A/N: Now for something a little less angsty: Rin and Kakashi!
Another night, another bout of anxiety as Rin met Kakashi near camp.
"Did she bring you another?" She questioned, tugging her hood down. The July heat had been nigh unbearable as of late, and her hair was sticking to her clammy skin.
"Yes, luckily less of a shock this time." He answered with a grimace as he pulled out the note.
The folded paper seemed to dampen the mood considerably just by existing. Both of them stared at it for several moments before Kakashi mustered up the courage to flip it open.
Sakura's neat, small writing immediately stood out to her, and the greeting made Rin's lips twitch into a slight smile.
Hinoki-san,
I hope you've been well. Things are getting busier around the palace, and Naruto and Sasuke have been lovely to be around. I hope things are well wherever you are.
"I'm glad she's having fun, at least," she quipped. "The boys must be keeping her busy."
"If anything, I'd say the queen must be keeping her busier," Kakashi joked back. "From what I've heard from the boys, she really likes Hayashi-san."
Rin's eyes softened, and her smile grew at the thought. The girl had always admired Mikoto as a child, and to hear that they got on so well was a breath of fresh air in the smog of confusion they were all breathing now.
I hope your camp is more peaceful than the palace is now. I've heard things - seen things - that have still left me stricken. I can't detail everything in this letter, but I do have some news that I feel you need to know - it's about the man behind King Fugaku's actions this year.
At this line, Kakashi subconsciously reached up to fiddle with his headband. Rin's eyes narrowed.
I've been looking around myself, and from what I've found I can only come to one conclusion. The person pulling his strings (from the queen's own words) is one of the most powerful Uchiha in existence, brought back to life. By whom, I have ideas, but I can't point the finger yet for obvious reasons.
"So… Madara?" Rin murmured, looking up at him for reassurance.
"It must be," he observed with a hum. "She said 'one of' the most powerful, so it could be him, but it could be another."
"She also said male, so that rules out a lot of famed Uchiha warrior women," the brunette surmised. She cupped her chin in thought. "But who… who else but Madara?"
Kakashi hated himself for the thought that came into his head. "What if… it could be…?"
"No." Her voice was sharp, hurt. It made him flinch back. "Please." Rin's face was crestfallen. "Don't say it."
"It could be someone else," he weakly tried to appease her. "Ugh, it feels wrong to think of, but… what if someone got ahold of Shisui's body?"
"Didn't he go missing?"
"Officially, he disappeared. Unofficially…" He hesitated. " Someone must have wanted him for something. For what, I don't know."
"It can't be the Sharingan, the council would never allow that." She denied with a frown. "Unless…"
"You think?"
"It couldn't be anyone but Danzou," she replied with a disgusted grimace. "It feels dirty to even mention his name. If there's anyone who would voluntarily mess with the Uchiha and manage to hide it, it's him."
"But didn't he side with Madara in the end?"
"He may have, but a certain someone else has taught us that loyalties can change." Her eyes narrowed further. "Ayame-sama is not going to like this."
"She was close to him, wasn't she…" He hummed. "And Jiraiya too."
"But if it is Orochimaru experimenting with the dead, then why hasn't the royal court found him yet? Someone like that would be difficult to hide effectively, even if he managed to swap bodies."
"He must have had spies on the inside."
"He did." She agreed. "And we have one of them in our employ."
Kakashi looked at her, surprised.
"It was years ago, and it was obvious that she was being abused under his care." Her gaze turned hard, and she shook her head. "But that aside, we need to find this spy. We find whoever it is, the greater chance we can rat him out."
"But we can agree that whoever that person is around the palace, it's an Uchiha, right?" She questioned. "Whatever powerful Uchiha corpse they managed to dig up a part of…"
"It has to be," the taller of them agreed with a painful tone to his voice. "There was a moment I made eye-contact with the guy once. Though he had that ridiculous orange mask on, I could see through the eyehole."
"And?"
"And he had the Sharingan." He cupped his left eye. "There aren't very many people in the world who could handle the type of control and energy load that Kekkei Genkai requires."
Rin's already-crestfallen expression fell even further, and Obito's eye began to itch as she sagged against his body in a hug.
"We need to warn her," she said quietly. "Both Shien and Ayame-sama. If this is who we're thinking about…"
"She's in greater danger being closer to him," he chimed in. "I don't want those kids hurt."
A/N: Please tell me what you thought.
