Curious as she may be in Tobi's presence, Rin's ubiquitousness evokes an unremitting anxiety in the atmosphere.
They make their way to the forest and take a detour past the shoreline to avoid the steep ascent.
The smell of fresh salty air gradually recedes and is replaced by the thickening atmosphere of the surrounding woodlands.
When the moon shrinks behind the bulkiness of crowded trees, the darkness impedes.
Rin can just make out the outline of tall trees and their misshapen branches.
"Tobi, is this what you do on certain nights, you just wander off?" Rin asks interestedly.
"Yes," he answers shortly.
"Do you hope that I will leave you to your solitude?"
She is unable to comprehend where this conversation is leading. Even at her comment, Tobi finds it startling because he stops in his tracks and faces her.
"What makes you say that?" he asks.
He is sounding genuinely surprised.
She averts her gaze to the ground.
"I-I just feel a bit of an impediment to your night."
He keeps silent for several seconds, then lets out a short laugh.
"You're quite wrong actually," he replies softly, "I rather enjoyed this."
"Oh…" she says timorously, "So did I."
He allows for a brief silence before speaking.
"Shall we continue then?"
So she follows him through the quietude of the night. The sounds of their footsteps are now muffled by the soft earth and rustle of fallen leaves.
The next time they speak, their surroundings have darkened considerably. And it is Rin who inevitably breaks the stillness.
"Does Deidara know you are away on certain nights?"
Tobi halts abruptly and she almost hits into him.
"No one knows except you," he replies blankly, "It'd be nice if you do not mention it to him."
She stares thoughtfully, but does not question.
Ahead, the wind picks up and the ground is swamped with thick overgrown vines.
Even Rin, who is immensely careful with her steps, is finding it increasingly difficult to avoid the overflowing hazards.
And though she is trailing behind, Tobi does not seem to notice. She gets the feeling he may be lost in his own transient thoughts.
But it is only a matter of time before her meticulous walking efforts are futile.
When it does, her feet catches a thick vine and she tumbles forward. Tobi's sudden grip on her arm, however, saves her from an unsightly fall.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
"Yes."
"Stay by my side."
She takes his words literally and as she moves from him, he slides his hand over hers and firms his grip.
"The path is like this for a little longer," he says to her baffled silence.
"You know?"
"I can see," he answers softly.
So she accepts his offer and allows him to guide her through the treacherous terrain.
As they navigate their way, Rin's mind eventually relinquishes all physical control. Her movements are now automatically in step with Tobi's guidance.
Has she broken through his guarded barrier? For a brief moment, she senses his vulnerabilities and the remarkable resistance he employs to prevent its outward display.
Still she cannot figure his intentions, his actions and his personality. They all seem to form a complex interconnected pattern that is beyond impossible to decipher.
Her curiosity inundates, and her body is coerced into fulfilling the inquisitiveness that she craves to understand.
When they encounter even ground, Tobi loosens his hold on her.
Rin, however, resists.
"It is dark," she says quietly.
Her tone insinuates an ulterior motive.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asks guardedly.
She surveys his sudden uneasiness.
Her commonsensical mind will disapprove of her impending actions, but right now her heart is urging her to take advantage of this situation. A selfish act to satisfy her thirst for curiosity.
Tentatively she step towards him and ignores the radiating unease that permeates the space between them.
"Curious," she whispers lightly.
He remains silent. The anxiety and puzzlement she senses from him should be a deterring factor to her impelling actions. But as sadistic as it may sound, his apprehensiveness drives her desire to explore his reaction to any form of intimacy.
"I'm so curious about you," she continues softly.
She steps close so that her leg is brushing against his.
Tobi's unease does not shift, even as she grazes her fingers lightly across the side of his mask.
But Rin cannot see and so she blindly explores the mysteriousness of his profile. She hears his uneven breathing and the way his breath hitches when her fingers pry the mask from him.
Beneath her hand, the warmth of his skin emanates a feverish tenderness.
Though they are shrouded in remote darkness, she can see the brief outline of his features, the shape of his face and the strong jawline that is so stark against the blackness of the night.
Ever so tentatively, she leans in and presses her mouth to his.
The proceeding wave of alleviation is an unfathomable feeling. All she knows is that his lips are really soft and that when he parts his mouth to sync with hers, she can taste his sweetness and sense the exuding warmth.
His non-existent response to her amateur like movement is uncertain, as if he is testing how much she knows, or how far she will go.
Patience, however, may be illusive in Tobi's world of intimacy.
When Rin gets the angling wrong and is hitting painfully against his upper lip, he takes her face and holds her head still. Then, he leans down and assertively takes the lead.
Involuntarily, she shifts closer so that her body is pressing against him and her entirety is immersed in the feverish heat that radiates from his propinquity.
In response, Tobi's arm encircles her waist and pulls her into a tight embrace so that she is almost hovering off the ground. Then, it is the sweet sensation of his enticing scent and the overwhelming feelings of his proximity that renders her hand to slide blindly in between the gap of his cloak.
There is excitement that interlaces with anxiety and desperation. The soft slide of her kisses and the gentle caresses across the muscled planes of his upper body, the actions are so overpowering, she is sure he can sense every exhilarating electrical impulse.
Like an elixir of confidence, their feverish intimacy grants her a new level of audaciousness. Experimentally, she lightly bites on his bottom lip and relishes in the sounds of his rough sighs.
Eventually, he falls against her. And as her body bears the brunt of his hulking weight, he takes the advantage to caress the small of her back. She is apprehensive, but his touch sends a chilling level of pleasure that even her body is forced to relax.
Despite her inexperience, instinct tells her of the situation's intricacies - she can sense and feel more than just the physical boundaries displayed between them.
In the heated moment, Tobi's hand reaches beneath her blouse and runs ambiguous strokes up and down her spine.
Perhaps it is the rough sensation of his gloved hand, or the exhilarating feeling of his touch, but there is an unintentional whimper that spills from her.
His unexpected withdrawal leaves her in a pool of disappointment and confusion.
Why did you do that?
"Don't stop," she pleads.
"No," he says firmly.
"I didn't mean to-"
"It's not you," he interjects bitterly.
She angers at the excuse.
"It's him isn't it?"
Oh no, it wasn't meant to come out like that.
True, it did not, but she cannot dismiss the infuriating scene from earlier in the night between her teammates.
When Tobi does not answer, she frantically presses on.
"Is it?"
"Don't push it, Rin," he answers coldly.
The hurt and disappointment surges through and physically drags her to the ground. She stops at the last minute in an attempt to bar herself from losing what is left of her dignity.
"I…I just…"
She did not mean to accuse him. Childish as it may sound, her frustration stems from Deidara's unprecedented advantage over her.
Still, she is not the type to impede on other people's relationships or destroy what is binding them together. But her heart has fallen so deeply into this person's territory, its shallowness for wanting something so unattainable is despicably pitiful.
But why is she having such intense feelings? Did she forget about Tobi's hostile attitude towards her? Perhaps not, but the emotional burden he put her through has equalised itself with the emotional fulfilment he recently embedded into her.
For so many years, she has been running in endless circles, a vicious roundabout where only one goal stood before her. Yet for the first time in her life, Tobi has given her a reason to stand still, to understand the depths of her feelings and to sync with the beauty that surrounds her.
Foolishly, she is laying all her cards on the table, and knowing full well that she is risking not only her mission but her dignity.
For someone she barely knows yet evokes a palliative presence to her inner turmoil, she cannot help but be aggressively attached.
And it may not be out of friendship, but perhaps out of the selfish desire to continually feel the invigoration within.