Obito, Kakashi, and Rin approached the far gate leading out of town.

Just as the innkeeper had told them, there were a series of small, roughly-made buildings huddled beside the road just outside the gate.

Their matching design and construction suggested they were indeed lodgings for guests. But there was no sign naming the place, nor anything that looked like an office or a place to check in.

Kakashi stopped at the head of a gravel path leading to one of the rooms. "Whoever owns these probably lives somewhere in town. Or that old man sent us on a goose chase."

"It looks pretty run down," Obito said.

"We could try knocking on doors to see if this place is still in use?" Rin looked along the path, down the row of buildings.

"Sounds good to me. Maybe we'll get lucky and find Tsunade-sama." Obito started walking down one of the paths to a room.

The other two tensed, but followed behind him cautiously.

Obito stopped at the first room in the row and knocked on its chipped and water-stained wooden door.

They waited for a while, but no sound came from within the room.

"Nobody's there?" Rin guessed.

Obito stuck his head through the door.

"Obito!"

He looked around the room. It was dark, bare, and empty.

He pulled his head back out of the door. "No one's staying in this one. Let's try another."

But the next one they tried was empty, too.

"Maybe this place really is abandoned." Rin glanced at Kakashi.

Kakashi looked down at the remaining row. "Or maybe Tsunade-sama didn't want to have neighbors. It could mean we're on the right track."

"Right. We've already come this far, so let's keep looking," Obito said.

They tried the third room, then the fourth. It wasn't until they approached the fifth room that Kakashi paused on the path.

"Kakashi?" Rin asked.

He put a hand over his nose. "Smells like sake."

"This must be it." Obito reached for the door, but he didn't knock.

"Maybe we shouldn't," Rin said hesitantly.

"Can we really turn around now?" Kakashi pointed out.

Obito knocked on the door quietly. There was no response.

He looked back at the other two. Rin was concerned. Kakashi looked doubtful.

Obito tried the doorknob. To his surprise, it turned easily. He pushed the door open and craned his neck to look inside.

The room was dim. The only source of light was a singular window on the left wall, filtered under heavy tree cover.

There was not a lot to look at. It was a small, square space with rough wooden walls and dirty floor mats. On the back wall, there was a sink with a chipped mirror above, and a closet with a sliding door.

The low table in the middle of the room was littered with empty sake bottles. The trash bin beside the door was stuffed with takeout containers. The only thing in the open closet was a large leather bag slumped to one side.

"Okay. Someone is staying here, but they're out," Obito said.

"Do you think it's Tsunade-sama?" Rin peered into the room.

"One way to find out." Kakashi walked into the room and looked around. He took off his pack and sat down on the floor.

"We're just going to barge in and wait till someone shows up?" Obito half-asked. He sat down as well.

"Why not? We'll be in less danger if anyone but her shows up," Kakashi said grimly.

They waited in silence for a long time. Every now and then, one of them questioned the wisdom of what they were doing, or made some suggestion. But in the end, they always decided to stick it out a little longer. They needed his kamui to work reliably. Otherwise, there was little point in searching for the book now.

Shortly before dusk, the tree cover brought early shadows into the room. They had a small debate over whether to switch on the circular fluorescent light above their heads.

"If we sit here in the dark, she'll think we're enemies trying to ambush her," Obito said.

"She'll think that if the light is on, too," Kakashi said. "Or she'll think we're collectors, and then she'll never show up."

But Kakashi was outvoted, so they turned the light on. The white artificial light cast a pallor over all of them.

"So, what will we do if she doesn't show up?" Obito asked.

Kakashi crossed his arms. "We stick to the plan. Stay in this town tonight, then keep looking in the morning. I think she's here somewhere. Everyone was acting too shifty when we asked."

Obito leaned with his elbow on the table, feeling slightly put out. He knew finding a healer would save time in the long run, but it was difficult to wait. "I'm getting a little better at using kamui with one eye. I think I'll can move freely in this dimension again before long. If I can use it without getting worn out…"

Rin shook her head. "Maybe, but I don't want you pushing yourself. Do you want to go out there and then find out you can't do it? It's far too dangerous."

The front door flew open and crashed into the wall hard enough to rattle the window.

Everyone jumped up.

Tsunade was standing on one foot, heel pointed toward them after kicking the door open. It was a miracle it hadn't flown off its hinges. She lowered her foot to stand normally.

"Tsu-Tsunade-sama!" Obito spluttered. In the span of a couple seconds, he realized how foolhardy this mission was. The aura of hostility around the Slug Sannin was palpable.

Tsunade stalked in, watching them sharply. She put the paper bags she was holding onto the table. The bags clinked. She pulled a new bottle out and unstopped the cork.

"No," she growled. She took a large swig directly from the bottle and walked over to the open closet, turning her back to them.

"But—you don't even know why we're here!" Obito tried to get his bearings. He took a step around the table toward her. "We're not here to make you come home. We—"

Obito faltered when a hidden kunai came flying at him. It went through his chest and stuck into the far wall.

He stood still, heart thudding rapidly. If he hadn't been looking directly at Tsunade at that moment, his kamui would not have activated in time. Younger or not, she was still named Hokage in another life. It was wise to remember that.

Tsunade tsked and looked back over her shoulder. "I was aiming for your head. You should get out of here before my aim gets even worse."

Obito unfroze himself. "When the hunter-nin attacked Konoha, one of them did something to my right eye. Things at the village are so hectic right now, no one can fix it."

Tsunade shrugged out of her haori and draped it over a hanger in the closet. "You seem fine to me. You've got guts to come here, but I'm through. I don't heal anymore. And I sure as hell don't care about some Uchiha brat's vanity."

"There's more to it than that." Obito hesitated, grappling with what to say. "The Hunters took something from me! It's a book that has a dangerous jutsu in it. If Kiri figures out what it means, we'll all be in trouble."

Tsunade sat down at the table and pushed all the old bottles off with a sweep of her arm. It was only then that Obito noticed the unsteadiness in her movements. It was definitely not her first drink of the day.

She put the new bottle down and pulled a packaged anpan from one of the bags. The cellophane cracked sharply as she opened it.

"Leave."

"Nobody else can help us right now," Kakashi said. "An international war is bad enough. This thing they took—it could create something worse than that."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tsunade laughed scornfully before taking a bite of the anpan.

"Tsunade-sama." Rin sat down at the table across from her.

"What, girl? Spare me the theatrics. Nothing that important comes down to a group of kids. Or a washout like me."

"It's a long story, but we really do need you. And you're not a washout. We may not have had the chance to talk much, but I really look up to you—as a medic and kunoichi."

Tsunade finished off the bottle in one long gulp, then opened another.

Rin took a deep breath. "I've looked up to you ever since I learned about the standards you convinced everyone to implement. You saw a problem with the system and worked to fix it. You didn't just heal people, you saved countless others by changing the rules. You turned your grief into powerful change. It's one of the bravest things I've ever heard of."

Tsunade crumpled the anpan wrapper into a ball and stared at Rin, amber eyes narrowed. "Hardly. I thought I could put the pieces of myself back together by taking action. But I was wrong. Nothing I did stopped it from happening again. I couldn't save anyone that really mattered. So who gives a shit?"

Obito sat beside Rin. He looked hesitantly between her and Tsunade. "Coming back after what happened to your brother wasn't a fluke, or useless. I don't… think it's wrong to try and make things better. Hope isn't always this perfect, feel-good kind of thing, right? I think it's just the will to keep trying. Maybe it slipped away, but… but it had to come from somewhere. You wanted to keep going."

Tsunade gave him a hard glare. "My aim has only gotten worse since you started talking. Get. Out."

Obito felt a prickling in the back of his throat. He bent his head low, hands balled into fists on his knees.

"Please help me. It's hard to explain, but I have to get that book back, even if it means sneaking in to Kiri. A friend of mine could die if I don't. I made a mistake. I let it get away from me. I'll do whatever it takes to get it back."

Tsunade's only response was to take another long swig.

Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we should go. We'll just have to wait for Minato-sensei to come home. At least we tried."

"Wait," Obito said desperately. "You said the mission didn't have a time limit. Maybe we can jump to Lightning. I can ask Fumi-baa to help me."

Tsunade chuckled and leaned back with the bottle in hand, swaying slightly. "I never thought Minato's straitlaced little team would resort to treason."

"Our conflict with Kumo is over. Besides, the only reason we'd go there is to look for a medic. One who will listen to us." Rin put her hands on the table and rose.

"It's not worth the risk," Kakashi said. "Face it. We've done all we can do."

Obito looked up reluctantly. He shifted his weight, about to stand. But Tsunade dipped back forward and swept everything off the table at once. Obito fell back, startled.

"Turn around and lay your head right here." She tapped the middle of the table.

Obito looked at the others questioningly, then back at Tsunade. "What do you mean—"

"If the main problem is you can't use the Sharingan, it probably means those Uchiha-sized tenketsu behind your eyes have been blocked or damaged. Which means a delicate procedure using a chakra scalpel to reconnect the pathways." She gave him a crooked smile. "Of course, one slip of the hand could blind you instead."

"Um…"

Tsunade tapped the table again. "Trust me, you don't want me to do much more than diagnose. But I can tell you exactly what your healer needs to know."

"T-Thank you, Tsunade-sama!" Rin said.

Obito was suddenly no longer sure he wanted Tsunade near his eye, but he did as she said and lay back on the table.

The garish fluorescent light was directly above. He pulled off his eye patch and blinked. The world was still noticeably blurrier on his right side.

"Do you have a light?" Tsunade asked Rin.

Rin gave her a small pen light and Tsunade shined it into his eye. Obito tried to stay still and ignore the overwhelming smell of sake.

"We went to the hospital, and they said the same thing," Rin said. "We believe it was the hunter squad's medic who did this. I saw him use a chakra scalpel on Obito while the fight was still going on. I've never seen someone use it that way."

"You got off easy. Every Kiri elite knows how to efficiently dismantle a body. A medic of theirs could take you halfway apart without killing you. They are brutal, but precise."

Tsunade clicked off the light, leaving Obito seeing spots. Then she pressed a hand glowing with energy to the side of his head, above the cheekbone.

"Whoever examined you at the hospital was right. They wanted to disarm you while leaving the eye intact. They must have had serious plans for you."

Tsunade pulled back abruptly, and the glow around her hand faded.

"What's wrong?" Rin asked, voice pinched with worry.

"What? Something's wrong?" Obito shifted awkwardly.

"What…" Tsunade's voice wavered. She picked up the worn leather loop around Obito's neck. He realized the problem in a split second, but by then the crystal pendant was in Tsunade's hand.

After a beat of stunned confusion, her fist closed around the crystal. "You stole this from me."

"No!" Obito cried. He grasped the necklace and made it intangible. The stone fell out and he quickly rolled out of the way, making sure it was still attached around his neck.

"You have some nerve to steal from me, when you came to ask me for help." Tsunade turned to him with a grimacing smile and a bared fist.

"Wait, Tsunade-sama! You're mistaken." Rin stepped bravely in front of her. Kakashi stood in front of Obito. "We were here the whole time. Obito didn't steal anything."

"That's my grandfather's necklace. If you plan on selling it, better do it quickly. Otherwise, you may not live long enough to enjoy the spoils."

"It can't be that. I'm sure it just looks the same," Rin pleaded.

"Do something," Kakashi hissed at Obito.

Obito took the necklace off and dropped it into kamui to keep it safe. He felt guilty, but there wasn't much of a choice. "Rin's right. We didn't steal anything. All your stuff is exactly where it was when we came in."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, then turned to walk to her bag. Rin and Kakashi exchanged confused looks as she rummaged through the bag, searching.

She paused, then slowly straightened with her version of the necklace pooled in one hand.

"See? It was just a misunderstanding," Rin said carefully.

It wasn't, of course, but Obito didn't think saying so would be a good idea. He only hoped Tsunade would assume the alcohol had interfered with her senses in some way. Or even better, forget about it entirely.

"Let's go," Kakashi said quietly.

Obito shook his head. "It's not over yet. We can try asking when she's sobered up."

"If you want to come back in the morning, fine. But we're not getting anywhere right now. And Lightning is out. There are too many unknowns involved there."

"Wait." Tsunade turned. "You kids stay here. This town is loud at night, and you've done very well making yourselves known all over the place. No one will bother you here." She slipped the necklace over her own head, apparently no longer willing to leave it in the bag. Then she pulled her haori from the hanger and put it on.

"What about you?" Rin asked.

"I'm going out." Tsunade walked past them, pulled the kunai out of the wall, and left. She slammed the door behind her.

They all stood staring at the door for a while.

"So… what do we do now?" Rin looked at them.

"She has a point about the town," Kakashi said. "But what if she comes back later and forgets that she invited us? All the other rooms out here are unoccupied, so let's take one of them. Even if we have to break in, it's only for tonight."

Obito placed a hand over his chest where the necklace used to be. It didn't weigh much, but he felt the loss of it. While they were here, it was better to keep it tucked away inside kamui.

"Let's stay here," he said, surprising the other two. "If she sobers up by the morning, maybe we can ask again. We've got nothing to lose by trying."

"Except our heads."

Rin walked between them. "Maybe there's nothing we can do to help her, but… she asked us to stay, so maybe we should. At least it's something."

Kakashi sighed. "If you say so. Let's try to get some sleep. Be prepared to leave at a moment's notice."

"Sure thing, Kakashi-taichou," Obito said, the sarcasm mostly out of habit.

They all settled on the floor with their bags under their heads. Obito lay on his back with the wall on his right side. They all made sure not to lay too close to the front door.

Obito looked through the window above him for a while, then closed his eyes and tried breathing slowly.

Tobi woke to the sound of mingled voices down on the street. The autumn nights were chilly, but he'd taken to leaving the window cracked whenever he was disguised and alone. There was a cadence to the District he'd long since forgotten, and it was hard not to listen.

Today it sounded subtly different. Tobi, still cloaked in his younger disguise, pushed the window open and peered down into the street.

The cobwebs of sleep cleared from his mind quickly as he saw small groups of people milling around—some standing to chat, others walking toward one end or the other. The street was by no means full, but after days of emptiness, it suddenly seemed more alive than ever. There were more non-Uchiha around than usual, and plenty of people wearing flak vests.

Of course this would be his luck.

Tobi withdrew from the window and strode out, through the living room to the shallow foyer. He slipped on some sandals and ran down to the shop.

Hinako was standing at the ancient register with beaded reading glasses perched on the end of her nose, lips moving silently as she counted money. Tobi skidded to a halt in front of the counter.

"What's going on?" he blurted out.

Hinako raised her brows at him with the slightest hint of a smile. "Good to see you looking lively."

Tobi wasn't in a mood to play dumb. "Squads have returned. What about Minato-sensei?"

"Go to the gate and see for yourself."

Tobi cursed mentally. Avoiding Minato as long as possible was the wiser move. But doing so for no reason would only make him look more suspicious.

Without another word, he turned heel and dashed out.