With a jolt, I realized I was within Itachi's Tsukiyomi. It was jarring; the black and red, along with the realization I was in a lot of danger. In my desperation, I ran into perhaps the best and worst person to help me.

Itachi was loyal to the leaf first and foremost, but he was also capable of doing whatever needed to keep himself safe from scrutiny, keep his cover and to stay within the good graces of Obito.

Itachi was the only person who would potentially be willing to help me, but he was also fully capable of apprehending me and handing me back to Obito. And while I still hadn't quite figured out Obito yet, I knew that my attempted elopement would make him mad.

And yet, I had a feeling that mad wouldn't even cover the emotion he'd feel.

As fearful as I was, as much as I knew what he could do and was willing to do, I still kept his gaze.

While we were now separated, my hands no longer clutching him tightly, we were still focused on each other.

For a moment, there was pure silence. Then he spoke. "How are you alive?"

While a rude question to ask usually, I knew it was a reasonable one in this case. "Because I'm not from here. I'm not Rin Nohara." I waved at my appearance that I had yet to look at. "I just look like her; I was brought here against my will because I look like her."

Itachi was silent, gaze blank. "But you are." He said simply.

I shook my head, frustrated.

"Look at yourself." He intoned, face and voice both void of emotion.

Confused, I looked down at myself. I exclaimed in shock as I looked down at myself. I could feel my face paling. My body went numb and I could only stare in shock as I stared down at my adult self wearing Rin Nohara's young clothes. While confused that they were in adult size for my body instead of a teenage one, what really made my head spin was the giant hole in my black shirt about where my heart was.

I inhaled sharply and tried to prevent hyperventilating. I could feel my hands shake as they reached up to touch my cheeks. I felt the face paint on my cheeks. My body began to tremble uncontrollably. A scream tried to crawl up my throat, but I couldn't choke out a sound. My mouth opened wide in a silent scream as I finally fell to my knees.

I put my head in my hands, noticing my shortened hair that cupped my face.

I jerked when I felt a hand on my shoulder, but didn't look up. The hand was gentle, but firm. Itachi wasn't comforting me, he wanted my attention.

Blearily with tears in my eyes, I turned my gaze towards him. His face was tight with an unnamed emotion.

"You are Rin. You say you aren't from here? Reincarnation has always been speculated, but never proven." His face was intense now. I could feel him scrutinizing me. "Whoever is holding you captive at the base did their research thoroughly."

My lips shook as I spoke. "O-Obito. He's calling himself Madara."

I could see the shock on his face, although slightly hidden. He recovered quickly and followed up with an insistent question. "How do you know all these things? If you're not from here, and you don't remember your memories – since you insisted on not being Rin Nohara – how do you know all of this?"

I focused on my breathing and I knew I was still in shock. If I were to try to stand, I didn't think I'd be able to.

"Where I come from, this is all a manga and anime. You're all characters…I'm…I'm a character." I breathed out the last part. I stumbled over that in my head and tried not to linger on the realness of the words. "I watched the show and read a little of the manga."

"Show me." Itachi demanded.

"I don't – how?"

"I can see memories in the Tsukiyomi. But it will cause severe damage if you fight me. Think about these memories and don't try to fight." He said the last few words with a severity that I nodded quickly at him.

I thought back to the first episode, laying on my couch. Bedridden from illness. I could remember the happiness that came with seeing Naruto triumph in the end. I brought up thoughts on the following episodes, lingering on Zabuza, the Chunin Exams and beyond. While I had never finished the series, I'd still followed it.

I'd had a fun time guessing who was behind "Tobi's" mask back when it was still a question. I relived the feeling of seeing Naruto's bijuu being extracted through the manga and the excitement upon seeing Naruto with his Hokage cloak.

I knew that Itachi was looking more closely at the memories and I was only focusing on the memories that incited sharper emotions in my shocked state.

By the end, Itachi had a look of consternation on his face. "I never intended for Sasuke to end up like that."

"But in a later series I didn't read or watch about the next generation after Naruto, Sasuke became an informant. He worked with the village." I tired to reassure him that it wasn't all for naught. While Itachi made mistakes, he was still young. He was caught between a rock and a hard place and to be honest, he probably had some trauma he had to work through as well to make better decisions.

Itachi's suddenly made a strange face.

Oh. I thought. He can hear my thoughts.

He gave me a look that said, 'yes, I can, thank you very much.'

While still unsettled, I was shoving the revelation in a box in my mind. Locking it and burying it. I gave him as sheepish of a look I could create at the moment in apology.

I could almost imagine him running a hand down his face in frustration, but he didn't do that. He had a look on his face that told me he was thinking, and thinking hard.

"You have to escape to Konohagakure." He finally said. "While I'm leaking some information to Jiraiya's informants, you have the information needed to stop all of this from happening." I opened my mouth to contribute, but he continued before I could say a word. "While you will be interrogated when you get to Konoha, we cannot have this future come to pass."

I wondered how much of his decision had to do with the war and the deaths and how much it had to do with his brother's path in life.

"You will tell them that you are Rin Nohara." He told me in a tone that said that we would get back to that. "The Sanbi was released upon your death. However, the mastermind in Akatsuki still saw a use for you; the Akatsuki has a member with the Rinnegan and brought you back to life. Your body was not recovered after your suicide, so this, while appearing unbelievable, could be true."

I interjected quickly. "But Rin – Rin's grave in the show. Kakashi would always –"

"It's empty. Your family, now gone, insisted on it as well as Kakashi."

I wasn't sure how to feel about the fact I had family here that were long gone. I decided not to linger on it as I couldn't currently remember anything about them.

"You were held by the mastermind of Akatsuki during this time. You were of use for your knowledge on Konoha, however, as the Rinnegan is rare and the abilities widely unknown, you can say that when brought back, you didn't have many memories. You remembered big events, but nothing substantial; nothing that could be used against Konoha. You were kept alive to hopefully recover more memories over time and when you couldn't, you were used to treat the wounded after the Akatsuki was formed."

"I don't have a chakra system." I interjected quickly, seeing a problem in his explanation.

His eyes pierced through me. "Or you haven't awakened it yet." I was confused. I didn't know what he meant. I think I or a doctor would have noticed a chakra system in my body long ago. "When I activated my Sharingan, I saw it. You have a chakra system, Rin, you just have to learn how to use it."

I shook my head. I still didn't see how that was possible.

I thought about previous CT scans, X-rays and MRIs I'd had in my past injuries and how no one had ever mentioned a mysterious chakra system.

Catching onto my thoughts, Itachi reasoned, "Perhaps you cannot see them with technology of this other world. How would you see something you didn't know was there – didn't know was possible?"

I didn't have an answer to that, because it still seemed highly impossible. However, if Itachi said I had a chakra system and he'd saw it with his own eyes, I didn't know how to refute that.

"You do have to go back to that room, Rin." Itachi said in a tone that told me I couldn't argue with him.

No! I don't want to go back! This was too much!

"I can't help you escape. Not the way you were going. There are too many Akatsuki members around." He reasoned, and I had to reluctantly agree that Itachi escorting or sneaking me out would raise questions. Especially if Zetsu, who could be anywhere and be mostly untraceable, saw us. "I can, however, leak word to Jiraiya's spy network that a Konoha shinobi is being held captive by the Akatsuki for information and healing. That the captive would have immense knowledge of the running of Akatsuki and would be highly valuable to retrieve."

It made sense and it was reasonable. He couldn't say that Rin Nohara was alive, either, because who would believe that? But that a Konoha shinobi had knowledge that Konoha craved and was being used against them? They'd probably jump on that.

But still, I didn't want to go back.

I worried about Obito's reaction to my initial elopement attempt.

And now that I knew that Obito was right and that I was Rin Nohara, I was disturbed. Rin Nohara was a kind and forgiving individual. I was spiteful at times and while highly forgiving, in the anime Rin Nohara had in the end forgiven Obito for his mistakes. She'd still accepted him for what he did. And I felt shame that I wasn't like her. I felt confusion for the fact that while I was Rin Nohara in a past life, I wasn't able to reconcile the young child Obito was and the man he was now.

I was Rin Nohara, but I wasn't her, either.

I could sense Itachi was following my thoughts because he frowned. "You may have been Rin Nohara in a past life, but your new life shaped you. You still contain the characteristics that make you you. However, the life you lived after the previous has no current attachment to Obito. You think that you should still feel lingering feelings for people you used to know in your past life. You don't."

I let his words sink into my mind. Rolling them around and trying to find peace in them.

"You know that Obito is twisted in the mind. You know he has a seal on him and you know he's suffering from the curse of hatred. The manga or anime had an Obito who went through 'character growth' you could say. He changed his ways and repented. He tried to make up for his mistakes. In that way, Rin in that world understood what he had gone through and made peace with how he'd lost himself, but found himself in the end."

His words were starting to make sense, but the shame still roiled within me.

"Rin." He paused. "Claire, your two lives went through different things. You had different experiences and they shaped you in different ways. However, your psyche resembles your past life because you are still influenced by your core traits, and have unresolved feelings about your death. In the end, you are both Rin and Claire, but you are more Claire than Rin now. Twisted by the harsh world you came from as well as the abuse and suffering you went through." I jolted at that, because I didn't remember mentioning or thinking about the abuse.

I wanted to ask about that, because it wasn't something I advertised.

I could see some sympathy carving a path on his intense, serious face. "It came through with the memories. You attributed Naruto and some of the characters as idols or icons for the perseverance they went through. Unconsciously, you drew on how they persevered to get you through your own experiences."

I was disturbed by that revelation because at the time Naruto was just a story, but I could also see how I turned to Naruto as a secret comfort.

"When Konoha comes to rescue you, you need to play the part of Rin Nohara. You don't have to forget Claire, but you must play on your past life. A Yamanaka cannot go through your head. Maybe, in time, you will remember things. Or you may not. But for now, you are Rin Nohara."

I hung my head and felt my shoulders start to shudder. I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. Finally, I looked up at Obito. "How long until you can get news to Jiraiya?" Despite the uncertainty in me, and the fear that remained churning in my gut, I suddenly felt more secure in myself than before.

"I'll start immediately." He replied. "Because of the seriousness of the information that will be passed to Jiraiya, the informant will insist on meeting with him as soon as possible. After that it's up to Konoha to decide on a rescue team and the time taken to get to the base."

I nodded back at him and I could feel the numbness receding finally and the information felt like overload. Ever since Obito appeared in my apartment, I was overloaded with fear, information and anxiety. I knew that when Itachi ended the Tsukiyomi, I would probably pass out from lack of sleep, food and overtaxing my mind.

"Obito won't kill you," he reminded me. "I'll escort you back to the room. I'll stay with you until he comes back and explain that I found you lost in a flashback of your time with the Iwa shinobi when Obito almost died. You were panicked and trying to escape a situation that no longer existed. Read the medical texts. Get in touch with your chakra system."

I knew it wouldn't be that easy and the explanation would probably upset Obito, but it would also ease the trouble I would be in for trying to leave.

"What about you?" I asked, concerned after all he was doing for me. At his silence I added on, "About the information getting out? Won't he look at you first since you found me?"

His words were hardly comforting. "We'll pass by as many Akatsuki members as possible. Besides, your door is broken. The hallway isn't secluded from the rest of the members. You will be seen by those who have to travel down that hallway."

I still thought that Itachi would be the first one to be suspected because of his loyalty or former loyalty to Konoha, however, in the back of my mind I remembered multiple things: Obito knew that Itachi needed the Akatsuki to both spy and be seen where his brother could find him and also that Hidan had a big mouth, Kakuzu could be bought with money, Deidara was not necessarily fully loyal, Sasori ran a spy network himself and the only real loyal Akatsuki members were Obito, Pain and Konan. And Zetsu? Loyal to himself (and Kaguya).

Hopefully there would be enough scrutiny on others that Itachi would be in the clear. If not, he made this choice.

My mind didn't so much as settle after clarifying that, but it did stop making me feel like I was going a hundred miles per hour.

I watched as the Tsukiyomi disappeared and color returned to the world. The setting returned to the hallway I had latched myself onto Itachi at. As I came to with this sudden shift, I realized I was still clutching onto Itachi's cloak and my sharpened desk leg was beside my feet. Evidence left of my escape.

Itachi grabbed my hands with his and lightly removed them.

To anyone who would be watching or listening like Zetsu, he said aloud, "I don't know what you're talking about," in a toneless voice, face blank. "You will go back where you ran from." He put both of my wrists in one hand behind my back and pushed me forward.

I stumbled a bit at first, but put one foot in front of the other. I hung my head as if in shame, or defeat, as he forced me down halls. I tried to walk down one of the initial hallways I had headed down, but Itachi yanked me another way.

I immediately realized why when we walked past what looked like a communal area. The area did have two Akatsuki members in it and they both turned to look at Itachi and I.

Hidan's face was almost comical, except I could realize I was very frightened by the fact that Hidan was a real person. He sat in front of the TV flipping through channels with a bored looking Deidara next to him. They both stared at Itachi led me across the room without a word.

"What the hell, hm?" Deidara said loudly, but Itachi did not respond and kept pace.

He turned us down another hall and we passed the doorway of a kitchen/dining room where Kisame sat with food. He looked up as we passed. He opened his mouth to question Itachi with a face full of confusion. Itachi didn't stop to talk and pushed me along.

At this point we had two Akatsuki members left to appear in front of and while not as nerve-wrecking as appearing in front of Hidan was, it still made me nervous.

Itachi shoved me down another hall and announced in a louder voice than his usual murmur, "Don't fight me."

I was momentarily confused because I was not fighting him in the least. However, his voice and words had drawn attention as two doors were opened as we neared with the heads of Sasori and Kakuzu peeking out.

I muttered a quick, breathless apology for appearance's sake.

The two Akatsuki members watched quietly as we moved down the hall.

Finally, Itachi seemed to have gotten the audience he'd intended and navigated me more towards where I came from initially. We were both silent as we approached the wide open door.

I walked in obediently and Itachi followed me in without a word. I knew what I had to do to show I was apologetic to Obito. I reached down to start picking up the mess I made. I collected clothes and carefully folded them and put them into drawers as Itachi watched. Books were placed on shelves, although medical texts were set aside on my vanity. The broken desk lay untouched. When Obito came back, the room was going to be clean just like he demanded it.

I was going to play along – just enough – until help could arrive. To do that, I'd have to embrace the fact that I was once Rin Nohara. I realized my stubbornness against Obito was not helping me. Like Obito and Itachi had their trauma to deal with, I had mine. It went against the grain of what I desperately wanted to do, but I had to change.

I had to work on my behavioral responses. It was imperative that I played along for both my safety and for the fact that I realized upon talking with Itachi that it was not a normal response. As someone who worked in mental health, I recognized that triggers like that were not normal, and would get me in trouble in the worst situations.

I was going to have to play nice with Obito and I was going to have to reconcile who I once was, and who I am now.