The old man remained still as one of the guards walked around him.

"So one daughter is missing, and the other escaped. As a matter of fact," the guard said with a sinister laugh, "They're both missing! But somebody….somebody within our village walls...helped your older one escape. Can you tell us...who?"

The old man gulped as he slowly shook his head, "I-I don't know… All I remember was the ANBU men taking her to the center of the village and then there were explosions… many of them! I couldn't see where she was, so I assumed… I assumed that she was probably injured during one of the explosions,"

"We searched the entire area and have not been able to find her, or a body as a matter of fact… Which tells me that someone must've helped her escape. Now, can you tell us who would be inclined in helping her? Hm? Was it her sister? Or maybe a boyfriend?"

The old man shook his head, "I-I don't know… Please, you must believe me… I really don't know where my daughter is… Where neither of them are… And I'm scared for their safety,"

The Uchihas weren't surprised to see four male strangers dragged through their village and placed in prison immediately. It was almost a norm, considering nearby smaller villages enjoyed spying on them by sending amateur fighters to their land.

But when Obito Uchiha, someone who went from a goofy yet kind kid to an aloof and sometimes emotionless murderer after witnessing the gruesome death of his parents, walked through with an unconscious young woman in his arms, the entire village nearly dropped their jaws to the ground. When it came to women, the Uchiha barely interacted with them at a romantic level. That's not to say that he was sexually inexperienced, but romantically? The Uchihas had secretly ranked Obito as the least person in the world to get married or even know what it meant to be in love.

The girl was handed over to some medical professionals, several of the Uchihas watching as Obito simply stood and watched the girl get taken away.

XxXxX

"Were they sent by the mainland?"

"No," Itachi replied, "We searched their belongings. The males came from the Hidden Sand Village,"

"And the female?" asked Fugaku curiously. He noticed Obito finally turn his head towards them.

"Most likely from the mainland, but we're unsure. We'll need to interrogate her as well,"

"Did she have any weapons with her,"

"No,"

"She could still be a spy," Mikoto said, finally chiming in. "I do not trust Danzo. For all we know, he could have sent her as a way to seduce one of our men and gather our secrets,"

"Then we shall start her interrogation immediately," Fugaku decided, "I would like for Izumi to do it,"

"No," came the raspy voice from behind, and Fugaku nearly smirked. He was waiting for the moment that Obito Uchiha would say something. He remembered the villagers' reaction the moment the aloof man appeared with the girl in his arms.

"I will interrogate her,"

Mikoto narrowed her eyes, pressing her lips tightly.

'Seems like the girl already has one person under her spell…'

"You have to throw it like this," Tenten said, throwing the Kunai with such precision. It flew past the trees, hitting the red mark.

Rin threw the Kunai towards the same direction, hitting the same tree but missing the red mark entirely. She pouted as her younger sister laughed.

"Hey, at least I hit the tree this time,"

Tenten nodded, "Well, you do get partial credit for that,"

"Rin, Tenten!"

The girls turned around as their father waived towards them. "Dinner's almost ready!"

Rin headed towards her father as Tenten picked her weapons up from the trees and ground. Rin washed her hands and served the food, frowning as the Kunais and Shurikens overfilled their small table.

"Tenten! Don't put your weapons on the dining table!"

Rin felt herself regain consciousness, her eyebrows furrowing before she opened her eyes. She blinked several times before recognizing the white object above her as a ceiling. Her body laid completely still, but it didn't take much time for her to realize that her wrists were tied. The ropes weren't the same as the ones that the men had used on her.

She was laying on a small bed, and slowly sat up. The sudden pain on her back reminded her of the beating she had received by the ANBU soldiers.

"You're awake," a female voice said, and Rin looked up as she saw the woman enter the room. The woman had long hair, nearly down to her waist. She had a gentle face and smile, which reminded her of Kushina. "My name is Mikoto Uchiha,"

The door opened again, entering a male. Rin immediately recognized him as the one who saved her from drowning. Their eyes met, a silent acknowledgement passing through them. Lasting only until Mikoto cleared her throat.

"And this is Obito Uchiha. What is your name?"

She debated for a few seconds, unsure if it was a good idea for her to provide it. Even though the Uchihas didn't interact with those in her village, she worried that there could be secret treaties between the two. What if the Uchihas sent her back? Yet again, that was all speculation. She had no proof that the Uchihas and those allied to them would work with Danzo and his councilmen. So she took the chance, and slowly opened her lips.

"...Rin… Rin Nohara,"

"The men you were with… do you know them?"

She shook her head slowly, trying her best not to wince at the pain on her back. "No. They… captured me while I was on my boat… I do not know who they are, or from where they come from,"

Mikoto nodded slowly, and Rin realized that the woman must have already known that. But why ask, then?

"The men are from Suna, and we are currently interrogating them elsewhere. From what we know, they're nothing more but criminals trying to spy on us. They'll meet their fate later on,"

Rin wasn't sure how to respond to that, but knew why she was giving her this information. It was a warning, and it showed how the Uchihas showed no mercy to those spying on their land or people.

"Where were you going?"

"Huh?" Rin asked, unsure of the question.

"You were on a boat… Where were you going and from where do you come from?"

Now she had to be very careful with her answer. She could lie, but something told her that she would be caught immediately. Maybe she could tell them everything - how Danzo's dictatorship was destroying her village and they needed help with overthrowing him. But would the Uchihas care? Or would they take advantage of the situation, take over her village, and make it worse? It was another gamble, but staying silent would only raise more suspicion of them.

She quickly looked at Obito, whose expression was actually soft. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, as if waiting for her to speak. That sense of safety and trust was felt again.

"I...was...leaving my village…"

"And what is the name of your village?"

Rin gulped, feeling a bump on her dry throat as her heart pounded nervously. "K-Konoha…"

Mikoto gave her a small smile, raising her head as if finally getting what she needed. "I see," she turned around, "Thank you for the information, Rin."

And with that, the woman left. Rin looked down nervously, wondering if she would meet the same fate as those men from Suna. Her eyes looked up just as Obito was walking towards her, a kunai in his hand. She flinched immediately, her eyes widening as her heart thumped against her throat. Wait, were they going to kill her already? Not even bother asking her more questions about Konoha? Or sending her back as some spy?

He seemed to have noticed her reaction just as he stood in front of her, and held her wrist gently.

"I'm not going to hurt you,"

"Thank you," she said lowly, realizing it was the same thing she had told him by the river.

He cut the ropes binding her wrists, putting the weapon away.

"Can you stand?"

"Yes," she said, her bare tired feet touching the floor. She felt the wounds on her back stretch as she stood from the bed.

The distance between them either got smaller, or she just realized that he was standing very close to her.

"Why did you leave Konoha?" he asked, making her pause and stare at the floor.

"...I…."

"Obito," the door opened, revealing a young female with long hair. "Mikoto told me that I must take her to the cellar,"

Rin looked at the female with a confused and worried look. The cellar? Obito seemed to disagree with the idea. But nonetheless, he didn't object to it.

"For how long?"

The girl, probably a few years older than Tenten but younger than her, shrugged. "Not sure,"

"Fine," Obito said, turning his head to Rin and giving her a very brief nod before exiting the room.

Once he was gone, the younger female turned to her. Her eyes immediately narrowed as she noticed the cut rope lying on the floor.

"Seems like Obito didn't like seeing you tied up,"

Rin didn't respond to that, as she wasn't sure what the girl was alluding to. Nor was she sure that she wanted to even know.

"Follow me," Izumi said, and Rin did as instructed.

She wrapped her arms around herself in order to keep her top from falling and exposing her bruised back. She figured that someone must've taken her cape away.

Izumi led her outside of the room and around the building. They walked for some time before reaching another building, two guards opening the door. They walked down the stairs and into a dark hallway with minimal candles around. Rin quickly noticed several bars with people inside, and realized that these were jail cells.

Izumi opened one of them up and looked at her, "Inside,"

Rin walked inside the jail cell, and the girl quickly closed the barred-doors. Rin watched as the girl made some hand signals, the doors becoming locked immediately.

"From now on, you'll be staying here until Lord Fugaku determines what to do with you,"

"Wait-"

The girl turned around and disappeared into the shadows, leaving Rin alone in the cold musty cell. She heard a wicked laughter coming from the cell on the opposite side, and recognized the voice as belonging to one of the men who had kidnapped her from the boat.

"Hahaha," he laughed, pointing a bloody finger at her. One of his eyes was swollen shut, his top lip busted. "Looks like you're locked up with us, bitch!"

Frowning, Rin sat on the ground of her cell and bent her legs, hugging them as she lowered her face onto her knees and cried.

Author's Note: And this concludes ch3! Let me know your thoughts in a review!

Thanks!