Once the meeting ended, Kakashi rushed home with the newly gained piece of information in his mind. Rin was with the Uchihas. And to make things worse, Orochimaru was here. In this village.

His father had warned him about Orochimaru. Orochimaru, originally born and raised in Konoha, had a disdain for his own village. The snake-like man had kidnapped people, particularly male children, in the past. And what has Danzo done about it? Or any of the other council members?

Nothing.

"Tenten," he called upon entering his home, and waited seconds before calling her name again. There was no response, and Kakashi cursed. Where could that girl be?

Shortly after Obito had disappeared, Izumi walked Rin back to the servant's house. Rin had wanted to leave, but was hesitant on walking alone at night. Izumi didn't blame her. As much as Rin wanted to wait for Obito, she needed to clear her mind and think about her next steps. Who knows who else may want to hurt her.

For tonight, she skipped the shower and changed into the pajamas provided to her. She still felt the sensation of water suffocating her, despite all of it being an illusion. Sometimes, she would touch her skin to verify that it had not truly burned away.

Lying on the small bed, she had been staring at the ceiling thinking about what to do when she heard a light knock against the window. Sitting up, she pulled the curtain a bit to see who it was.

Obito stood on the opposite side, looking more tired than usual. Despite his expression being blank, she could tell that something was bothering him.

She raised her finger to let him know that she'll be out there in a minute, and then quietly got off the bed. Her roommates were still sleeping, which was good. She exited the bedroom and eventually the house, her eyes landing on the male Uchiha. She wondered where he had gone to and done, but wasn't sure if that was the right thing to ask now. She noticed the look of concern on his face.

"Did I wake you?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"No. I couldn't sleep. I have too much on my mind,"

"I'm sorry for not being there to protect you,"

"There's nothing you should apologize for," Rin told him, standing right next to him and looking up at the starry sky, "This wasn't your fault. Besides, I don't expect you to always be there to save me. You have a village to protect,"

He turned his head to her, grabbing her hand. "You're also part of this village, whether others agree with it or not,"

She looked down at their joined hands, thinking about how much she wanted to explore this blossoming feeling she was getting for him. He felt so warm, and remembered that day in which he saved her from drowning. But she would be betraying her family if she didn't go back for them.

Rin looked up at him and cleared her throat, "I really appreciate everything you've done for me. I feel happy spending time with you… but I need to go home to my family,"

She watched as his smile slowly dropped, but she continued explaining, "My sister and father are still in Konoha, and things aren't getting any easier. I can't just stay here knowing that they may be in danger. I just need to know that they're safe. I'm thinking of leaving tonight…"

He took a step closer to her, not letting go of her hand, "It's not safe for you to go back,"

"I know, but I have to do what I have to do…I need to rescue them somehow,"

"Then let me take you," he offered, and Rin felt happy yet nervous about it.

"As much as I would love your help, I know what your clan will think… They'll think that I'm using you… Or that I will betray you once we get to Konoha,"

He smirked, which surprised her, "Don't I have to join the two nations in order to become Hokage?"

She nodded slowly, "Yeah…"

"Then it's a perfect opportunity for us to start uniting,"

She swore that his statement had another meaning, but kept her mouth shut and blamed the fact that no man had ever made her feel this way. "What do you have in mind?"

"I'm not sure yet," he sighed, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb, "But I promise that I will do everything I can to get Tenten and your father out of Konoha safely. I have a short mission tomorrow, but when I come back we will talk about our plan,"

"Thank you, Obito. I really appreciate you,"

He closed the gap between them, studying her facial expression as he slowly lowered his face towards her. His other hand cupped her cheek as their noses touched. Obito paused for a moment, studying her face as if trying to get permission. He watched as her eyes lowered to his lips, and he took the opportunity he's been thinking about for days. His chest felt warm as his lips moved against hers. And once her lips started to move against his, his other hand cupped the other side of her face. Her hands rested on his wrists before grabbing the front of his shirt, her body leaning against his at this point. Their lips moved sensually and slowly, savoring the taste of one another. Both of them felt a sense of relief, knowing that this was just the start of something new. They separated, each taking a deep breath. And Rin giggled, causing Obito to blink at her and wonder if the kiss wasn't good…

"Sorry," she said, her face flushed, "It's just that...I never kissed anyone...and...whoa…"

"W-Was it bad?" he asked a bit nervously, and Rin nearly laughed. For someone so strong and handsome, she could see how he was shy and uncertain of himself.

"No," she replied while grabbing his hand, "It was good…"

Obito gave her another kiss; shorter but deeper. "I swear I won't let anyone else hurt you," he whispered against her mouth.

"Will your clan be OK with my family here?"

"They won't have much of a choice. If we're to unite our nations, we must accept those escaping for a better life,"

"I'm nervous for tomorrow,"

"It'll be OK," he gave her a third kiss, and Rin nearly moaned, "Go back to bed and get some rest. I'll be leaving very early in the morning, so I may not see you until the evening."

"OK," she said, fighting the urge to pull and have him kiss her for a fourth time. They said goodnight to each other, and she walked back to the entrance of the house and waved at him before going inside.

Quietly, she opened the door to the large bedroom and tiptoed back to her bed. Underneath her sheet, she couldn't help but smile while touching her lips. She could still feel his lips on hers, and thought about what tomorrow would be like. She couldn't wait for her father and Tenten to meet him. She could already see Tenten trying to challenge him somehow. Rin prayed that her sister was safe and that no man had tried to force himself onto her.

Next Day…

Tenten finally appeared, and Kakashi could only glare at her as she swiftly walked inside. Just how did Rin keep her sister in check?

"Where have you been?"

Tenten gulped as she placed her bag full of weapons down. "I...was with Neji. He was telling about...the plan,"

That's right. The Hyuuga clan was ready to overthrow Danzo.

"It's happening tomorrow-"

"No," Kakashi said, shaking his head.

"Why?"

"Orochimaru is in the village, working with Danzo. The Hyuuga clan needs to stop and rethink their strategy,"

Tenten's eyes widened, "I need to warn Neji then,"

Kakashi grabbed her arm before she could disappear again. "No, I'll warn them. I'll talk to Hiashi himself. In the meantime, stay here and rest. With Orochimaru here, you need to be extra vigilant on what you do. My father has crossed paths with him. Orochimaru uses snakes to spy on friends and foes. If they notice suspicious movements from you and realize who you are, you can be locked up alongside your father,"

Tenten nodded, thinking about her father.

"There's something else," he said, "Rin is with the Uchihas,"

"She is? How do you know? Is she OK?"

"I believe so, considering she would be put to trial the moment she steps into this village. So it may be better for her to stay where she is,"

This made Tenten more optimistic about leaving Konoha with Neji and some of his family members. They can head towards the Uchiha clan, and she could see Rin again.

"I'll be back. But please stay here," Kakashi said, and Tenten nodded.

He immediately exited the home, and she entered her small bedroom. Lying down, she thought about the plan that Neji had told her. They were to meet at a specific spot, and from there they would leave. But before doing all of that, Tenten knew that she had one small yet dangerous mission in front of her.

Breaking her father out of prison…

The deterioration of Suna had been evident the moment Obito arrived.

The sound of wood and metal was heard as a large bulky puppet appeared. Obito's eyes narrowed - he recognized Sasori's puppets. He also knew that Sasori was inside the thing.

"I've been waiting for you… Obito Uchiha," said the puppet's raspy voice.

The Uchiha wasn't surprised - this wouldn't be the first time he and Sasori crossed paths. But he was going to make sure that it would be their last. The puppet master had an alliance with Orochimaru, a traitorous Shinobi who had an unhealthy fascination with attaining powers from other clans. Obito had never met Orochimaru, but had heard stories from Fugaku.

He felt movement underneath, and immediately dodged an attack as smaller puppets emerged from the sand. He activated his Sharingan and noticed the thin line of chakra threads holding the puppets together. One of them had a sword, and Obito dodged again. He suddenly felt chakra threads wrapping around his legs, but he easily escaped through them.

"I've been studying you since our last encounter," said the puppet, "I know your ability...and its limitations. And I can't wait to make a puppet out of you..."

Obito narrowed his eyes, running towards the larger puppet in which Sasori was currently inside.

"Katon! Goukakyuu No Jutsu!"

The fire ripped through the majority of the smaller puppets just as the larger puppet used a water release jutsu, causing a huge mist to appear.

The sound of puppets was heard again and Obito cursed as he dodged more attacks. Sasori, with just the twitch of his fingers, was able to summon more of these things. And Obito knew that he had to get to his enemy and immobilize him as quickly as possible.

He immediately summoned large shurikens from his dimension, the weapons bringing down the puppets as he finally stood face to face with the larger one that held Sasori inside. His hand quickly went through the puppet and grabbed the neck of the man he's been hunting down for a while. And in a swift movement, Obito pulled Sasori out from his puppet and threw him on the ground.

The red-haired man groaned, standing up immediately and pulling out a scroll. But before he had the opportunity to summon something, Obito kicked the scroll out of his hands and grabbed the shorter man by his neck and lifted him up. Sasori chuckled, but immediately groaned as Obito tightened his grip against his neck.

"You're finally done," Obito said, applying pressure on Sasori's neck.

The red-haired man chuckled, "My death may be quick, but yours will be excruciating,"

Obito's eyes lowered to his wrists, where he noticed a small but purple bruise. It was slowly growing, and Obito cursed as realization dawned to him that he had just been poisoned.

Wasting no time, he pushed a kunai deep into Sasori's heart. A strange cylindrical-shaped object popped out from the deadman's chest, and Obito quickly destroyed it.

Activating his Mangekyo Sharingan, he quickly began to teleport out of the scene just as his body began to fail on him...

Before leaving for his mission, Obito had stopped by and seen her. His unannounced visit had caused the other servants to become even more curious, especially when he told her that starting today she wouldn't be doing any manual labor. And that relieved Rin tremendously.

She spent the majority of her day helping Mikoto plant some flowers. Even though it was still manual work, the job wasn't difficult or stressful. As a matter of fact, it allowed her to get to know the older woman better. Mikoto had asked her about her growing relationship with Obito, and Rin tried her best not to give too many details.

The pair only had one kiss so far, which didn't necessarily mean that they were in some type of relationship now. Well, not yet at least.

"Rin! Rin!"

The young woman and Mikoto turned around as a little girl ran towards them.

"Obito needs you!"

The women looked at each other confusingly before running after the young girl. The young girl led them to the small clinic in the village and towards the fourth room. Upon entering the room, Rin gasped as she saw a shirtless Obito groaning on the bed. His eyes were closed and his body was filled with sweat. There were two medical professionals there, as well as Shisui and Izumi.

"What happened?" Rin asked, walking over to the bed.

"He appeared five minutes ago right outside the clinic. And looks like he was poisoned," Shisui replied.

Rin got closer to Obito, placing her hand on his forehead. His body was heating up, the sweat making his hair damp.

"We've tried some remedies, but the poison seems to be spreading pretty rapidly," one of the medical ninjas said worryingly.

Obito's eyes opened a bit, and he turned his head towards her. "R-Rin…"

"I'm here," she said with a smile, "I'm here, and I will take care of you. OK?"

"...I love you…" he whispered weakly, but his words were still heard around the room.

His confession had her stomach doing backflips - both with excitement yet nervousness. His body was burning up and she was trying her best not to panic.

"Save your strength for me, OK? I'm going to take care of you,"

He gave a slight nod before closing his eyes, and Rin turned towards the two medics. "I need every single medical book you have! And I also need some fresh towels asap!"

Author's note: Hope you all this (shorter) chapter!