Rin and Obito gave each other a weak and awkward goodbye before departing.

Izumi drove her to one of her favorite ice cream shops, and the girls chatted for hours. The topic around parents naturally came up, and Rin told her about her mother's disappearance while leaving her father's abuse out of it. Izumi had asked her if there was anything she could do for her, but Rin shook her head. As life continued on, Rin's hope of finding her mother decreased.

After ice cream, Izumi drove her home. Rin purposely gave her the wrong address - a house three blocks away from her true home. She felt bad doing that, but her embarrassment trumped that. She didn't want Izumi seeing the condition of her house.

As Rin walked up to the door of her home, she received a text from Obito.

"Call me when you get home,"

She smiled while responding to him. "I will soon. Give me thirty minutes,"

She opened the door and walked in, freezing upon seeing an unfamiliar man standing in the center of her small kitchen. Her father stood next to the man, explaining something. His face turned towards her, and he frowned sadly.

"Tobirama, this is my daughter, Rin. Rin, introduce yourself. This is Tobirama Senju, our future governor,"

The man's sharp eyes were on her. He didn't speak at first, which made him seem more unfriendly.

"Nice to meet you, sir,"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rin. Danzo has been telling me everything. I am sorry for what those Uchiha's did to your family,"

"Wh-What?" Rin was confused, and she glanced at her father.

Danzo cleared his throat, turning towards the taller man. "Rin was young when I lost my job, so she probably doesn't remember what happened. But she's working at a cafe not too far from here. She's been working there for years now, since she was a teenager. She wants to become a successful doctor. She's been working really hard, but it's tough out there. Especially with those Uchihas misplacing our jobs,"

Rin bit her lip in order to keep her mouth shut as anger raced through her. Her father was lying in order to suck up to this man, and Rin wanted nothing more but to tell him about her father's abuse.

"I have a niece who works at a hospital," Tobirama said, "She's a doctor. Her name's Tsunade. I can reach out to her, if you would like, Rin,"

"Yes, that would be great," Danzo said immediately, and Rin mentally cursed. She didn't want her father knowing anything about her career. He would use it for his own gain.

Tobirama nodded, "In terms of the Uchihas, I will be filing a formal investigation against them once I am elected as governor. Then, we will know what's really going on,"

"That is very good," Danzo said, and Rin looked down.

She knew that Tobirama was running against Madara, but there seemed to be some hatred there. While her father's hatred of the Uchihas was ambiguous, she wasn't sure what issue Tobirama had with them. What made things interesting was the fact that Tobirama's brother, the current governor, was close friends with Madara. Whatever happened, she just wished that her relationship with Obito didn't suffer because of it.

"It's late, and Rin looks tired," Tobirama said, walking towards the door, "I'll see you at tomorrow's fundraiser, Danzo,"

"Yes, sir,"

"Goodnight, Rin," the tall man said before leaving, and Rin closed the door behind him.

Once it was locked, she heard her father pacing from behind. "Where the fuck have you been!?"

"I was out," she replied, "Why?"

Danzo walked up to her, and Rin held her ground. "I was supposed to donate to his campaign today! I'm the only one in the team who hasn't donated! You know how embarrassing that looks?"

"That's not my problem," Rin replied, "I have more important things to do with my money, like maintaining this house and paying for my tuition. If there's one area he can help with, it's with that corrupt detective who barely did his job when mom disappeared,"

"What do you want Tobirama to do about the whore of your mother? She left us, Rin! When are you going to wake the fuck up! The bitch left us to rot in this place!"

"She did not!" Rin yelled back as she could no longer control, "Why don't you wake the fuck up, dad?! You act like a victim to everything, when you put yourself into this situation! Why don't you tell Tobirama about the times you abused mom!? He should be investigating you-"

Her head turned to the side powerfully, causing her to drop her bag on the floor as she leaned against the wall. Just as her brain started registering the pain by her nose, she felt her hair being grabbed before her body was thrown towards the floor.

"You lose little whore," he cursed, "Misako should've aborted you,"

He kicked her back hard before limping away, causing her to fall back. She felt liquid reach the top of her lips, and touched it with two fingers. She stared at the blood for a moment before getting up.

Danzo was in the living room, massaging his ankle. She wasn't sure what was causing the limp, but at this point she didn't care.

Covering her nose with her left hand, she grabbed her bag and rushed to her bedroom. Her shoulders, although aching from being thrown at the floor, were stiff as she grabbed a duffel bag. With one hand, she took out almost half of her clothes - jeans, socks, shoes, bra, underwear. She also grabbed her nurse uniform and threw it in there. Her mind continued to race as she grabbed a second backpack and packed all of her medical books, laptop and its charger in there. The last piece of item she grabbed was her purse, which held her keys and wallet.

The backpack was heavy, not helping the pain in her back. She then grabbed her duffel bag and left her room. With her hand still on her nose, Rin searched for her phone by the kitchen floor while grabbing some paper towels in order to wipe the blood off.

Her phone was lying face down underneath the table, and she grabbed it. Her shoulder pained as the weight of the duffle bag slowed her down. She was ready to call Obito but gasped when noticing the cracked screen. What made the situation worse was the green and black lines running through the screen, causing the phone to be inoperative.

"Where are you going?"

Pressing the bloody tissue against her nose, she exited her home before her father could follow her. The words 'get back in here!' became muffled as she closed the door and ran out.

With a broken phone, Rin had no way of calling Obito. Nor a taxi. Luckily for her, the last bus of the night was approaching and she quickly held her hand out to grab the driver's attention.

She rushed across the street, groaning in pain as the bags on her back and shoulders weighed her down. The bus driver waited for her as she approached the bus and got inside. The older man looked at her strangely as she placed her bags on an empty chair.

"You OK, miss?" he asked, and she nodded with a hand still on her nose.

"Yes, just give me a moment to get my cash," Rin replied, using her free hand to grab the money.

"OK," he said, closing the bus door and driving away.

She was the only rider in the bus, which made the trip into the city faster as the driver didn't have to stop as much. Nonetheless, it still took over an hour and a half for the bus to reach its last stop before becoming out of service.

"That looks heavy," the driver commented, "Where are you going?"

Rin gave him the address to Obito's home, and he shook his head. "That is over three miles from here. With those heavy bags, it'll take you forever to get there! I'll get you there in ten minutes,"

"Are you sure? If your shift is over-"

"It's no big deal. Now sit tight, I'll get you to where you need to be,"

Although he couldn't see it with her hand in the way, Rin smiled at the man's kindness. She watched the empty neighborhood, wondering how Obito would react.

"Is this it?" the driver asked as he stopped the bus in the middle of the street.

"Yes, it is. Thank you very much!"

With her bags in hand, she exited the large vehicle and stood in front of the tall condominium. Thankfully, the door to the lobby was unlocked despite no one being there. Walking as fast as she could, she reached the elevator pad and frowned upon realizing that a badge was required in order to use it.

"Excuse me, miss. Do you need any help?"

Rin turned towards the receptionist, who stood by the front.

"Y-Yes, I want to get to apartment 1605,"

"OK, but I need to note down your name and call the resident in there to make sure,"

Rin nodded, giving the woman her full name. The woman then called the apartment number, "Hi, Mr. Uchiha. We have a guest here at the lobby who would like to see you. Her name's Rin Nohara- Oh, ok yeah we'll help her come up,"

The woman disconnected the call and smiled up to her. "Follow me, I'll help you. Do you need more tissues? Your nose is bleeding,"

"Yes, please" Rin said, throwing out the one in hand before grabbing a bunch. She then followed the woman towards the elevator.

"It'll take you to floor sixteen," she said, and Rin nodded.

The elevator doors closed, and slowly the car started moving upwards rapidly. Rin watched as the numbers on the screen kept getting higher - 12...13...14...15...16…

The elevator slowed before coming to a full stop, its doors opening for her. Rin walked towards Obito's apartment, feeling anxious as her knuckles gently knocked on the door. It didn't take long for him to open, faster than she expected. But as he did, she kept her head down. Her eyes were on his bare feet.

"Rin,"

She finally looked up at him, and his eyes widened upon seeing her bloody nose. Obito grabbed the duffel bag off her shoulder, followed by her heavy backpack. He placed them in a corner before pulling her inside, closing the door immediately.

"Rin, what happened?"

He cupped her face gently. His thumb brushed against her cheek, and she hissed in pain.

"Come, let's get you cleaned up. Leave your purse here,"

He led her to his bathroom, making her sit on the closed toilet as he opened multiple cabinets and started to take supplies out - rubbing alcohol and balls of cotton. He got on one knee in front of her and grabbed the bloody tissue out of her hand. Rin kept her eyes elsewhere as he first wiped the blood.

"Your nose won't stop bleeding," he said, looking at her and seeing how she kept her eyes averted, "Rin, look at me,"

She eventually did, and his eyes softened, "Did your father do this?"

A nod, and he cursed. "Did you call the police-"

"My phone is broken," she quickly said, hissing at the pain in her swollen cheek, "It dropped when he punched me… That's why I haven't been able to call you,"

"We'll file a police report tomorrow,"

"Obito, no-"

"Rin, he assaulted you,"

When she remained quiet, he had her stand up and face the mirror. The broken girl staring back at her had teary red eyes. Her brown hair was messy with tangles. Her nose was red, dry blood by the nostril and her cheek was getting more swollen by the minute. She turned around, looking away from that broken girl, before facing him.

"I can't see you hurt like this again,"

"I know," she said, "But for now...please…"

Obito struggled with the idea, she could tell by the way he looked away. Eventually he sighed before agreeing.

"Fine, but next time Rin… Next time he does this, I will do something about it and you won't stop me… OK?"

"Yes," she said softly.

"I think your nose stopped bleeding, but your cheek is still swollen. I should have an ice pack,"

"Let me take a shower first…"

"OK. I'll put your things in the bedroom,"

She nodded and closed the door as soon as he left. Rin looked at herself in the mirror, seeing how her cheek was now turning a green-purple color. Her nose, although no longer bleeding, was still red.

Rin turned on the shower and took off her clothes, getting inside and enjoying the warmness. She rubbed her face, carefully removing the remnants of the blood near her nose. She realized that she forgot her soap at home. Not just her soap, but all of her toiletries: toothbrush, lotion, deodorant, razor…

"Damn,"

Well, at least it wouldn't be the first time she would use his soap.

Obito held her broken phone in his hand. Her phone was very old to begin with - it was an older model that had come out over five or six years ago. Fixing the screen wouldn't do anything. The back of the device was broken as well, and Obito knew that it was time she got a new phone.

The bathroom door opened, and he turned around. She had a towel wrapped around her body. Her face looked lighter, despite the swollenness of her cheek.

"I forgot my soap… so I used your soap," she said.

Her voice sounded lighter, and he smiled at her.

"That's fine,"

She walked closer to him, eyeing her phone in his hands, "Do you think it can be fixed?"

He shook his head, "No. It's broken from the back as well,"

She frowned, "Shit. Maybe I can buy one that's in discount,"

"Don't worry about the phone. We'll figure it out tomorrow," he got up from the couch and walked over to her. He eyed her cheek, "Let me bring that ice pack while you go change,"

"I forgot my pajamas," she added, and Obito chuckled.

"Grab one of my t-shirts,"

Feeling a little more like herself, butterflies fluttering in her stomach, Rin entered his bedroom. Her bags laid on the corner of his bedroom. She first grabbed a pair of blue panties before fetching a t-shirt from his drawer. The t-shirt fell by her upper thighs, which was enough to cover certain areas.

"Here," Obito walked in with the ice pack in hand.

Rin took it and placed it over her cheek, groaning as it made the pain worse.

"Why don't you lay down?" he said with a nod of his head towards the bed, "It's late anyway,"

"Where will you be?" she asked, watching as he began to leave while yawning.

"I'll take the couch tonight,"

She remembered their conversation from earlier about sex. There was still much they had to discuss about, and she felt bad ruining their moment with bringing Konan up.

"Wait, Obito,"

He stopped, looking back at her. She bit her bottom lip nervously as she held the ice pack on the cheek.

"Can you...I mean...Will you sleep with me?" He raised an eyebrow at that, and Rin groaned, "Ugh, I meant… Can you lay next to me? I...don't want to sleep alone tonight,"

Obito smiled, feeling a sense of content in his chest, "Sure. Give me a second, let me turn off the lights,"

Rin crawled on the bed, lying on the left side with the ice pack still on her face. Obito came back a minute later and turned off the lights. Despite the darkness, Rin could see the outline of his body as he took off his shirt. He then laid next to her, turning his body towards her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly, shifting closer to her.

"A little better… My back's hurting,"

"Those books of yours are heavy,"

"Yeah… and...my dad kicked me in the back too,"

There was a silence, and Rin wondered what he could possibly be thinking about. She then heard him take a deep breath before replying.

"Rin...one of these days...I may kill your father," his arm wrapped around her lightly, his hot breath tickling her uninjured cheek, "You are too precious for me to see you get treated like this. And I'm glad that you came here to me,"

"I was worried that you would still be mad at me,"

"I wasn't mad at you… I was angry at the fact that you would compare yourself to someone else,"

"I guess...I was feeling jealous…"

"Why?" Obito asked her, grabbing the ice pack and holding it onto her face for her as she rested her arm, "Do you not trust me on being faithful?"

"It's not that," she said, closing her eyes as she became hesitant. But if they were to have a healthy relationship, there would have to be honest conversations - regardless of how awkward it would make her feel, "It's that… Obito, almost all of my clothes are used. It's something I've had to do in order to make sure that the house still has water and electricity...that the fridge still has food… and that I can still go to school. There's been times where I would have to give up on one of those things just to cover something else…. Days where I would have to skip eating… I've tried applying for government help, but I never qualify because there are people worse off than me. Parents who have children to feed… There's nothing I can do but keep moving on and work harder. I count my money every day carefully… Jiraiya once caught me taking some food home. This happened three weeks into the job. My mom was sick and there was nothing back home, so I took some leftover food. Jiraiya was mad - not for me stealing, but because I wasn't honest with him. After that day, he would let me take home food that would otherwise be thrown out. Obito, I've had to eat people's leftover food at times…"

She sniffed as her tears rolled down the side of her face and onto the pillow underneath her.

"Rin, I-"

"So when I saw Konan… When I saw the fancy purse she had...her outfit, her shoes… everything… and the way she looked at me, like if I didn't belong, I saw how I couldn't compete with that. She could wear a bag of rice and still look elegant. Whereas, here's me… a girl who sometimes eats from customer's leftovers...who gets nothing but handmedowns...wh-who…"

She started to sob as years of hunger, abuse, and pain got to her. Years of wishing that one day, she would be free from the misery. Wishing that her mom would come back and rescue her, just like how they planned years ago.

Obito turned her onto her side and pulled her closer so she leaned her face below his chin. He rubbed her back soothingly, kissing the top of her forehead. He placed the ice pack on top of his side table. It would probably melt, but he would deal with it tomorrow.

"Shh, it's OK Rin,"

"S-Sorry, didn't mean to get emotional like that,"

"It's OK. There's nothing you need to apologize about,"

Laying face to face, he stroked her drying hair as she closed her eyes.

"Rin,"

"Hmm?"

"Have you gone to bed hungry in the last couple of weeks?"

Her brown eyes opened halfway as she began to recall, "Y-Yeah… On some days… Not as much as before, but yes,"

"Why didn't you tell me on those days?"

"I don't… I was feeling ashamed… I don't want people to think that I'm using you for your money and...stuff…"

"Fuck what people think," he leaned over so he was whispering over her ear, "Next time, you will call me. You will call me whenever you need anything. And, I will be giving you an extra key to my apartment,"

"That's not-"

"Rin, I'm not doing this for charity. I am doing it because I love you,"

She blinked several times as the words repeated themselves in her head. But Obito didn't stop there.

"I know that...it may be too soon to say that, but I really do love you, Rin. You are an amazing woman and you inspire me to be better… To do something great with my life,"

She finally looked up at him, and he wiped her remaining tears away. "I would kiss you right now, if it wasn't for your nose and cheek,"

A giggle escaped her lips, "Maybe tomorrow they'll be better. But," she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "I can give you a kiss… Thank you, Obito...for being amazing. I'm...not sure if I'm ready to say love… but I really...really like you…"

"And how do I know that you feel that way about me?" he challenged.

"Remember the sweater you gave me the first day we met? I...usually sleep with it on, cuddle with the teddy bear you gave me, and pretend that it's you,"

He envisioned it and chuckled, "Well, hopefully I am better than that bear,"

"Oh, you are," she said while tracing the muscles of his arms. She yawned tiredly, scooting closer to him and closing her eyes.

He pulled the covers over their bodies, tucking it under her head. Obito kissed her forehead again, smiling as he continued to brush her hair with his fingers. Even though he hated the fact that she came to him beaten and broken, he loved the feeling of her sleeping form right next to him. It felt perfect…. It felt right…

And eventually, he fell asleep too. That night, his dreams weren't plagued with war or violence. Instead, it consisted of him standing by a podium, watching a beautiful brunette dressed in all white walk down the aisle towards him.

Author's note: Thank you for reading & reviewing! I had this chapter fresh in my mind...decided to write it and keep it short. Hope you all enjoyed it!