The fear keeps her apprehension at bay. Deidara's ailment is so bad, she had to withhold her treatment plan for fear he may not tolerate the pain.
Evil. He has always been, Orochimaru, but never did she imagine his vileness would stretch this far.
The anger sweeps her steps and emits a revolting energy she does not recognise as her own.
If the virus is what she thinks it is, she knows its power - her teammates will be incapacitated.
Orochimaru is clever, but she know secrets about the human body he will never know.
Returning to her teammates is more of a repentant. She is here to fix what she has broken. There is no other motive. Her time runs short, but she intends to use what is left of her existence to change things and perhaps allow nature to run its course.
Her resurrection defied the natural progression of life, and to this day, seventeen years on, she still feels an outsider.
Yet here she is, her mind is focused on the task, on what she needs to fix, but that does not stop the sudden hitch in her breath and the nervousness that comes with the dreaded desire to see him.
There is only one set of stairs that links to the five floors of this inn. It is an immense sized staircase that spirals to the top, and sits in the exact middle of the ground floor like a prized centrepiece.
Deidara is on level one, Tobi level five. Yet the five minute walk to the top does not feel long. Perhaps the apprehension of seeing Tobi has distorted her perception of time and space?
When Rin is outside his door, she remains unusually still, as if afraid he may hear the sounds of her breathing, or the racing thoughts of her anxiety. But she is meant to knock after all. And when she does, the sound reverberates so loudly in her ears, she glances around her in fright. To the outside world, they do not hear a thing. In Rin's mind, anything to do with Tobi is always exaggerated out of proportion.
There is no answer, so Rin tries again. On her third try, she concludes he must either be asleep or out.
What if he is barely alive?
She freezes momentarily. There is almost a moment where she thought to break in, but she knows her mind's irrationality. It does not preclude her from being too careful, so when she knocks again, she still gets no answer.
Tentatively, and without thinking, she places a hand on the door handle. It is unlocked.
"Tobi?" She whispers.
There is no artificial light seeping through, yet she can clearly see the illumination of pearly moon shining its way past an opened window.
When she gets no answer, she lets the door swing wider, until she is stepping in and the soft breeze of a winter's night saunters through and nicks her face.
"Tobi?"
Her hand fumbles for the light switch. The room glares a gleaming yellow light and vanquishes the shadows of furniture.
At the writing desk, she spots several pieces of blank paper, a scroll and a strange looking chart with odd mathematical-like symbols drawn all over.
Someone, perhaps Tobi, is staying here.
There is a fire of relief, that if Tobi is absent, he must be okay.
Twenty minute passes and there is still no sign of him. The hours tick closer to midnight. Her body is exhausted yet her mind is awake. She will not leave until she is sure Tobi is okay. And then, she will remove all traces of the virus before she departs. Perhaps then she can try and contact Akihiro and join him on his travels?
Rin keeps the reminiscing at bay. She does not want to raise her hopes too high.
Finding something to do, she runs a hand through the pieces of paper. And in between the stack, there is an old parchment laden with strange looking patterns. The symbols are familiar, and the longer she stares at them, the more she links them to her time on Cascades Mountain. They are the exact same symbols Tobi and her discovered in that cave.
Why does Tobi have this?
Below in very small handwriting, is perhaps the translation of the above symbols. She focuses on the first word, "sky," before a sound interrupts her concentration.
"What are you doing here?"
The deep and pleasant, yet wary voice raises her from the chair in such fright, she lets out a terrified squeak and knocks it to the ground.
"Good gracious," she shrieks.
Behind her is a very bemused looking Tobi, who is standing opposite and watching her suspiciously.
"I-"
Rin cuts herself off. How did he get through the door without her noticing?
"I…was waiting here for you, I just…I…was helping Deidara…and I… wanted to know if you were…you were…okay…" she trails off stupidly.
The red flush sears through her cheeks in a flurry of confusing words.
Tobi does not answer, but his dark gaze continues to observe her closely.
She turns away in diffidence. She forgets how intense his stare can be.
"I-I could just make sure that you're okay. Deidara isn't well right now but it seems as if you are fine," she says brusquely.
Rin briefly glances at him and wills herself to assimilate his tall, defined features. His cloak is unbuttoned, as if he slid it on in a hurry. But that plays to her advantage - she sees the carefully sculpted outline of his broad muscular chest, and the long sinewy legs that are standing slightly apart in the most formidable of stances.
In the moment their eyes meet, Tobi gives her a small, inexplicable smile.
At his action, she turns away. And it may be the time apart, but she also forgets how incredibly attractive he is.
The desire may sit uncomfortably across her mind, but she is determined to see her new duties through.
"It won't take long, I promise, just in case, and I will leave right away," she says quickly.
"Why are you here?" he says lowly.
She flinches uneasily at the question, as if each word grates through in vexation.
Eventually, she relents to the situation.
"A virus was implanted into me to infect the two of you. Prolonged contact means the chances of inflicting damage on a certain target is increased. He did his job, he got what he wanted and I'm here to rectify it," she answers blankly.
The following silence is so deafening, Rin can hear her very own erratic heartbeat, or is that his?
"I see," Tobi replies.
"Are you okay?"
"I am now," he answers quietly, "although I doubt your master knows too much about my abilities, and of course the Senju cells."
"The Senju cells will drastically reduce your symptoms and mortality risk but you will still have those viruses in you," she says.
"Is that a problem?"
"These viruses are not natural, they are biologically programmed, they have chakra infused into them to ensure they do maximum damage. I don't know how you are feeling though."
"Fine," he answers softly.
"Can I check?"
She swallows nervously.
For several moments, he gazes suspiciously, but then he gives in and seats himself on the chair.
Surprised at his compliancy, she tentatively hovers close.
And ever so gently, she places a hand to his forehead.
"You're certainly not as bad as Deidara," she says reassuringly.
His expression remains opaque and glassy, as if he is focused on his own thoughts and does not register her explanation. But then she notices his lack of eye contact, and perhaps he too is equally uneasy in her presence.
"I'll still need to remove the viruses from you," she says quietly.
He looks to her fleetingly before averting to the ground.
"What does that entail?"
"Chakra and quite a bit of pain unfortunately. But we can work on some analgesics."
"I won't need analgesics," he says bluntly.
She frowns.
"These are virus attracting drugs, I'll need to inject them into you."
She shows him a vial containing a clear substance, and a second vial that is an odd shade of murky green.
When he does not answer, she takes his left arm and slides the sleeve up so that it sits just above his upper arm.
And it is hard work. His warmth beneath her hand singes, and leaves a slight tremble in her muscles that has nothing to do with the cold.
"I'll give you analgesics so you don't feel pain," she continues.
When she reaches for a third vial, Tobi suddenly turns from her.
"I don't need it," he says.
"You will, the procedure isn't pleasant," she replies anxiously.
"No, I don't need it," and he pulls away from her.
She bites her lip in contemplation. She cannot force him.
The extraction process is gruelling and conspicuously painful, but Tobi appears unperturbed by the procedure. Perhaps he can tolerate pain to an impossible degree?
"How does this work?" he asks wearily.
He watches as she pulls a reddish-black liquid from his arm with her chakra.
"The drug attracts free floating viruses to one localised area of your body. In this case, it would be your arm because that is where I injected it. Then, I just insert small amounts of chakra and pull them out," she answers simply.
He gives her a faltering smile.
"You make it sound so easy."
"It's a simple procedure for me because I developed it and I've been using it for a long time, but realistically, it's quite difficult since it requires incredible chakra control and precision. One wrong step and you can burst the little bubbles where the drugs have been holding the viruses," she explains helpfully.
Tobi keeps quiet from then on, but Rin cannot help but notice the rising level of unease that proliferates the air.
Fifteen minutes into the procedure and she adjourns the treatment. If she overdoes it, his muscles will collapse. If she stays here any longer, the mounting tension will drive her insane.
"Your viral count has depleted by more than half. Medication will take care of the rest," she says, "I'll go prepare them now. In the meantime, just rest okay?"
He does not speak.
"Well, it's a bit of a walk so I better get back," she says.
"You're not staying at this inn?" he asks in puzzlement.
"There aren't any rooms left here. I don't have a choice really," she shrugs insouciantly.
He watches her for several uncomfortable long seconds, then turns away without answering.
x
Rin returns half an hour later, medication in hand and ready to finish for the night.
"Here, you'll have to drink all of it," she says softly.
For several moments he stares at the murky liquid, as if deciphering whether she is giving him poison.
"You'll only have to take this once and you should be fully recovered," she says.
When he does not speak, she continues.
"I know you haven't been resting. You need to take care of yourself you know."
The slightly bewildered look he gives is strangely out of touch with reality. He does not respond, but his face twists into a brigade of apathetic emotions, as if her comment offended him and he is trying to remain neutral about it.
Hurriedly, she repacks her belongings. She cannot take the uneasy tension.
But when she next glances his way, he is watching her with a peculiar expression, as if there is curiosity and something that looks disconcertingly like revulsion.
Unexpectedly he leans in and takes her left wrist in a callous grip. Then, he is yanking her so hard, she falls forward against the table.
"Where did you get this?" he asks softy.
His tone is heartless, unforgiving and deadly.
Her eyes track his gaze to the ugly beaded ornament.
"I-" she starts.
He only noticed now?
"It's mine ever since I can remember, why are you so aggressive about where I got this?" she says hurtfully, and instantly he lets go of her.
Scowling, he turns away in bitter disgust, as if the artefact offends him and its presence transcends every scrap of aversion a human can have for an inanimate object.
"Sorry, it-it doesn't…I've seen nicer things on you," he says awkwardly.
"You're not a very good liar are you?"
His response is a very faint pink tinge that is apparent across his cheekbones.
If Tobi is any other normal man, Rin would think he is embarrassed for saying such silly things in her presence, but this is Tobi, and perhaps the awkwardness has other underlying meaning.
"Did I hurt you?"
"No, it's okay I'm fine," she answers candidly.
There is an outpour of inexplicable emotions when he looks at her.
And when he leans close, the sudden feel of his enrapturing heat sends a sultry shudder down her spine.
"Thank you for coming back," he says, and without her awareness, his hand is resting on her shoulder in the most delicate of ways.
She licks her lips in apprehension, an action Tobi tracks with deepened intensity.
"I came back to fix what I messed up in the first place," she answers briskly.
Her tone is incredibly cautious. But Tobi remains oblivious, and he continues to lean closer, until she is inches away from tasting his kiss.
From within, the fight against desire is so intense, she inadvertently internalises the emotions. And she feels it physically, the way it gnaws at her insides and pulsates in an aching pain that resonates restlessly in her middle.
"No. No more…please don't," she whispers despondently.
She steps back so quickly he withdraws in confusion.
"Rin?"
"If you have any ounce of respect for me, you would stop playing around as if I am a disposable person without feelings."
There is rising hysteria in her voice.
Tobi is quiet, perhaps stunned by her sudden forceful accusations.
Accusations that are true.
"Is that how you truly feel?" He asks.
"My work here is done. I don't want to see you ever again."
And she turns for the exit.