The force of gravity, the suffocating air, the raw thrashing winds - they all merge to taunt her fall.
Rin is falling so fast, she trails behind reality. Her mind does not register her surroundings, even as the savage impact of physical torture rips through.
Yet the pain is nothing compared to the fear that is flagrant across her face.
Fifty metres down and she sees flat surface. Her body frantically readjusts in mid-air in preparation for the crashing collision.
But a strange distorting sensation engulfs her. It runs through her body in swift successions and liquifies until she can no longer feel its existence. Within seconds, she is released from the mysterious state and is landing gently on flat surface.
"Are you okay?"
Disoriented, she breathes in confusion. Her heart rapidly syncs with the anomalous whirring of her thoughts as she processes Tobi's familiar pleasant tone.
"How did you…I'm fine…" she answers weakly.
She glances wearily at Tobi.
"Did you prevent my fall? Are you okay?" she asks hastily.
"Yes to both," he replies.
She nods in exhaustion. Her mind is formulating words of gratitude, but instead, the absence of their third teammate makes her speak in a spur of apprehension.
"Where's Deidara? Wasn't he with you?"
"I don't know. I think he fell several mountains away, but…"
"But what?"
"We can't search for him now, the storm is picking up and it'll be too dangerous to walk around in it," he answers.
"It looks fine now," she says.
From down here, the storm is less menacing.
"No it's just starting," he gestures for her to follow him.
"Wait! If you knew about this, why did you let Deidara fly us into the storm?" she asks breathlessly.
Tobi does not speak, however his demeanour is unusually focused, as if he is uneasy with her questioning.
"Deidara! Will he be okay?"
Eventually, he halts with overt resignation.
"He'll be fine, he can take care of himself."
His tone is passive, yet leaves a smear of caution and puzzlement that lingers with uncertainty.
Then he strides forward without looking back at her.
Twenty minutes in tense silence and the atmosphere turns unpleasantly stale.
They walk in the midst of drizzling rain and hypothermic winds.
She is acutely conscious of the absence of life on this secluded patch of mountainous terrain. Perhaps it is the imminent threat of a storm, or the harrowing slices of wind that chills to the marrow, but it is unusually quiet.
Their footsteps muffle against the wet grass as they forge deeper into the forest.
And instantly, a deluge of rain falls.
Several times they pass caves and large cliffs that provide adequate shade from the elements. But Tobi ignores them with not a word spoken.
On Rin's end, she is drenched.
"Tobi," she says shrilly, "Where are we going?"
"Not long," he answers from somewhere up front.
She is trailing behind. The steep ascent fatigues every muscle and every ounce of persistent willpower to get to safety. But the rain shows no mercy. It splashes them with crispy large beads and cleverly hitches onto the wind's gradual strength.
"Tobi!"
This time he halts in his track.
Without a word and without facing her, he points to a small opening atop a smooth rocky landscape.
But first, she foresees a precarious climb.
She follows him to the cliff's base, and stares up at the incredibly steep ascent. And though severe exhaustion permeates, she refuses to relent.
Halfway up, her legs tremble and her muscles disintegrate under the constant stress. She has not forgotten the damage inflicted onto her body during the earlier fall.
Breathing heavily and forcing concentration into her mind, she takes the final few steps to even ground. Then, she collapses.
Tobi takes over and guides her at a slow, even pace towards the cave's entry.
She wonders what the significance of such place is to warrant the arduous hike.
The cave is ice cold. There is a hostile chill that latches to the skin and rapidly sinks to the bones. A hint of rotting vegetation and dampness infiltrates the air, but the grounds are cool and dry.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you earlier," Tobi says resentfully.
He places her against the cave's wall. "But we are not alone in this area, I had to make sure…and…I applaud your incredible determination."
She is depleted, but is grateful for his belief in her.
They watch the heinous elements in silence. The howling wind rattles and the rain pelts thick droplets. It rips branches and uproots plants, and rebounds the sounds across the dreary, empty cave.
In a feeble attempt to keep warm, she brings her knees to her chest and holds herself tight. Her chakra is unusually low. It is an issue she cannot fathom, but she opts to use what is left to keep her body temperature constant.
When her mind settles and her body is relaxed, it is then she notices a prickly sensation. It crawls maliciously down her back and lingers ever so subtly around her.
In response, she moves to ease the discomfort. But it is not a physical manifestation, it is her chakra senses. As she rests to re-build her strength, her chakra continues to rise and diminish simultaneously, as if there is an internal leakage.
So it sits there at perhaps fifty-percent. Never more, never less.
She glances warily at Tobi, who is slumping heavily against the wall with his legs outstretched.
"I'm wondering how you escaped that fall completely unharmed?" Rin asks.
"I'm rather bemused that you assume I'd get hurt so easily," he answers lightly.
"That wasn't an easy fall," she says, perplexed.
Is that what constitutes his idea of 'easily hurt?'
"I'll give you that," he replies.
He does not answer her initial question, so she continues her speculations.
"Your powers earlier, was that teleportation?"
Tobi remains in intense silence for several long seconds before speaking.
"What makes you think that?" he asks uncertainly.
"I can sense chakra," she whispers.
"I felt a distorted feeling, then I could no longer sense our chakras, and then I could and in that time I felt detached from reality. It f-felt like I was in another world, like all the chakras have disappeared and it was only ours. The only way I could think of it was that I was being teleported to another dimensional rift."
She sucks in a deep shaky breath.
"I'm sorry if that speculation was doubtful. I've only just thought, if you were able to teleport, then maybe we didn't have to go through that onerous hike to this cave."
She quickly turns her focus to the fall of rain.
Stop making assumptions, Rin!
Tobi does not immediately speak, but she can hear his uneven breathing.
"I could not have teleported us here, otherwise you would not be in the condition that you are in right now," he says stiffly.
Rin stares.
"I don't understand," she says tensely.
"It is unlucky that we landed on this mountain. There are many unseen forces lurking in its surroundings. It absorbs chakra and suppresses certain abilities. I don't have an explanation as to how and why, but my teleportation has ceased to work in this area," he says quietly.
"You were able to prevent my fall and teleport me to safety, and we were on the mountain terrain."
"No, I got to you as you were falling," Tobi says bluntly.
Rin frowns. She did not recall seeing him as she fell. But then again, she can hardly recall the memory.
"You mentioned chakra absorption. I-Is that why I am losing chakra? I feel unusually drained," she whispers fearfully.
"Yes. But your body is constantly regenerating so as long as you do not utilise your chakra, it will stay constant at half level," he answers reassuringly.
"Why did we venture so far into the forest then? What is significant about this cave? Why are we even here if our chakras are being drained?"
"Whether we ventured further in or not does not affect the amount of chakra being absorbed. I am telling you that this area affected my teleportation jutsu. I am yet to find out which parts of the mountain is exempt from interfering with the teleportation. Otherwise we will have to walk down this mountain."
He stands and lets out a rough sigh before unbuttoning his cloak.
"As for this particular cave? I can explain later once you have had sufficient rest," he continues.
Then he kneels before her and drapes the cloak over her shoulders.
"This will suffice so you don't have to utilise your chakra to keep your temperature constant."
The warmth is instantaneous.
"Also, no dreams for now, only…rest," he says softly.
The enrapturing heat follows, and her eyes are heavy. Reality tunes out and she is falling pleasantly into the unconscious world.