Rin has lost track of time, location and space.
She blames Tobi's non-existent state of mind and the way it keeps her attention piqued. Yet his chakra is unusually stable. Perhaps he is deliberately suppressing them from her?
She glances warily in his direction. Whatever the cause, she can no longer sense the fluctuating anomalousness from him.
For ten long minutes, they descend in content silence.
It leads them to the very edge of a small precipice, where a steep and narrow rocky trail paves the way to the shores.
Eventually, Tobi halts and gazes down at the windy, deceptively innocent pathway. Rin stands beside him for several seconds, then tentatively steps onto the rugged surface.
"You can't be scared?" She teases from below.
Tobi stares, as if her words are tearing through his deep thoughts. Then he lets out a short laugh that sends an electrifying sensation through the atmosphere.
What a heart warming sound.
As they proceed with the descent, Rin's mind is entirely focused on the dangerous and jagged trail in front.
And though the sky is lit with the illumination of moon and stars, it does not preclude her from carelessly stepping on unlevelled ground.
She cannot see how Tobi is fairing from behind, but judging from the sounds of his even footsteps, he is content.
Ahead, the shores beckon, the sounds entice and the soft sand seduces.
Momentarily lost in the closeness of the alluring seashore, she steps on a fragile surface and stumbles against the crumbling rocks.
In momentum, her arm scrapes the sharp exterior of the cliffside. And as she falls, there is a petrified screech that resounds sharply from her throat.
From somewhere behind, Tobi reaches forward and grips her arm.
"Are you okay?" He asks quietly.
"Yes, thank you, that was hasty of me," she breathes self-consciously.
"One step until even ground," he nods at the smooth path before her.
The brief incident is now a distant memory.
Her steps are tentative at first. She is yet to assimilate her response to the soft sand and how it seeps through her sandals and rests complacently beneath her feet.
Then she lets out a short, broken laugh because that is all she can do when her entirety merges with the stunning beauty of this idyllic haven.
The sound of waves, gentle and faint, is a heavy contrast to the crashing form it takes against the cliff.
Gradually, she inches closer to where water and sand merge, and plunges her feet into the cool placidness of sea. Her gaze focuses on the heavens above her, before her and around her.
Then she is running, embracing the winds and embodying the freedom of reality for the very first time in her life.
Her attention turns to a white glint half buried in the soft sands. It is cool and fragile and its fan shape is sharp when pressed against her skin. Fascinated, she encircles the beautiful item and approaches Tobi.
"Look at this," she says brightly, and she shows him her discovery.
Tobi inclines to the object in her hand.
"Seashell," he says softly.
"I've never seen anything so beautiful," she breathes.
Tobi gazes at her in unperturbed silence, then turns his watch to the shore in front.
And she sees it.
Thousands of seashells in different shape, colour and size. They glisten and glow serenely against the silken flow of sand.
She kneels into the soft sands and selects a coned-shape shell for her peruse. She likes the delicate swirls and the way its contour gives a lustrous look to its uniqueness.
"Rin," Tobi says.
Her gaze breaks.
He is kneeling beside her.
"Hm?"
"Your arm."
She tracks his watch to a small but deep gash embedded on her skin from her earlier fall.
It does not hurt, nor can she feel its presence, but it has left a trickle of blood that trails from the wound.
She laughs. The significance of such matter is a pale comparison to her current situation.
"I can fix this for you," he says mildly.
She does not speak, so he takes the silence as a cue to continue.
His first aid is an impressive sight to witness. Intricate, yet efficient, it reminds her of something so long ago.
"Thank you," she says.
For several moments, they sit there in content silence, watching the waves and absorbing the fleeting moments of peace as the world sleeps on.
"I want to remember this," Rin says delicately.
"Like a keepsake?" Tobi asks.
And the question illuminates an idea.
She takes out a small jar from her pocket. It is an item she carries everywhere for the purpose of collecting medical properties.
For the umpteenth time, she runs her hand through the velvety sand and scoops a small amount into the jar.
Tobi, who appears to catch on, points to a small patch of sand that glistens a different colour.
"Take your pick," he says softly.
Rin follows his watch to the many different coloured patches of sand scattered across the shore. Elated, she scoops a small amount of the whiter sand and adds it to her jar, then does the same with another shade of white, and again with a darker patch, until she is certain she has all the different colours of sand in the space around her.
"Nine different colours," she says ruefully.
Then, she places the two seashells found earlier to her collection, before scanning the mass for more interesting ones.
Sometime later, Tobi hands her several different seashells, each with unique varying shapes and colours she could not find amongst the other more ubiquitous ones.
"How did you find these?" She asks in amazement.
"Magic," he answers.
Then, they are analysing the vast collection of different seashells and perusing which will make the cut for Rin's terrarium.
"What about this shape?" She asks.
"No, that one looks too similar to this one you have in there," Tobi says.
He points to a familiar spiral shaped shell.
"You're right, I didn't see that."
"How about this one?"
"That one is nice, but I like this one better although the colour isn't right."
"This? Same shape but a different colour."
"Perfect!"
When she lifts the jar to Tobi's face, he speaks with a nod of approval.
"You created a masterpiece."
"No," she answers.
She takes his hand and places it against the jar beside hers.
"We created a masterpiece," she corrects.
An oddly surreal situation, considering their fragmented relationship not so long ago.
"Tobi," she says mellowly, "remember the concept of time and choice?"
She hesitates with a renounced smile.
"I believe you."