Chapter Fourteen: Aftermath

The Fourth Hokage was praised as a hero. The destruction was unspeakable, the death tolls were high, but there was no doubt that it would have been higher if it hadn't been for the Fourth. The village would have been flattened if it wasn't for the quick thinking and action of Team Ro.

Yet Team Ro was in no mood to gloat, not when the Fourth Hokage was in a coma.

The Third retook the position of Hokage, claiming that it was only "temporary," until Minato woke up. His optimism was contagious to the rest of the village, but Team Ro didn't buy it. Not when Rin was Minato's tending doctor and knew there was only 34% chance that he would wake up.

And within the 34% chance of him waking up, there was a 46% chance that he would be able to become a shinobi again, not with the internal injuries that Rin had been too late to heal.

Seeing that Rin was too distraught to think about anything other than sensei's impending death, Kakashi took it upon himself to make sure he knew where Naruto was. Safe with a caretaker. Rin would ask when she came to her senses.

Shisui lamented about his inability to save the Fourth, cursing that his Susanoo had broken so easily under the force of the Kyuubi. But who could have known? This was the first time that any of them had seen the Kyuubi face to face.

No matter who prodded, Rin remained surprisingly tight lipped about the entire ordeal. Time after time, the Third sent her closest friends to try to get the information out of her. It was important as she was the only one left alive who had seen the perpetrator. As a last resort, the Third ordered Team Ro to try to get information out of her.

They didn't glean much out of her, like everyone else, but was able to report a crucial piece of information to the Hokage. The masked man was dead, his body burnt to a crisp. They were assigned to check the coordinates that Rin gave them and came back with a small pile of ash. Or what was left of it, after the wind took away some of it.

The Third looked disturbed to hear that Itachi had seen the Sharingan on the Kyuubi. Danzo demanded a thorough investigation of the Uchiha clan, while Hiruzen countered that the masked man was already dead.

"On the basis of what? A grieving medic and a pile of ashes?"

Itachi and Shisui volunteered to investigate their own clan, believing nothing suspicious would turn up. In the days leading up to the funeral for all those who lost their lives in the attack, Itachi and Shisui kept themselves busy around the Uchiha compound.

Kakashi often visited the hospital, despite his dislike for the place. Often times, his appearance served as a reminder to Rin that she needed to eat or go home and sleep. When Rin refused to leave, Kakashi was the one who brought her food, stayed in the room with her until she caved in to sleep. Always, he would drape a spare blanket over her body and disentangle her head from sensei's, lest she gripped too hard and cut off sensei's hand circulation.

Anyone could see that Rin was taking the loss very hard, but Kakashi was much better at keeping his feelings locked away. Anyone who saw him would only see apathy. In reality, Kakashi was taking it hard too, probably even more than Rin. It felt like Obito all over again, watching the rocks completely crush the right side of his body. Or Rin again, where he genuinely believed she had died, by his own hand.

Though he would never admit it, Kushina had grown on him. In the beginning, she was just sensei's girlfriend, someone he was polite to simply because he respected sensei. Yet through the many lunches she brought, forced dinners at their place, Kakashi had sort of gotten attached to the boisterous woman in his life. Just like Obito, she brought the party to life.

At this point, he could only hope that sensei would wake up soon. He didn't know how much more grief his heart or mind could take before he drove himself insane. One by one, all of his precious people were being ripped away from him.

He had been foolish to let them in, in the first place. Too naive to cherish the time he had with them. Too stupid to think that they would always be there, alive.

The only time that Rin left the hospital, or rather she was forced to leave, was when a council meeting was called. As the only one who was there when the masked man arrived, her testimony was necessary. Team Ro was also called into attendance.

And for the first time since the attack, Konoha finally heard the full story although severely fragmented. Rin recounted the story, but it didn't seem like her mind was there at all and that bothered the council. Especially Danzo and the two Elders, who interrupted her story every two seconds to prod for details.

The clan heirs were visibly annoyed at their constant interruptions, even if Rin was not. At least let the girl finish the story, before asking for more details.

"So I fought him," Rin was saying.

"And?" Homura prodded.

"He died. Well, he almost died. Almost dying, maybe five more minutes before his heart gave out."

"You expect us to believe that you single handedly took out an S ranked ninja?" Danzo.

"Well, I don't really care whether or not you believe me," Rin told him honestly. "All you need to know is that the masked man is dead."

Explaining exactly how Rin defeated him would require too much time, too many details that could very well blow Obito's cover. Or the village would end up suspecting Kakashi or worse, the Uchiha clan as a whole. Not that they already haven't, once Itachi mentioned that the Kyuubi was controlled by the Sharingan.

Yet their investigation yielded that everyone was accounted for during the attack, save for the ones that died. Their bodies have since been retrieved from the rubble.

"Minato sensei was fighting his shadow clone at the time I was fighting his real body," Rin added, after remembering this particular fact. "I felt the same chakra signature in a different location at the time."

"Your account of the entire situation is too scattered, too fragmented for it to be believable," Koharu interjected.

"Well, it's better than your theories, right? The man was a Uchiha sure, but he wasn't even human. I have no doubt that he had already long defected Konoha."

The Third finally cut in, signalling that this discussion was over. Rin gave a fake smile to the council, before plopping down in her seat.

Was it right of her to hide Obito's identity? Probably not, but Rin wanted to take the secret with her to the grave. At least she would bear the burden of knowing Obito's true identity and spare Kakashi of it.

He'll still have the untainted version of his best friend ingrained in his memories. Not the one preaching about "creating a perfect world" and ruthlessly destroying his previous home to attain his goals.

The conversation moved on to relocation of clans as their clan compounds were destroyed in the attack.

The council had graciously offered Kakashi a replacement land to replace the Hatake compound, which had been one of the many buildings destroyed in the attack. The land was a lot smaller than the area that the Hatake compound spanned, but Kakashi accepted it nonetheless. He was the last clan member anyway and having a "compound" was simply for sentimental value, not of practical use. Not when he lived at his apartment.

The council moved on to offer the Nara clan a compound near the outskirts of Konoha, knowing their preference of having forestry.

The placement had seemed fair, until it reached the Uchiha clan. Danzo pointed to the plot of land, on the very outskirts of Konoha, which was in practical isolation. A blatant power play as his beady eye dared anyone to challenge his suggestion.

Fugaku was clearly angered by this, but bit back his true thoughts, knowing that he would be on the losing side. After all, their heads was planted with suspicions that the Uchihas were the cause of the attack. Even if a clan head didn't believe it was true, no one would stick their head out for another clan; not when it didn't concern them.

Danzo cleared his throat, about to move on to the next clan, when someone suddenly spoke up.

In favor of the Uchihas.

"That's blatant discrimination," Rin drawled. "Why is it that you appease all the other clans, but not the Uchihas. Plot 24 is a much better option. There's a lake for them to practice the fireball jutsu and it's closer to the village. Makes no sense to keep the Uchiha police force that far away from the village."

And of course, the only person who would stick their head on the metaphorical chopping block for the Uchiha clan, was a clanless kunoichi. What did she have to lose anyways? Besides, Rin knew her words held a lot of weight, especially in recent years when she saved more members' lives from the prominent clans than she cared to admit. And the most stuck up clans, Hyuga and Uchiha, were also the most grateful. Even if they would never openly admit it.

"You know nothing." Danzo tried to dismiss her claims as nothing, but it was clear that the other clan heads were beginning to doubt Danzo's decision.

The Hyuga was the first to speak for the Uchiha, surprisingly. "It will do the village no good if its police force is in isolation."

A chorus of agreements rang out among the clan heads.

"The villagers fear the presence of the Uchiha after the attack. It is better to keep them further away from the village. And naturally, the Uchiha would be stripped of its governing powers associated with its police force," Koharu cut in.

"You suspect," Kakashi stated. "You have no evidence that it is one of our own Uchiha who committed the crime. If that's the case, you will only serve to alienate one of the most powerful clans in Konoha. Is another war what you want?"

"I don't believe that you have much of an opinion, son of White Fang," Homura replied.

"Oh? So you are willing to start another war by alienating the Uchiha clan? Just like your condemnation of my father drove him to suicide?"

"Besides, I was the one who was there. And believe me when I say it's not one of our own," Rin added.

Danzo knew he was fighting a losing battle when the Nara clan chipped in, suggesting to draw lots instead of assigning. In that case, there wouldn't be any discrimination or displeasure from receiving an undesirable land plot. Kakashi was the first to put his plot of land into the mix, followed by the Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Hyuga.

In the end, drawing plots of land hadn't been necessary. Danzo conceded, allowing Uchiha to claim plot 24, while their original assigned plot was given to the Aburame clan, who favored isolation. Danzo and the Elders were fuming at the outcome of the meeting.

Damned Uchiha loving brats.

Itachi and his father caught up with Rin and Kakashi as they exited the council room, heading in the direction of the hospital once more.

"Thank you for speaking up for us," Itachi said, bowing slightly. His father was too proud to do so, but gratitude was written all over his face.

"They're just being ridiculous," Rin said, waving off his thanks. "The Uchiha clan is innocent."

"You know the identity of the masked man," Itachi stated.

"Yes, he's some underling of Madara Uchiha. A descendant of one of his followers." A half lie, but that would do. It was the most that she could come up with, after the conversation that she had with Obito, who visited her in her mind landscape when she finally fell asleep.

"Ne, are you alright?"

The younger version of Obito appeared before her in the yellowish landscape, a dimension of some sort? That Obito had his goggled pushed up to his forehead, hand reaching out to comfort the older version of herself, the one in Anbu uniform. Her Cat mask was pushed to the side of her head, tears openly sliding down her face.

"You don't deserve to appear before me like that," Rin hissed. "You're no longer the Obito who I know."

Gradually, the younger Obito disappeared, replaced by his masked man persona. Except his left half of his body was already missing, reduced to nothing more than just a glob of goo.

"I'm sorry." The fact that older Obito had the decency to look sorry; Rin was angry.

"You killed Kushina nee and Minato sensei might not live!" Rin shouted at him. Reaching into her kunai holster, she pulled a kunai out, throwing it right at him. Unfortunately, this was her mind landscape and Obito was made up of the remnants of his chakra that he injected into her before he died, so Obito remained uninjured.

Unfortunately.

"Why?" Rin looked defeated, shoulders sagging as she stared blankly at the ground. "What could possibly possess you to do that?"

She listened absently to Obito, who told her all about how he had survived. How Zetsu found him and repaired his body with Hashirama cells before taking him to Madara. How Madara had deemed him to be the successor of his Eye of Moon plan. How Madara collaborated with Kiri to kidnap her, to seal the sanbi inside of her, to destroy Konoha in the process and allowing him to see his precious village being destroyed and his friends dying.

"I suppose seeing your death just set something off inside of me," Obito admitted, sadly. "The desire to create a world, a world where everything is perfect. Everyone that I care about is alive; everything goes exactly how I want it to."

Rin shook her head. "That's no excuse. When your friend dies, you move on. You become stronger to protect the next generation. You become stronger so you can prevent another friend from dying. You move on."

"It hurts," Rin continued. "It leaves a damn hole in your heart. But you keep living because you know the person will want you to. You keep living for the person, so when you die, you can tell them all about. Just like how Kakashi kept living and didn't succumb to the hatred in his heart...because he promised you that he would let you see the future with your eye."

"I know, but I can only count on you to stop it. Even if I am dead, there are others who are carrying out my will. Madara's will."

The disappointment on her face grew by the second as Obito told her all that he had done thus far. The Ame orphans that he approached, to start a new group called the Akatsuki. Their plans to expand the organization by recruiting S ranked missing nins.

"For the plan to be executed, they will hunt down all nine tailed beasts. When all nine beasts are gathered together, the ten tails will be born. Along with the Rinnegan, the Eye of Moon plan will be activated and it will place everyone under a dream."

"But you are the only one who knows how to activate it, do you not? Even if your underlings gather the necessary tailed beasts, no one can activate it."

"Perhaps that is the case," Obito said. "But as a precaution...Madara is a crafty man. I wouldn't put it past him to have a back up plan."

"And Madara? Is he dead?"

"Supposedly."

Well, that wasn't comforting to know at all, even more so than the looming threat of a potential S class criminal organization.

"Don't worry; they won't get past the three tails."

She may not know where to track them down and prevent them from forming, or where the other two tailed beasts were, but she would be damned if she couldn't halt the plan at the third tailed beast. After all, there was no way she was giving up Isobu, not without a fight.

"This a goodbye," Obito told her, as his chakra began to flicker on and off. The older Obito cracked one more, sad smile at her. "I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me, one day."

Rin wouldn't.

And since that day, she would never visit the memorial stone ever again.

Not when the Obito she would always remember was the perpetrator behind the Kyuubi attack, the killer of Kushina nee, and the first domino to fall in the many events to follow.

Rin placed herself on an indefinite leave from the Shinobi Corps to work tirelessly to figure out if there was any way to help sensei wake up. Her research allowed her to figure out a way to increase his chances of remaining a shinobi to 68%, but that was all contingent on him waking up first.

The funeral came and went, the reparations were started and everything seemingly went back to normal. The Third was the stand in Hokage, but as more time passed, the more it seemed to everyone that the Sandaime was here to stay. Their optimism waned, before flickering out completely by the third month of Minato's comatose state.

Kakashi wanted to be pulled off the active mission roster so he could stay with his sensei as well, but Rin managed to convince him to stay in the Anbu, stay apart of Team Ro. With the uncertainty and underlying tension between the Hokage and Danzo, the Third would need all the help he could get. Rather than being sent on missions after missions, Team Ro was now considered to be part of the Sandaime's personal guards.

That allowed Itachi to stay in the village and spend more time in the village. Additionally, Itachi and Shisui's presence at the Uchiha compound helped to curb some of the restlessness at Fugaku's lack of inaction towards the village. Predictably, many of the Uchihas were angry at the false accusations placed upon them. Even if Danzo's scheme to isolate them had failed, the Uchihas were still on the receiving end of many suspicious looks from villagers. Some even dared to hurl some spiteful choice of words at some clansmen.

Kakashi and Shisui had also teamed up to do their own private investigation of Danzo and the supposed Foundation. The Fourth had dissolved it under his leadership, but there were still some suspicious activity that went on. For the most part, the Third preferred to turn a blind eye to the situation, but Kakashi and Shisui would not.

Their vigilance paid off when they were able to successfully foil a plan to kill the Third Hokage. Kakashi had taken to impersonate the Hokage, drawing away the mysterious nins, while Shisui and Itachi guarded the Third on the way to the Daimyo's castle. Kakashi killed off all of the nins, save for one where he tried to use interrogation tactics to get him to talk.

The nin tried, but was immediately killed for speaking. Kakashi found a seal on his tongue, burning the pattern into his mind. He would ask Rin about it later.

Between his knowledge, Rin's knowledge, and Kushina's gift of a book on fuinjutsu, Kakashi managed to figure out that it was a seal designed to keep someone from talking. There was a trigger, a specific word or topics that the nin wasn't allowed to mention. The warning was a burn to the tongue and if the nin persisted too long in trying to speak on the forbidden topic, the seal would kill them. Yet, Kakashi was unable to figure out the origins of the seal or who the caster was.

Back to square one.

A/N: Hi again. :)

So some concerns that I wanted to clear up from the previous chapter:

Kakashi doesn't know the man is Obito. At the very end, Rin is the one who is narrating and I understand that it might have been sort of confusing. By the time Kakashi arrived at the scene, Obito's body was already burnt to the point where he is unrecognizable.

So how did Obito get hit? While Rin was attacking him, Obito's phased part of his body to the other dimension. At the same time, on the other side of the village, Kakashi used Kamui to warp the bijuu bomb away into that dimension. Since their eyes are connected, Obito got blasted with the bomb.

Why couldn't Rin heal him? Rin certainly did have enough chakra, that wasn't the problem. The artificial part of his body had been ripped apart at that point and he was suffering injuries from being slammed with a bijuu bomb; I can't imagine any medical ninjutsu being able to save him from that. Plus, Obito didn't want her to heal him, he wanted to get to the site.

How did Obito seal the nine tails? Well, here's my explanation. The last bit of the chapter was narrated from Rin's POV, so naturally she wasn't able to understand exactly what he did or how the kyuubi got sealed. In my mind, I pictured him using the Reaper's Death seal (like Minato did in canon), and it split half into Naruto and half into himself. So essentially, Obito took Minato's place of what happened in canon. Then Obito set his body on fire before the reaper took his soul away, to destroy his Sharingan.

Hope that clears up some things. :)

Now as for this chapter, I hope you can understand why Rin refuse to reveal the true identity of the masked man. One, no one would believe that a supposedly dead man (an Uchiha that was seen to be a black sheep as well) could pull off the attack. Two, she didn't want Kakashi to find out.

As for whether or not Rin forgave Obito, I struggled with this part. In canon, it seems that Rin did forgive Obito for everything he did, but that was also after Obito redeemed himself and she had already been dead for a long time that point. I think here, the incident is too fresh on her mind and the fact that she has to live with their deaths makes it harder for her to forgive.

Anyways predictions: Minato's fate will be revealed in the next chapter. What do you think it will be?

Next chapter is called His Legacy.

Thanks for reading and until next time!

-MM