Uchiha medic had given nothing away when examining Obito's eye. He simply looked at it under a light, asked Obito and Rin some questions, then left.

"That scratch on your head is looking a lot better," Rin offered. "I don't think it will leave much of a scar."

"I'm not worried about getting another scar. I just want this over with so we can leave."

"This is a terrible idea," Kakashi muttered.

"It's your idea," Obito countered. He didn't have to ask what Kakashi meant.

"We can look for it… if there's a way to stabilize your power. We won't get very far if you collapse from chakra exhaustion along the way," Rin said very quietly.

Obito dropped his tone of voice to match hers. "I know. I want to get healed if I can. If I have to infiltrate Kiri, that'll pretty much be mandatory. Especially if I'm carrying you guys, too."

"How are you going to find them? What if they sent it ahead? And what if they do make it home before we're able to catch up?" Kakashi said in an annoyed whisper. "You can't be serious about infiltrating Kiri. The treaties were just drafted. People will blame Minato-sensei for your idiotic behavior."

"He would do the same thing. I know he would," Obito said, even though he wasn't really sure. "I told Tobi to fill him in if things go wrong after we leave. Minato-sensei knows about him."

Kakashi pointed. "That's another thing. Since when? Don't tell me Tobi's been filling in for you all this time!"

"No, never before this. They met on the other side, where Naruto's from."

"Minato-sensei went to the other side? What else don't we know about?"

"Look, it's a long story—"

"Shh!" Rin said. Her chair was next to the door. She pointed at it, then held a finger up to her lips.

Obito listened. The medic walked too quietly for him to hear his approach. But a few seconds later, the door handle turned and the medic re-entered the exam room.

Uchiha Shintaro was in his early to mid twenties, plain-looking, and polite. His hair was tied into a short tail at the base of his neck, and fell around his face in straight lines. He wore the off-white uniform of the dedicated Medic Corps.

"Sorry for the long wait," he said. "I had my own thoughts on the matter, but I wanted to ask my sensei about it, too. For decades, he's been in charge of implementing the wishes of families and the demands of security when it comes to doujutsu users who have passed away. In short, he understands the fine line between reparable and irreparable damage."

Obito's palms started to sweat. "What does that mean? Is there a way to fix it?"

"Your Sharingan on that side will not activate, but you were able to read the chart." Shintaro inclined his head toward the eye chart hanging on the wall. "The exam suggests there has been a slight loss on that side, but not enough to explain why your doujutsu will not activate. Most of us, if we're reckless enough, can use it until we completely burn ourselves out. I do have a theory, though. Tilt your head up a bit."

Obito did as he was told, blinking in the overhead light. The constant sting he'd felt at first was rarer now. Blinking didn't hurt anymore.

Shintaro shone a light in each of his eyes once again. "Depending on how it develops, unusual talents have appeared over the centuries. You possess one of those—but I don't just mean the space-time aspect. Using something that powerful at your age should cause significant degradation, but you were able to use it freely. This is the only thing that has ever caused your doujutsu to diminish instead of strengthen."

"So, what does that mean?"

"Let me know if this stings." The medic put his hand over Obito's eye and it glowed faintly green.

At first, it felt vaguely nice, just as it had the few times Rin applied some healing energy to it. But something changed. Shintaro curled the tips of his fingers as if gripping something invisible.

It didn't just sting. The stabbing pain from before returned all over again. Obito cried out and flinched away involuntarily. Rin made a surprised sound.

"I'm sorry," Shintaro said. "From what you and Rin-san described, this Hunter must have been a skilled medic himself. Rather than physically stealing your eye, he cut only the tenketsu pathways. It effectively blocked your power without causing any other damage. Very few people could do something like this.

"Isn't that similar to what the Hyuuga do?" Obito said, wincing.

"Similar, but not exact." Shintaro paused. "Their style aims to cause internal damage through manipulation of the pathways. This is less refined, and more brutal. The paths weren't manipulated, they were severed. It will not heal on its own. We will need a skilled surgical team to try repairing the connections. For now, you should be fine as long as you don't try to force it."

"Is it really okay to leave it like that? Why can't you do something about it?" Kakashi asked.

Obito put his hand over his eye as the pain faded to a sting. Shintaro turned to Kakashi.

"I'm not sure even Tsunade-sama could do this alone. At least one other person would need to assist. We don't want to let this go too long, but it's also very important to get it done right. A wrong move could easily blind him in that eye."

"It's okay, Kakashi." Obito lowered his hand. "I'd rather it be done the right way. I can wait until you guys get back from your next mission."

Kakashi gave him a suspicious glare, but said nothing.

"We'll contact you when we have an opening. Then you can decide on a time," Shintaro said. "Until then, I'll have you wear a patch. Your cut doesn't need wrappings anymore."

"Thanks," Obito mumbled.

Shintaro looked thoughtful for a moment. "Sensei thought it worth mentioning… a blockage like this can be complicated by emotional causes. We're known for unlocking power in desperate situations, but it's not entirely unheard of for it to go the other way, too. While you wait, it may be helpful to try untangling the events that led to this. Especially if you blame yourself in any way. Working through it may increase your likelihood of recovering."

Obito looked down at his hands in his lap. He thought he could feel his hands trembling, but it wasn't noticeable.

"I… think I killed someone. The Hunter who poisoned me. It made me hesitate, and he got me. That's when everything went downhill."

It was embarrassing to admit, especially in front of Kakashi. He felt dumb for saying it. He was already a jounin. No one else had to worry about slipping down a path of world domination over a kill in self-defense. No one else seemed to question their very identities over it.

The medic put a hand on his shoulder. "You fought well. Remember: a shinobi is a tool wielded by whoever he serves in that moment. Two knives may clash and create sparks. But do we blame the knife? No. You and the Hunter followed your directives to the letter. That is all."

Knowing what he knew now, Obito suspected the Hunter's feelings about him was a little more personal than that. But he simply shrugged.

"For now, rest. You may resume training after your mentors return. They may be able to help you with that, too."

Obito imagined sharing his feelings with Fugaku and nearly laughed.

Rin stood and bowed. "Thank you for your help."

"Now what?" Obito asked as they walked out of the hospital into the bright morning light.

Kakashi raised a brow at him. "What do you mean, now what? Are you going to ignore what the medic said? You agreed we shouldn't go forward if you aren't healed."

"That's right." Rin quickened her strides to match Obito's. "If you haven't recovered, it'll end up taking longer than if we just waited. Getting hurt more won't solve anything."

Obito stopped. The shops around them were already open, but the street wasn't busy yet. Rin and Kakashi stopped beside him.

"Sorry. I know I'm not being reasonable. But I promise not to rush out again unless I figure out a way to use kamui without getting wiped out."

"Why? Do you have something in mind?" Kakashi crossed his arms.

Obito turned to Rin. "You've been in touch with the Medical Corps all this time, right? Do you know where Tsunade-sama is?"

Rin blinked, surprised. "Maybe. But everybody says she won't so much as talk to anyone. Much less heal anyone."

"There might be somebody else I can ask." Obito rested a hand on his side, over his burn scars. "But that would mean going over into Lightning, so it would be even riskier. If we talk to Tsunade-sama, maybe we can convince her."

Rin looked doubtful, but she said, "If it keeps you from rushing into Kiri, I'm in. But it will be hard to ask without telling her the truth. If she thinks the Sandaime sent us, she'll probably close the door in our face."

Obito thought for a moment. "We'll figure that out when we get there. All I know is, we have to keep trying. Even if it's a long shot." He moved his hand to his chest, over Hashirama's stone. He briefly wondered if showing it to Tsunade would help, would prove his story about alternate dimensions if it came to that.

Unfortunately, it was hard to imagine her reacting well to it.

"There's something else." Kakashi turned heel and continued striving down the road, glancing back and forth across the street. The other two followed.

"What something else?" Obito hurried to catch up.

"I was thinking about how to track the Hunters if it came to it." Without waiting for them to react to this stunning statement, Kakashi continued, "I thought we could look for reports from the ANBU already tracking them. They followed their retreat, remember? But there's a problem. After Kiri surrendered, their mission was called off. Not only that, no one has been able to get in contact with them, and they never sent their last scheduled report. The last anyone heard from them was near the cluster of small lands between us and Iwa, soon after you left."

"Do you think the Hunters got them?" Rin asked, hushed.

"Or someone else, if the Salamander caught them," Obito muttered.

"If anything, that proves how dangerous this is. Ame is out of the question. So how do you plan on finding them now?"

"I don't know. You tell me, leader," Obito shot back. "I thought you were supposed to be good at tracking."

"That's right!" Rin said. "You can call your ninken to help us. That way, we can find the trail while avoiding any really dangerous places."

"Unless the Hunters anticipated the use of ninja hounds. Besides, we'd need a sample scent for them to follow."

"Wouldn't the book still smell like Obito?"

"I bled all over it," Obito offered.

"Unless they dragged it on the ground behind them, I don't think that will help us find the trail." Kakashi shook his head. "There are so many things that can go wrong with this. It'll be a miracle if we get anywhere."

"This would be easy if we had Naruto. But that's the whole problem," Obito muttered.

Kakashi scowled. "Why? You think he's a better tracker than my ninken?"

"I know he is. He's a Sage. If something's made of energy, he could find it on the other side of the world."

"Are you sure we're talking about the same kid—"

"Shh!" Rin tugged Kakashi's sleeve and pointed.

They looked ahead. Further down the street, Obito saw Kushina in front of a produce stand. She had a shopping bag in one hand and held on to Itachi's hand with the other.

"We shouldn't get sidetracked," Kakashi said. "So? What's our plan?"

Kushina was talking to the vendor, but Itachi was looking around. He caught Obito's eye and his face lit up. He waved.

"Um…" Obito started.

Kushina noticed Itachi waving and turned around. Then she waved too. At that point, they had little choice but to go say hello.

"I heard you three were held back," Kushina said as they approached the produce stand. "I can't believe what those hunter-nin did to your eye. I hope you weren't too upset."

"What about you?" Obito asked. "Weren't you going to be in the last group until that happened?"

Kushina gave a smile that felt very chilling. It reminded him of how Minato could similarly freeze the air while wearing a pleasant expression. Obito wondered if Naruto had inherited that trait. If so, he hadn't shown it yet.

"That's right. Circumstances being what they are, the Sandaime thought it best if I stay close to home. I do understand, but… I'm glad the war is finally over."

"Do you know when Minato-sensei and the others will be home?" Rin asked. Itachi's eyes widened, and he looked up at Kushina quickly.

"All they say is 'soon'." Kushina shrugged. "They aren't staying in Kiri, of course. Last I heard, the Mizukage was refusing to come out to a neutral location and sign anything unless he could bring all of the Seven Swordsmen along as bodyguards."

"Losers don't get to make the rules," Kakashi said.

Kushina rolled her eyes. "Minato said okay—of course he did!—and the old man sent ahead documentation proving that Minato is the de facto Hokage, just so they had nothing to complain about. It should be soon. We're all ready to move on with our lives."

"There are already internal missions for delivering orders and dismantling temporary strongholds," Kakashi said. "Me and Rin might pick one up before everyone gets home."

"I should have known you weren't going to keep still." Kushina looked at Obito. "Are you not healed enough to go?"

"No. I'll be able to help when things calm down. Turns out that Kiri hates me personally, so the Sandaime thought I should stay home, too."

"If they had killed you, they would be in even worse trouble than they are now," Kushina said with another chilling smile.

"Will you be back for training later?" Itachi asked, sounding shyer than usual in front of Kakashi and Rin.

Obito bent to reply. "Definitely. It'll be just a little longer. My eye will be better in no time. They missed it by that much." He tilted his head downward to show the mostly-healed cut across his brow.

Kushina turned more fully toward him, hand held in a loose fist over her chest. "What about… does your power still work?"

Obito straightened, gaze drifting over to the colorful display of squash beside them. Saying no wouldn't be a lie—at least, not to the question she was really asking. He'd hoped to find the book before having to face Kushina or Minato.

"We just came back from the hospital, actually. They said they might be able to restore it with surgery, but it's going to be a little while before that can happen. The attack threw everything off, and they're probably expecting some people to come in from this last battle, too."

"Oh," Kushina said. "I understand that. I'm glad they'll be able to do something sooner or later. And… I'm glad you all made it back alive. That's what really matters."

"We were thinking about asking Tsunade-sama for help," Rin blurted out. "To heal Obito, I mean. Do you think it's a good idea?"

Obito looked at Kushina quickly. She looked partly surprised, partly curious. "Eh? Of course she could do it, but convincing her would be a long shot, 'ttebane. It might be dangerous to even ask! Isn't it better to wait?"

The three exchanged looks. Rin turned faintly pink. Kakashi clearly wanted to bring an end to the conversation.

"What's going on with you three?" Kushina's brows pulled into a skeptical line.

Obito looked around, making sure the street was still mostly clear. "Okay. There wasn't anyone we could tell, but the Kiri guys who injured me took the book."

"The book?"

"The book." Obito jerked his head significantly to the side.

Kushina stared blankly at him for a moment. Then her jaw dropped. "What?"

Obito saw some other shoppers turn their heads when Kushina's voice rose sharply. He hurriedly continued in a quieter tone. "We didn't want to tell Sandaime-sama or anyone else. But Minato-sensei will have to do something about it when he gets back, right? I want to go. I want my eye healed as soon as possible."

"You could have told me about it!"

"You and Obito have been ordered to stay here for now," Rin said. "Me and Kakashi haven't. Convincing Tsunade-sama is a long shot, but it's worth a try, isn't it? It's better than sitting around waiting."

Obito made himself hold Kushina's gaze. He didn't like lying to her, even if it was only through omission. The fact that her face resembled Naruto's so much didn't help.

"I want to bring him back to you. It might not work, but there's kinda nothing else we can do right now."

"We should get a move on if we want to leave today." Kakashi gave Obito a significant look. "Me and Rin can probably convince the Sandaime to let us find her. Even if he thinks it'll fail, he wouldn't pass up a chance to bring her back to the village."

"Okay." Kushina gave a sigh. "I can tell you've given a lot of thought to this. I'm still peeved you didn't come to me, but you're right about keeping it from everyone else. This sort of thing is exactly why Minato wanted to form a new squad. All I can say is: don't be too disappointed if Tsunade-sama doesn't return. It's a long shot, at best."

"We'll do whatever we can. That's all." Kakashi touched Rin's shoulder. "Come on. It'll take some time to get it all worked out. Obito, we'll meet back at my place and fill you in on what we're doing."

"Okay." Obito understood Kakashi's meaning. He had to be packed and ready to go by the time they finished speaking with the Sandaime.

"Good to see you. Please be careful, especially with Tsunade-sama," Kushina said.

"See you later." Kakashi glanced at Obito once more before he and Rin walked away.

There was silence for a moment. Itachi looked between Obito and Kushina, brow furrowed, clearly puzzled at the conversation.

"Sorry," Obito said. "If I'd been more careful, more alert, more… something, this wouldn't have happened."

"No. Oh—no." Kushina let go of Itachi's hand and pulled Obito into a gentle hug. "You're the one who got hurt. I'm just glad you're okay. I should have come to visit you—I was so distracted, everything with Minato and Ita-chan. I didn't think about…"

"Is it true you kidnapped him from the Uchiha?" Obito said, trying to inject some humor into the conversation.

Kushina pulled back, face crinkled. "You can't blame me, can you? He looked so sad without his parents, and those instructors don't see him as a kid. To them, being talented means you're too grown up to need comfort. Besides, Mikoto would have left him with me to start with if we'd known I wasn't leaving after all."

"I hope you're taking good care of Auntie Kushina," Obito said to Itachi.

"She showed me how to make my own storage seals!"

"Ooooh, you are so cute!" Kushina ruffled Itachi's hair. "He is a little genius, though. Fugaku wants him to attend Academy two years at least, but it wouldn't surprise me if he finishes it in one. Reminds me of Kakashi at that age. 'Course, I only saw him around every now and then, but I've heard the stories."

Obito wrinkled his nose. "I hope not. Itachi, whatever you do, don't be like Kakashi-nii. Okay?"

"What does that mean?"

"It means be nice to your classmates and don't be a stick in the mud." Obito glanced back the way Kakashi and Rin left. They would be waiting for him once they got confirmation, and he still had to get Tobi squared away at home.

"Aw come on, he's not so bad. I think your team has been doing very well lately," Kushina said.

"Things have gotten better." Obito held up his hand. "I need to get going, too. They'll be waiting for me."

"Alright. I'll talk to Minato about all this when he gets back. Just remember what I said. It's fine to give it a try, but I really don't think they can convince Tsunade-sama to come home. Being left out is hard, but this is really important. A decision will be made based on what's best, not necessarily what you want."

"I know."

"Whatever decision is made, Minato will want to hear the story directly from you. That's still a big help."

"You're right," Obito said, pushing down a sense of uneasiness. "Anyway, I… I gotta go. See you sometime."

"Wait 'ttebane!"

Obito paused reluctantly mid-step.

Kushina gave a smile that was a little bit sad. "It'll work out. Don't blame yourself too much, okay? You—and Rin and Kakashi—you're our family, too."

Obito nodded, a lump rising in his throat. He sidled around them and started off in a trot toward home, only slowing his step after turning a corner.

As much as he hated to admit it, they were all right. The chances of finding a way to heal him with nothing going wrong, much less finding the book, were looking increasingly slim.

And Kushina was right, too. It was too important to let his own desire to fix things get in the way.

But they had to try. He couldn't imagine not trying, couldn't tolerate sitting still.

Even if they failed, they might discover something, do something to take an extra step forward. And that extra step could make all the difference.

They just had to keep out of trouble in the process.