Rin jumped right away, dodging the creature's attack. She almost fell back down though while trying to run, the ground underneath her shaking and the creature now following her. Despite her ankle hurting, she was able to run away from the creature as it split the ground in half while chasing her.

She turned her head to see the ship rising, her eyes widening in shock. Were they leaving her?

The horrendous sound coming from front caught her attention, and she yelped as a second creature approached her. Her ankle ached even more, and she shifted direction towards a large rock while hoping that it wouldn't get her from there.

A loud blast caused her to fall to the ground, and suddenly one of the worm-like creatures wiggled backwards as brown and red liquid came out of it. The smell was terrible, and Rin covered her nose and mouth. As she stood up, the second creature was inches away from her and she closed her eyes while expecting to be killed instantly. But a strong pair of arms snatched her away just in time, and Rin held on as this person came to a full stop. She opened her eyes and looked up, shocked to find Obito nearly carrying her with one arm as he held something with his other hand. He aimed the object and shot the creature, causing its upper body to break into several pieces. The blood oozed around the area, and Rin made a disgusted look.

"Are you OK?"

She looked up at him again, and nodded, "Y-Yeah… Just...frightened. I don't like worms… Especially the very big ones,"

His lips curved a bit, and Rin swore that he became five-times more handsome that instant. She remembered the sweet Obito from before. Maybe he was still in there? Her face flushed as his face became gentler, and she wondered if he was thinking the same thing she was. He had to, considering his right arm was still around her. She noticed how his dark eyes went to her lips, and she mentally cheered. Maybe Shizune was right?

Their moment was cut short as the ground shook again as more of the creatures approached them. In the meantime, the ship flew over them and Rin could see Deidara holding a similar weapon. He fired it towards the creatures, and Obito took the opportunity to grab Rin's hand and run.

Her ankle protested, and she yelled his name through the loud booms of the explosions. "Obito, wait! My ankle!"

He stopped for a moment, eyeing her ankle, before strapping the weapon and then bending down. Rin shrieked as he threw her over his shoulder. Holding her by the back of her knees, Obito ran up a large boulder as his ship was several feet away. Deidara and Sasori continued shooting at the creatures as they tried jumping out from the ground.

"Hold on to my back," Obito said quickly, putting her down. He got on one knee as she climbed onto his back, her head turning as more of the creatures were getting closer to them and the ship.

"Hold on tight!" Obito instructed, and Rin wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly and closed her eyes as she felt him run quickly across the boulder. And all of the sudden, he jumped. She buried her face against his neck as her heart pounded loudly, hoping that they would be inside the ship soon.

Obito landed at the very edge of the ship's wide doors, and Deidara quickly grabbed his arm and pulled them fully inside. Sasori pressed a button and radioed Kakuzu and Kisame.

"Obito and Rin are inside. Let's go!"

The doors finally closed and the ship took speed, navigating upwards and back upto space.

Rin got off Obito's back and sat down on the floor tiredly, recuperating from the fact that she had been very close to being a snack for those worms.

"You two looked like you had fun out there!" Deidara pointed out.

"You should've joined us then," Obito said, putting the weapon away before facing her, "Are you...OK?"

Rin smiled up at him, "Yes, now I am. Thank you, Obito.."

He gave her a brief nod before heading upstairs in order to take control of the ship.

Later that evening, once they were hundreds of miles away from the planet, Rin spent time breaking down the flowers and analyzing them. Sasori lent her his lab, which she was grateful for. He had different sets of instruments which were useful for what she needed to do.

"Some of these flowers have toxins," the red-haired man commented, and Rin nodded.

"Yes. According to the database, they can cause paralysis. I would like to bring them back for further studies. I believe they can be used for more than just a weapon,"

As the two were wrapping up with their research, Deidara stopped by. He wore a white apron and had a spatula in hand.

"Oi, dinner time! Come out you two!"

Dinner on a spaceship was very interesting. Nonetheless, she looked forward to this moment. It would be the first time they would be eating as a team. Initially, she had her dinner alone in her room as the kitchen would mostly be empty. The men would either be training or doing something in the machine room.

According to the terribly written weekly schedule that Hidan taped to the kitchen wall, this week was Deidara's week to cook. And as Rin entered the large room, she became worried with what the blond-haired man had come up with. The stove area was dirty, stains everywhere. As if something had exploded during the cooking process. Nonetheless, the food he had created smelled and looked delicious.

"Alright, now we have everyone here!"

Rin sat between Kisame and Zetsu, the latter who didn't have a plate as he did not need any nourishments. Obito sat on the opposite side of her, diagonal from her. She gave him a brief glance before facing Deidara as he sat down on the front.

"Time to dig in!"

"This crap better not make me sick," Kakuzu muttered, and Rin's eyes widened as she took the first bite. It didn't taste bad…

"That was Hidan's cooking," the blonde replied, "Remember Zetsu had to assign him cooking classes?"

Kisame laughed out loud, "I remember that time! Idiot didn't know the difference between sriracha and ketchup,"

"It was a fucking accident," Hidan said, "I was multi-tasking and picked up the wrong bottle!"

"Yeah, texting that chick from that one planet,"

"She was very cute," Hidan said with a grin before looking at Obito, "Oi, are we going to that place again? BFL-908… the one with the ladies,"

Rin tried her best not to act like she cared, but the mention of this planet had her attention. She looked at Obito from the corner of her eyes, her heart beating loudly as she waited for his answer. He rubbed the back of his head.

"It's not on our flight plan-"

"Oh come on, just for a day!" Hidan protested. "Remember what their leader told us? That we're always welcome,"

"She did say that," Kisame said, and Kakuzu nodded in agreement.

"I wouldn't mind having some...distraction for a day,"

"Yeah, we got needs to take care of," Hidan finally said, "How about it? Just for one day, and then we'll continue with our journey,"

His eyes met hers, and Rin looked away immediately as her face began to heat up. A mixture of jealousy and shock shot through her body, but she kept her face neutral while looking away. She mentally reminded herself that she was here in order to learn more and use her skills for good. Whatever love Obito had for her was long gone.

"...I'll think about it," Obito finally replied, chewing on his food.

"...What about Rin?"

The question had her eyebrows raised, and she slowly turned to Zetsu. She gave him a questioning look. "Hm?"

"Well, don't you have needs to satisfy too?"

The silence in the room only lasted a couple of seconds before the majority of the men around her started laughing out loud. Sasori had a smirk, as if trying to contain his laughter, and Obito began to cough.

Rin, whose face was completely red as they all looked at her curiously, thought of a good answer to provide. She eventually cleared her throat and gave Zetsu a warm smile.

"Thank you for thinking about me, but I'm good,"

The white robot gave her a confusing look, "But you're part of the team! And we don't want to leave you out…"

"Unless she likes girls," Hidan said, and now they were all really looking at her for answers. Including Obito, who sat back on his chair with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Come on, you can tell us. We won't judge," Deidara told her.

"I don't like girls in that manner," she told them, "But I am fine if you all want to...take a day off and...do some personal things. I can...always stay here and watch over the ship?"

"Aw come on, that's no fun for you!" Hidan said.

"Perhaps she has someone else at home and wants to stay faithful," Sasori added, and Rin appreciated his input even though it was incorrect.

"Oh, do you have someone waiting for you back home?" Zetsu asked curiously.

Rin giggled nervously, "I don't, actually,"

She didn't miss the way Juzo gave Obito a look.

"Huh, why do I find that hard to believe?" Deidara said, resting his face on the palm of his hands.

"Yeah, there's no way you're single," Hidan said, eyes narrowing at her, "You must've at least had an ex,"

Rin shook her head, "No ex boyfriends either,"

"...One-night stands at least?"

She shook her head again, "That's a no as well,"

"Huh, so you're really pure," Hidan said with a smirk, and Rin looked down at her food. Kakuzu's next words caused chills to go down her spine. And while he didn't say it to be malicious, it definitely was a heads-up for her.

"Some criminals will pay big money to bed virgins like you. And some of the planets we'll be visiting aren't female friendly. So keep your eyes out and senses opened, girl. Some of these lawless places are infested with rapists,"

"Th-Thanks," she said nervously, her appetite going away.

The topic of conversation shifted to something else before dinner was over and it was time for bed.

Wearing a white tanktop and black shorts, she washed her face in one of the sinks of the large common bathroom. Getting used to a common bathroom was an interesting journey for her. Luckily, the toilets and showers were separated by stalls. Nonetheless, she always woke up early in order to use the area before any of the males did.

Once she was done, she exited the area and walked over to her bedroom. She placed the large medical and research books to the top of her desk, right next to two vases which contained the flowers she had picked. She checked the time back home and groaned when realizing that it was nearly two in the morning. Shizune would be asleep by now.

Sighing tiredly, she laid down on her bed and closed her eyes. Not long after, several soft knocks had her re-opening her eyes and getting up. She didn't bother asking who it was, opening the door and looking surprised at the male standing in front of her.

"...Obito? Hey,"

As usual, he wore a long-sleeve shirt and his left hand was covered with a leather glove.

"Did I wake you?"

"N-No, I was just lying down..." she half-lied, giving him a smile, "So...what's up?"

His face was relaxed, and she remembered the sweet Obito from years ago. It was as if part of him was coming back.

"Just wanted to see if you're OK," he said quickly, and Rin raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh! Thanks for checking up, but I'm fine…"

"How's the ankle?"

"It's much better now. I think the running may have helped," she said, remembering how those creatures had run after her.

"I don't think I ever apologized for yesterday's training… I miscalculated and didn't expect you to fall like that,"

"It's fine… I was taken by surprise, but I'm OK. I see it as getting ready for the real thing, you know?"

The corner of his lips raised, "Real thing is more intense,"

"I know. And I remember what Kakuzu said earlier. So I'll definitely keep my guard up without interfering with your missions,"

"...I'm not going to let that happen to you,"

"Huh?" she asked, and he turned to her with a serious look.

"What Kakuzu said… His warning… I won't let any of that happen to you. I won't let anyone touch you,"

His statement surprised her. While it was a captain's duty to ensure the safety of his crew members, Rin got the sense that Obito was talking about this on a more personal level. His behavior since she first joined his team was strange. One moment he would barely acknowledge her. The next he is saving her and talking about not letting anyone touch her. She knew that she would have to be careful with whatever his intentions were.

"Thank you for the offer, Obito. But I think I'll be fine. If anything, I'll ask Zetsu to give me some basic training and I'll make sure to be alert and stay out of everyone's way,"

"I'll train you," he said, "We'll start tomorrow."

"A-Are you sure? Don't you have to...fly the ship or something?"

He gave her a light smirk, "We're going to be on the same course for another two days. Auto-pilot will take us to our next destination,"

"OK," she said, before giving him a teasing look, "You're not going to slam me to the floor or anything?"

Obito chuckled, and Rin enjoyed hearing the sound, "I promise not to harm you,"

"Good. Then we'll meet tomorrow for training?"

"Yes… Goodnight, Rin,"

"Goodnight, Obito…"

Next day…

They started training in the afternoon, taking advantage of the room being empty. Last thing Rin wanted was some of the crew (Hidan and Deidara specifically) watching and teasing her.

She wasn't sure how Obito would start their session, assuming that he would teach her some basic fighting moves. But when he brought over two weapons, she looked at him confusingly.

"What are those?"

"This shoots bullets. I've replaced the real bullets with rubber ones. And this one shoots bombs… I emptied it entirely,"

"Bombs?"

"Deidara created it,"

"Ah," Well, that made sense.

"We'll use this one first," he said, giving her the short weapon which shot rubber bullets, "Training you on how to fight will take some time. It's better if I first show you how to use some of these weapons in case you need to use them for protection,"

"Makes sense," she said, holding the short weapon with her hands. Despite it being about a foot and a half long, it was not light at all.

Obito gave her a brief tutorial of how to use the weapon; where the trigger and safety components were. He then had her point it towards a wall with several paper targets.

"Try to aim and shoot the targets,"

"OK," she said, aiming the weapon and shooting. The rubber bullet completely missed the target, and she frowned.

"Try to relax your shoulders and raise your arms higher,"

"Like this?"

"No," he said before standing behind her. He raised her arms higher, and Rin made sure to not allow the contact interfere with her concentration, "Like this,"

She nodded slowly, her arms leveled with her shoulders as she fired again. The rubber bullet missed the mark again, but only by an inch this time. Which meant that she was getting closer.

"Almost," she whispered, and shot again. The bullet touched the edge of the mark, and she smiled. She fired a third time, hitting the center of the target. "Yes!"

"You have good aim," he said, and she turned to him with a smile.

"Thanks,"

"...But lesson number three," he said while pointing the weapon down and away from him, "Careful where you point it. A single touch and you can shoot the wrong person,"

Realizing her mistake, Rin giggled while ensuring to keep the weapon facing downwards when not in use.

"Well, I'm glad you replaced the bullets with rubber ones,"

"Rubber still hurts,"

"So does being slammed onto the mat… And that's also rubber," she teased.

Obito raised an eyebrow, "Trying to take revenge?"

She pouted before slightly raising the weapon again. She wasn't going to fire it; her aim was to startle him a little. But the moment she did, he disarmed her immediately. She ended up dropping the weapon on the floor as he held her wrists behind her back after turning her around. Obito then pulled her towards him until her back hit his chest.

"Ouch, I wasn't going to shoot you," she giggled. He wasn't hurting her, but was keeping her from moving away from him.

He lowered his face just so he could whisper in her ear, his warm breath sending chills down her back. "You don't know how much of a distraction you are,"

She turned her head to him questioningly, prompting their faces to be inches apart. There was an uncertainty between them, unsure if taking the next step would be right. For Rin, she wasn't sure where this would lead. It was her third or fourth day with the crew, and the last thing she wanted was to make things more awkward between her and the captain. But the look he was giving her made her forget the promise she made to herself, and next thing she knew their lips were softly touching in a gentle kiss. His other arm snaked around her, resting just underneath her breasts just as the kiss deepened slightly.

But their sweet moment was interrupted as the alarms around the ship went off, and they quickly separated. Rin's face was flushed, and she looked away as Obito pulled out a handheld device. The device showed a hologram of the area, and Rin saw an object approach them.

"What is that?"

"Looks like another ship. Let's go,"

Putting the kiss behind her (she would think about that later), she followed him towards the lower level of the ship just as Hidan, Kisame, Kakuzu, Zetsu, and Sasori arrived.

"I have pulled information on the approaching ship," Sasori said, his eyebrows then rising, "And it belongs to Aiko Anamaki,"

Hidan whistled before smirking towards Obito, "Well, looks like her and her girls are coming to us for once,"

Rin was confused, and she studied Obito's facial expression as he dialed some buttons on the wall of his ship. There was a light vibration, and she assumed that the incoming ship had docked with theirs. After about a minute or two, several doors began to open and a beautiful green-eyed dark-haired young woman appeared with several other females standing besides her.

Hidan whistled, and the leading female smiled before rushing towards them. Rin's heart dropped to the floor as she saw her run to Obito specifically and hug him tightly.

"It's finally good to see you again!" she exclaimed.

Few of the other females walked over to Hidan and Kisame, both men smiling; and Rin could only watch with a mixture of jealousy and disgust. She bit the inside of her cheek and crossed her arms in front of her chest, mentally kicking herself for once again letting a man play with her emotions and interfere with her goals.

Author's Note: Thoughts? Hope u enjoyed this chapter!