This is the shortest chapter by far, but it's actually closer to my word goal than almost all of my other ones lol. Anyway, you'll see why it's a bit shorter than usual, and hopefully, it'll hold you all over until I finish the next one. Enjoy!

Day of Konoha invasion.

Hinata woke up laying on her side, blood coating her arms and her head throbbing. Everything had happened so quickly, and there were SO many! Zabuza could only hold off most of them, and it fell to Hinata and Haku to keep Karin safe. Hinata still wasn't sure why Kumo and Iwa nin were attacking them specifically. If anything, they should have been going for bigger fish if they were part of the invasion.

"You're finally awake," a voice said to Hinata's far left. She tried to activate her Byakugan but found that doing so made her nearly pass out once more. "Please don't do that again, you tried to activate your dojutsu the last time you woke up and that was half a day ago."

Hmm, she was in worse shape than she thought. "Who are you?" Hinata asked as she struggled to sit up and face the speaker.

"You can call me Tobi. Most of my… friends do anyway. I saved you from that group who was attacking you."

Hinata finally sat up fully and got her first view of the stranger who saved her. He wore a mask, a red swirly one that only exposed one eye. Probably blind in the other one. He was also wrapped in a black cloak, so she couldn't see the rest of him. "Why?" she managed to croak out.

"You are very important to a certain someone, Hinata. Someone who I hope I can enlist the help of one of these days."

Hinata's eyes narrowed as she came to a conclusion. "If you think that I'll just let you use me to get to Naruto then you are sorely mistaken."

There was a light chuckle, but it wasn't intimidating in the least. "No, you mistake me for the scum that attacked you. I don't plan to force or bribe Naruto into anything. I just want him to feel like he owes me enough to help me, so I rescued you. His princess."

Hinata relaxed and fought a blush at the words, "I wouldn't say princess or anything…"

Another soft laugh from Tobi. "Don't deny it, Hyuga. I had one of my own, long ago. That's actually why I need your boyfriend's help."

"How is that any different than using us?" Hinata asked.

"He'll have a choice. I'll bring you back once it's safe and you're healthy, and he will be able to choose whether to help me or not. He likely will, since my goals make his enemy mine."

Hinata could accept that answer, but before she could say anything she shivered. Tobi stood, removed his cloak, and moved to drape it over her shoulders. Hinata smiled in thanks, wrapping the warm fabric tightly around her shoulders. That's when she saw the first sign of trouble. Adorning the cloak were red clouds, the same symbol Naruto had told her to avoid during one of their various dates.

"You're Akatsuki!" her tone was accusing, but she could make no real move in protest.

"It's my current cover, yes. You see, my plan revolves around Akatsuki's 'leader'. I've met the man several times, and I have a great need of him."

Hinata was still skeptical, but she didn't have too much of a choice in the matter. She was honestly just grateful that her rescuer wasn't some kind of pervert. Then she noticed her surroundings... or the lack of them. Everywhere she looked was the same. Gray, floating chunks of land with a dark sky and horizon. She wasn't even sure how there was light enough to see.

"Where are we?" she asked with a new apprehension in her voice.

Tobi tilted his head to the side before answering, "I'm surprised it took you so long to notice! This is something along the lines of my personal pocket dimension. I utilize a special space-time jutsu, not too much unlike Naruto's Hirashin. I'm the only way in and out, so you'll be safe here."

Hinata was both relieved and worried at that statement. There was no escape, but there was also no danger other than this Tobi person himself. "And how long do I have to stay here?"

"I can't risk bringing a med-nin in here, the fewer people that know about both this place and you the better. You'll probably be naturally healed in a couple of months, at least to the point to where you can start rebuilding your strength."

"What? No, I can just regain my strength at home! I don't want to… burden you for so long," Hinata was panicking a little bit now. How would Naruto react to such a long separation? How would she react?

"Don't worry about it, it's really no problem. You know, I fought a lot of Hyuga in my day, I could also help you train when you're stronger. Just something to keep you occupied while the heat on you dies down."

"This isn't making any sense, why can't I just go back now?"

"Hinata, war has just started, and Naruto will be at the center of it. By extension, YOU will be at the center of it. If someone can get you, they get Naruto. For all of our sake's, I need to make sure you can protect yourself before I return you to a war-torn world."

Hinata was starting to see Tobi's reasoning, but she still didn't like it. "Okay, but what's your big plan with all of this?"

At that, Tobi turned his back. "Perhaps once we trust each other more I can tell you more about myself. I will expect the same from you though, little princess."

There was an odd swirl, and Hinata saw Tobi disappear into his own head. It made no sense, but that's what she saw. And for some reason, as she laid down once more, she felt like she wasn't being told the whole truth.

Two months after Konoha invasion.

Hinata opened her eyes and took the first conscious breath of her morning. By the lack of the breakfast smell, Tobi was obviously absent. She sat up and pulled down the light blanket, bunching the fabric down around her knees before pulling her legs free.

Her 'savior' had been very generous and accommodating the last two months, bringing her ample amounts of food and some furniture for her comfort. Her favorite gift was the bed. She was nearly completely healed now, and only her left wrist really gave her any problems anymore. She had gotten really lucky that nothing had been broken.

"Hey, sorry I'm late for breakfast," Tobi said as he phased in. As many times as she had seen it, Hinata still wasn't used to the sight.

"It's fine, I can cook for myself as well, you know," she joked lightly.

"I'd imagine s, since the days I can't make it here the food I find is usually better than mine."

"So what's the plan for today?" Hinata asked. Sometimes, Tobi would bring games with him, or even some books on lucky days.

"I was thinking… if you're feeling up to it how about some light training?"

Hinata froze, her hand stuck in place over the fruit bowl. "Really?"

"I mean, Naruto's training his ass off so why shouldn't you?"

That struck a nerve in the girl, the mention of that loveable blond made her heart ache. "Naruto…"

"Oh yeah! I also found out where he's training for the week, would you like to maybe take a secret peek at him?" Tobi offered excitedly. For some reason, he seemed to take a bit more interest in pleasing Hinata lately.

"Can we?! Oh, Tobi, that would be amazing!"

Tobi nodded enthusiastically before saying, "It will have to be pretty quick so he doesn't notice us, but I think we could pull it off. Would you like to see him with or without clothes?"

Hinata screamed a little as she smacked the arm of her friend, her face blushing wildly at the implication.

"You're right, I wouldn't be able to hold you off of him if we went to see him during a shirtless session. Clothed it is!"

Before Hinata could berate him further, she felt his hand touch her arm, and she was overtaken by the most uncomfortable feeling she could ever remember. Her eyes opened to see a new, lush and green landscape before she could make sense of the sensation.

"Shh, he's over there! Don't do anything dumb and make me restrain you, okay? I'm really trusting you with this. If he finds out about you, he could endanger all of Konoha by abandoning the war."

Hinata was still a bit wary of Tobi's squirrely logic, but her excitement drowned all of it out. She snuck through the brush with Tobi, and before long she heard the sounds of a massive battle going on. Leave it to Naruto to 'train' with live combat.

In the newly made clearing ahead, she saw her beloved. She actually saw hundreds of him. A few hundred were playing around with a Rasengan each, occasionally blowing themselves up. The other couple hundred all seemed to be fighting a single Naruto, presumably the real one. He was cut in several places, bloodied and bruised, but he was simply amazing to watch. Behind him sat a massive toad. It wasn't Gamabunta, who she met only once, but his size was comparable. He appeared to be barking orders.

Hinata gave a sharp inhale of amazement when the Naruto's started to fling ninjutsu around to supplement their taijutsu. The original Naruto jumped high into the air, spinning wildly to avoid what appeared to be air bullets. He fired off his own, followed by an extremely destructive Vacuum Wave. The clones either were destroyed or pushed back, and Naruto flung a trio of shuriken before they multiplied by a hundred or two.

The storm of metal met the combined prowess of every clone's stone wall, and the original Naruto fired off a massive Pressure Damage to break it all down. When he did so, roughly half of the clones were missing. Hinata felt elation at him having eliminated so many in a single blow, but then he leaped once more into the air. Every one of the missing clones burst from the ground, each brandishing a Rasengan and moving to finish the fight. The real Naruto unleashed a maelstrom from his mouth, the Great Breakthrough demolishing everything beneath him in an instant. The remaining clones near the wall's rubble mimicked him, blasting their own wind at him.

Naruto pulled a kunai, coated it in chakra, and gave a single, powerful, downward slash. The wind blew past him, but he remained unruffled. He must have cut through the jutsu with his own wind. Naruto then dove back into the middle of the clones, taking them out individually with his taijutsu.

Hinata was in literal awe, and I only increased when Naruto finished, heard an order, and created another few hundred clones without hesitation. Nothing but a single breath's respite, and he was back into the fray. He really was… amazing.

Hinata lurched as she felt the sensation again, a twisting, flipping feeling that upset her stomach a little. The feeling was accompanied by the despair she felt from being separated once more, but she knew Tobi thought it was for the best.

"Well, is he impressive or what?" Tobi asked happily from his spot on the bed.

"He's… he's my Naruto all right. I guess I can't let him get too far ahead of me, right?"

"That's the spirit! We'll start with some light exercises, and in a week or so we can move on to light sparring. You'll catch up to him before too long, little princess. Trust me."

Six months after Konoha Invasion

Hinata finished the form she had been working on. She had no real way to advance in her old style, so she honed what she knew to the point of likely being able to do it in her sleep. Tobi had actually started to talk to her more, telling her about an old team he used to have and other small things like that. She was never given any names, but she knew by now that Tobi was very secretive in nature.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Hinata decided to work on her new technique. She had figured out the Kaiten in only two months and Tobi's help, and she admittedly did not enjoy how dizzy repetitive use left her. Tobi had suggested modifying it a bit or creating a new defense altogether.

She had gotten much faster and much, much stronger. Her sparring sessions with Tobi usually left both of them covered in bruises now, but she knew he was holding back the majority of his strength. With her newfound speed, she got an idea.

If she could somehow keep her arms moving fast enough and emitting a constant Jyuken stream she could stand still while being surrounded by a shield. So far, all she could manage was near total protection of her front side, but she was flexible enough now to reach her back.

The sound of Tobi's now familiar portal opening made her stop her daydreaming. "Hello, little princess! I had an idea to help you with your new jutsu!"

Hinata noticed the wooden bucket in his hand, and she was immediately wary of any possible water to be thrown her way. "What is it, Tobi?"

The masked man held the bucket aloft, saying, "I'll throw these into the air, and you hit them all before they can hit the ground. And every round the pieces will get small and smaller, so you will have to be faster and more precise."

Hinata peered into the bucket and saw a multitude of leaves. It would be very, very difficult, but she was willing to bet on it working to some degree. Hinata flared her Byakugan, activating them and adopting a ready stance. "Let's give this a shot."

Eleven months after Konoha Invasion

Hinata was used to the swirling feeling by now, and the gray area was even more normal to her. Tobi had just taken her for yet another peek at Naruto, something that was becoming more and more frequent. He said that Naruto was leaving his secretive training grounds more and more to train as destructively as he likes to do. To be honest, Hinata found it hot as hell.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Tobi asked lightly, swinging his feet back and forth on the high stool he sat on. Hinata had convinced her friend to bring her more and more things to his little dimension, and she was honestly quite comfortable.

"Oh, nothing. Not naked Naruto that's for sure…" oh Kami why did I say that!

"Oh, you're already that age? That's adorable!"

'I brought this on myself.' Hinata's thoughts followed a deep blush. "I'm not even sixteen yet!"

Tobi's legs stopped swinging as he seemed deep in thought. "Sixteen, what an age to be. You know, I had my first woman when I was sixteen."

Hinata recoiled, taken aback by the personal information. Was it a sign that they were on trusting terms now? "Really? Sixteen?"

Tobi laughed then, "No, that's total bullshit!"

"Well… how old are you?" maybe she could still get some info on him yet.

"Hmm, I haven't counted years in so long… say, how old would you say that uh, Kakashi guy from your village is?"

Odd way to date oneself, but why not? "I would guess something around his mid-thirties? Maybe?"

"Then I am probably in my mid-thirties. Maybe."

There was a small lapse of silence, and before long Hinata found herself losing it. Usually when Tobi was around it was all training or jokes.

"Tobi? Are we… friends?"

The masked man sat still for nearly a minute, contemplating the question seriously. It had been so long since he had a real friend, and Hinata reminded him so much of her…

"Obito."

"What?"

"My name. My real name is Obito. Tobi is the name I use to… keep me safe. From Akatsuki and whoever else is interested."

Hinata was actually speechless. That was… huge. A simple yes would have done just fine, but she had no doubts now. Even if Naruto didn't want to help Tobi—

Obito

— with getting back the love of his life she would help him. And that meant Naruto would help him. How could she possibly show the amount of trust she had just been given in return?

"You don't have to say anything. Just know that I do see you as a friend, my only one as of now actually. I have a few things to get done today, I'll see you later little princess."

Day of Naruto's meeting with Pain

"Hinata! We have to take a field trip right freaking now!" Obito yelled as he entered his time-space.

Hinata was just finishing practicing her personal defense jutsu when Obito interrupted her, "Let me change out of my sweaty clothes first!"

"Five minutes, and I'll be back!" Obito quickly warped back out, leaving Hinata to rush to the water basin to rinse off a bit. She never passed up an opportunity for a field trip, they always involved seeing Naruto. And they'd only been almost caught once, so the track record was pretty good.

Rinsed and changed, Hinata waited for her masked friend to return. It didn't take him too long, and he was more frazzled than usual. It slightly worried her, but she didn't let herself get too worried.

"What's the occasion?" Hinata asked as she watched Obito fidget.

"Pain left his stronghold. He's going to intercept Naruto to test a few things, and this is the only time you'll probably get to see him in action until we fight him for real."

Hinata felt her heart jump. Pain was the man that Obito needed Naruto's help to defeat. If he was moving to fight Naruto now…

"He won't kill Naruto, not yet at least. And I'll have to keep us in a constant state of intangibility so no one senses us… with two of us, I can only really risk two and a half minutes… we won't have long but it'll have to do."

"Obito, what are you talking about!?" Hinata was almost hysterical.

"One of my… jutsu lets me become intangible. It's derived from my space-time jutsu. We'll need it so none of the hyper-aware people we'll be spying on can sense us. I'll also need you to have your Byakugan active."

"What? Why?"

"There's going to be something there that no eyes can actually see, and I'm hoping yours can."

It was a lot happening in a short amount of time, But Hinata had to try. For Obito. For Naruto.

"Let's go."

"What's with all of the rubble and dirt here? Who's that blind old guy? Why is Naruto just sitting in front of him?" Hinata's whispered questions fired off rapidly. To be fair she only had a couple of minutes to figure out everything.

"This used to be a pretty big town. Maybe a quarter the size of all of Konoha. That blind old guy is a body Pain is using. He's smart, and he switched out one of his bodies for one he doesn't actually use… clever of him. Keep his real look a secret. I don't know why Naruto is sitting down."

"What do you mean switched bodies? What kind of jutsu lets you do that other than the Yamanaka kind?"

"He has a special eye called the Rinnegan. It's more powerful than both the Byakugan and the Sharingan put together, and one of its many abilities is to control six different bodies. Each of them can have a separate power of the eye, but I don't know what they all are yet. The real Pain is using this old body to hide what he normally looks like."

Those eyes probably had something to do with Obito's plans then. "Why is he blindfolded?"

"So Naruto can't see his eyes. They'd be a dead giveaway."

"Then how can he see?"

"That's what your Byakugan is for. His best spying technique is actually a Summon. It's a massive chameleon, and it can't be sensed by anything other than some barrier jutsu. He refused to tell me anything else. Can you see it lurking around anywhere?"

"I don't see anything, but how would the summon help him?"

Obito was frustrated, but he tried not to let it show. "If you can't see the chameleon it's pointless. One of the Rinnegan's powers is that every person or summon that has a Rinnegan of its own shares vision. The chameleon has one, so he can see through that eye while that fake body is blindfolded."

Suddenly, everyone in the rubble field was standing, and then Naruto was blazing red with Kurama's power. Hinata tensed, ready to jump into the battle and help as much as she could.

Naruto fell to his knees, power gone. Hinata tried to move forward, but Obito's hand stopped her. Suddenly, she was back in her little pocket home, devastated by her inaction. "No! Naruto!"

There was a thump behind her, and she spun quickly. Obito had fallen to his side, shaking slightly. She was at his side in an instant, feeling guilty for not considering how difficult the feat must have been for him.

"Obito, Obito…" he wasn't responding to her, so she did the only thing she could think to do. The very thing she had dreamed about and was convinced would never happen.

She removed the mask.

She could understand why he wanted to never be seen without it. He bore a gruesome, twisted scar of some kind, and the entire right side of his face was twisted and disfigured. Somehow, that eye had survived, but his left socket was empty. Hinata ignored the sight and leaned close, placing her ear near her friend's mouth. She felt more than heard the small breath, and she sat back in relief.

Obito's one eyelid fluttered rapidly before opening slowly, and Hinata swore she saw a hint of red before it faded to black. Then, his eye widened in realization, and he turned away hastily while groping for his red mask.

"Why would you do that?!" his tone was both harsh and hurt, and Hinata's chest stung.

"I-I was worried about you…"

"Well, you didn't have to remove my fucking mask! You didn't have to LOOK AT ME!"

"I didn't kn-know what to do, Obito! I was scared for you and I just…"

"Just what, Hinata?" he didn't even call her little princess.

"I'm not a med-nin!" Hinata defended. "Maybe if I was I would have known the right thing to do, but I'm not, okay? I, I just did my best for you."

Obito had his mask back on now. And he sat with his back turned, his breaths coming heavy and hostile. "Whatever. Just train or whatever, I'll be back in a few days. We need to make contact with Naruto soon, and I have to go find out when the best time do it is."

Hinata didn't even get to say goodbye before he was gone, swirled into the mask he loved so much. She held back her tears, and she moved to make herself a small lunch. Life would go on, t was just a fight. All friends fought, but soon enough she'd be with Naruto again, and she could make it up to Obito.

You guys all know what this means! Is that a reuniting scene I see around the corner? Oooh...