Chapter 29: Awakening

A/N: As of 6/28/2022, I made some updates to the chapter, including formatting corrections and new dialogue.


"Seriously… when was the last time we got to do this?" Jitsuko asked in gentle wonder while Obito climbed onto the roof of his house, immediately twisted around, and offered his hand to lift her up with him.

"Heh, yeah… it almost feels like we haven't done this since we were kids," he replied while helping her get comfortable with laying down. Her now swollen stomach told of how many months were left before officially meeting their little one – two and a half months to go, which meant that sleeping and finding the right position became quite the tiresome task. Instead of lying on her back as per usual during stargazing, Jitsuko had no choice but to lay on her side to avoid crushing her guts from the baby's increasing weight.

Looking at how goofy her position was, Obito couldn't help but close his eyes, passing Jitsuko a wide, nervous smile. He didn't mean to, but such a simple gesture from him always made her pulse jump. "Are you comfy?"

"I'll live."

"What if you moved over this way?"

"Obito, I'm fine."

"R-right! I know that," he declared with fake confidence which she detected instantly.

Obito was acting strange. He appeared even more discomposed than usual. What was even stranger was his sudden insistence on stargazing with her that night. Looking up at the stars and telling stories and jokes was an activity she and Obito spent countless nights doing together back when the two were young, but increased duties and responsibilities as shinobi had dampened their availability to do this with each other.

Even though Minato had managed to lessen the tension between the Hidden Leaf and Cloud village after Kusuo Uchiha's interference years ago, that did not mean that peace was achieved during that time. In fact, the two villages were borderline at war with each other, and with other villages acting as allies for both sides that only meant that other nations would get involved as well. With the threat of war came more frequent and difficult missions. With Jitsuko out of commission, that only meant more work for poor Obito.

When she admitted to him about her plans to retire as a shinobi, Obito was livid. He couldn't understand why Jitsuko would vow to protect the village, only to just give up. He made his feelings on the matter no secret, until he learned of the reasoning behind the decision.

"Obito, the reason why I became a ninja in the first place was so I could protect you. Now you've given me someone else to protect with my life. Besides, someone's gonna have to teach them how to be a proper ninja while you're out on Hokage business. They'll help you take care of the village. I'll make sure of that."

The supportive and reassuring smile Jitsuko flashed Obito immediately after had since then never left his thoughts. It was still so crystal clear to him whenever he thought about it. What a beautiful image to accompany equally beautiful words. It helped to make the life-changing decision he had plans for the slightest bit easier for the increasingly distraught Uchiha.

This is the night, he chanted to himself to calm his jolting nerves and erratically beating heart. Don't screw this up, Obito!

"I love how, even after all these years, the stars still look the same to me," Jitsuko noted absentmindedly, which prompted Obito to glance over at her in genuine fascination.

"The world where you're from… were the stars the same there like they are here?"

Her face scrunched up in deep thought as she scrutinized the positioning of the stars carefully. It had been so long.

"I'm… not sure. At this point I'm not even certain that I'd even recognize my old home."

Obito had since grown accustomed to the idea of Jitsuko being from another world. How could he not? It wasn't entirely that hard to believe – he possessed the power to travel between different dimensions with his Sharingan, after all.

"Do you ever… wish that you could go back?" he asked uncomfortably with immediate fear that he wouldn't like the answer.

Immediately Jitsuko's expression turned sour and glum. The only time she actively wished to go back was the night she lost Tobi. Since then, she felt rather lost about where her permanent home was, or what her role was supposed to be in this world.

"Sometimes… I wonder where home is, but then I remember that it doesn't matter, because home is wherever you are. I love you, Obito."

The look of pure, genuine awe and tenderness engraved within Obito's eyes at the answer sent butterflies to Jitsuko's stomach. Within them was the reflection of the moon and stars, glistening and dancing among the black expanse. He clearly returned those intimate feelings of adoration and devotion for her, if not more so.

"But no matter where I am, I will never forget how breathtakingly bright the stars are," she remarked without looking at the sky, instead choosing to view them through his eyes. Jitsuko's tone was relaxed, despite her aching back and hips from the weight of her baby bump and the uncomfortably stiff tiles of the roof.

"Yeah," replied Obito while his fingers fidgeted against something in his front pocket. "I just wanna take it all in." He then muttered under his breath, speaking to himself more than anything else. "This is our chance. All those years of planning. My entire life, in a single instant. I… I can't breathe."

Barely hearing his babbling, Jitsuko peered over at him, a brow raised. "Alright you big creep, what's on your mind? You've been acting… dorkier than usual lately," she teased with endearment in her tone.

He gulped down a few breaths before he voiced louder, "Wh-what are you talking about? Can I not take my family out to see the stars once in a while?"

Obito's words immediately wiped the gentle smirk off her face and replaced it with open-mouthed wonder. He had finally openly acknowledged what they were.

"A… family…" Jitsuko whispered under her breath while gazing at her boyfriend in awe. Obito had grown up and matured so spectacularly, and yet, his wonderfully dark eyes still brought her comfort in knowing that he was still the same eccentric and determined Obito she fell in love with countless years ago. His face remained clear of any scars, and the beacon of hope for this world still lit up the fire in his eyes.

As she continued to stare, Obito had taken notice and Jitsuko couldn't help but chuckle at the pink tinge that spread along his cheeks while trying to discreetly avoid her direction. He was definitely up to something, but what?

In the midst of the blatant admiration of her boyfriend, Jitsuko suddenly felt their baby shift into a distracting position, prompting her chuckle to morph into a low grunt of discomfort, which caught Obito's attention in its entirety.

"A-are you… okay?" he asked as his gentle hand raised and mapped out the indent in her stomach where his baby was resting.

"I'm okay… I just think… they're getting a little antsy in there… and so am I, to tell you the truth."

Obito sighed before easing onto his back in a horizontal position next to her, with his sights landing on her stomach. "If you asked me a year ago where I thought we'd be in life… this probably wouldn't have been my answer."

Confused and slightly hurt, Jitsuko's head jerked up in Obito's direction. "Wh-what do you mean by that…? You mean you aren't… happy where we are…?"

"Well…" stuttered Obito as he finally mustered the courage to secure a sturdy grip on the object in his pocket. "I guess you could say that…"

"Wh-what? Obito, you're… but I thought… I… is it because of the baby…? We really make you… that unhappy…?" she muttered while tears began flooding and clouding her eyes. After all this time of planning and having a future together… and she made Obito… unhappy? Even the simple idea of it made Jitsuko sick to her stomach.

"H-huh? N-no wait! I – I didn't mean it like that!" he blurted out in between hastily grasping at her hands and stomach in reassurance. "What I meant was… if you asked me where I thought we'd be… or more specifically, where you would be… I would've said… well…" Obito chuckled nervously before pausing and stroking down his face with his palm in embarrassment and apprehension. He knew this would be hard, but Obito didn't quite realize just how vulnerable of a position he'd be putting himself into.

The words still sounded forced, and Obito couldn't stop the nervous tremors that ran through his legs. "Do you remember… what we agreed to name our kid if they're a boy?"

Jitsuko nodded gleefully. "And I know we're still fighting on a girl name, but as long as they take the Uchiha name… then I'm happy." Her eyes went half-lidded in delight and content at the names she and Obito agreed to. To think that they were about to add a new member to the Uchiha clan when they almost went extinct once upon a time. Jitsuko just hoped that the fumes she inhaled won't put a wrench in those plans somehow.

Her heart ached at the thought, and she gripped Obito's hand for reassurance. "Do you think they'll be okay? With Orochimaru's fumes being a threat and all…"

"Don't think about it that way. They'll be amazing, no matter what happens," Obito stated, his eyes tightly shut while patting her stomach. He would never even begin to express how nervous he was on his child's condition, but he meant every word he said.

"But you're really fine with naming them after my clan? I know there's nobody else with a last name like yours, but your background matters, too. Even if you aren't from here."

Obito watched Jitsuko's eyes light up upon the mention of his clan as she nodded eagerly. It gave him the perfect idea.

"It's an honor having them take over their dad's name. Don't ever forget how incredible your heritage is, Obito. I want our kid to carry on your family name. More than anything."

Now's the time, he chanted to himself.

Play it cool.

Be smooth.

Yeah, I got this.

"The Uchiha Clan… I know you have respect for them, but… do you… like it?"

"Do I like the clan? Well of course I do, Obito!" Jitsuko declared enthusiastically before laying back down and allowing a wave of nostalgia to wash over her upon observing the stars. "Don't you remember all those years ago in your room… when I told you that I'm... kind of jealous that I'm not in the clan?"

Anxious fingers tapped at Jitsuko's bulging stomach for a few moments.

"…Alright, alright, I'll admit that I'm extremely jealous that I'm not a part of the Uchiha cl-"

"W-would you like to be?" Obito interjected without thinking, prompting her eyes to widen in pure shock and a reddened blush to awaken on both their faces.

"Would I like to be… part of the clan…? Y-your clan?"

"Y-yeah! A-and about earlier… where you thought that I… wasn't happy with the baby… it's true that I didn't think we'd have them here so soon… but now that we are…" he muttered while wrapping a trembling hand around hers. "Listen… growing up, I never really had much for family… I never even knew my own parents, but now, I get it. Being a parent and having a family… that's true happiness."

Obito breathed for a moment, gripping Jitsuko's hand tighter. He sighed contently and looked back up at her, tears swimming in his eyes.

"I never admitted it to you before, but I… I always saw you as family, Jitsuko. You always brought along with you this sense of familiarity and comfort, one that always said to me, 'this is home.' The thing is, I sense that with our child, too. It's… it's an incredible feeling. I know you don't have the Sharingan so it's hard to understand exactly what I mean, but at the very least, what I can do… is make your wish come true… and make you an official part of my family… a part of the Uchiha clan."

Jitsuko's eyes widened while her gaze followed Obito's hand buried deep in his pocket before pulling back with him a humble gold band with a lone crimson-colored diamond centered in front. Its rich redness matched the vibrant color of the Uchiha's Sharingan. The glimmer of the moon and stars only aided in enhancing the beauty splayed out in Obito's quivering grasp.

"I don't want it to just be me and the baby to have the same last name. It wouldn't be fair to you. You're family to me. And… for a while now… I've been meaning to ask you."

He paused while gazing down at his hand and the ring that lay nestled in his palm.

"You've always been an important part of my life. So now…"

"…will you… let me be all of yours?"

Jitsuko stared wide-eyed at the trembling hand clutching the gold band before shifting her gaze to the face of her boyfriend. Sweat masked his face, and the straining blush on his cheeks only deepened after each passing moment that she stayed silent.

Finally, her lips cracked slightly open.

"O-Obito… you mean… I… your wife…? I… I…"

A sudden firm and forceful kick emanating from inside her stomach snapped Jitsuko out of the shock, forcing out a weak, "oof," which prompted a nervous smirk to form on Obito's lips. "Looks like they're all for it," he chuckled.

"You don't have to tell me twice," she said while rubbing her stomach before relinking with Obito's dark, charcoal eyes. Jitsuko leaned closer to him until their foreheads pressed together, lovingly brushing their noses while smiling and giggling in a blend of nerves and glee. Once the giddiness died down, Obito watched her eyes close, and his followed soon after. Her lips were mere centimeters apart, and before they could meet in a comforting embrace, she whispered, "Yes. Please, Obito."

"Marry me."

After living under constant stress for so long, the union of their lips felt like the sweetest breath of fresh air; it brought along sentiments Jitsuko had almost forgotten about – all the love Obito carried for her in his heart, his simultaneous excitement and apprehension over starting a family with her, all those bittersweet feelings of reflecting every moment the two spent together over the years. They both got to relive each of these feelings every time her lips connected with her fiancé's and embraced for the first time as a family. How wonderful they felt.

Obito sighed softly in a unique satiation upon meeting with Jitsuko's lips again. He then clasped her tight and began mapping out the curves of her body while doing so. He was taken aback, as if he were doing it for the first time. Even years after being together, Jitsuko still astounded him by how incredible she was. Anybody observing the two from the outside looking in would describe their kiss as somewhat awkward with a lot of fumbling, but to Jitsuko, his kisses were always pleasing and sensual. The spiritual connection between the two was indescribable to those who are not familiar with the beauty of being on the receiving end of genuine love from an Uchiha.

The passion in his eyes after accepting his proposal amplified the ecstatic feeling of love they held for one another. It was as though all of his doubts and worries evaporated away once Jitsuko returned his idea of love and marriage with matching warmth and eagerness. She took a moment to wipe her lips after his passionate and wordless embrace, noting how since the first kiss Obito has always been a messy kisser, often leaving behind a trail evidencing his signature pecks. It didn't matter. They both were too captivated with the passion laced within his well-meaning actions and plans to spend the rest of their lives together.

It was this point where any remnants of doubt or apprehension escaped her.

This is where I'm supposed to be. This is home.


The labored and unregulated pattern of Jitsuko's breathing was all she could focus on while waddling back home. She had spent the entire day with Rin planning for her wedding and all the complications associated with it – trying to fit into the dress with her ever-growing stomach, calculate how much food and drink will be enough for the guests, and the worst of it all; customizing the invites to send to potential guests.

Jitsuko admittedly did not have an extensive list of friends, so the invite list was rather short on her end, however, Obito was ecstatic about the day – perhaps a bit too much to the point where he didn't mind inviting everyone in the whole village. His list exceeded the capacity their back yard can hold at a time, so dealing with that wore her down to the core.

Even though there was still quite some time before the baby's arrival, the added weight and positioning of her pronounced stomach proved to be quite the unexpected challenge to a simple task such as walking. To her delight, a lone bench situated in the near distance, and Jitsuko's feet shuffled toward it for a coveted and sorely needed break.

On her way there, she spotted three shadows murmuring to each other and strolling to the seat as well; one stood tall while peering down at the other two figures, while the second was trying hard to plan their steps casually and act cool, as if to impress the other two. Their body language and posture made it easy to distinguish them as the famous Uchiha brothers – Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha, accompanied by Itachi's lifelong friend, Shisui Uchiha. Their matching Uchiha uniforms and dark jackets told that they had just came from the Police Force.

Jitsuko contemplated skipping the break in favor of making a straight shot for home in fear of disrupting the famous trio, but hearing a subtle cough in the midst of the older brother's conversation reminded her of something. Something she needed to do.

Things may be entirely different in this timeline, but Itachi died from some mysterious illness in the show. What if that illness is hurting him, even now? There's no way he would tell anyone, especially Sasuke. Since he lived among the Akatsuki originally, he didn't have access to good medical care. I need to find some way to convince him to get checked out in the hospital just in case, but how? Itachi and Shisui are probably the two smartest ninjas in the whole village. I'll need a miracle for them to not immediately see right through me.

As if on cue, Itachi took a seat on the bench while Shisui lectured Sasuke proudly on some complex kunai throwing technique as Jitsuko mimicked Itachi's actions and sat with caution shortly next step was figuring out how to initiate a casual conversation that seemed natural. This wasn't typically hard for her since it was common of village folk to waltz up and begin inquiring about the baby – its gender, any names, all of which she wasn't sure about yet, so all Jitsuko had to do was wait until that moment arrived then steer the conversation in her favor.

After a while of the two sitting in silence, she became somewhat taken aback that Itachi hadn't explicitly noted her baby bump. But this was Itachi she was talking about. Jitsuko knew for a fact that he was analyzing her internally. It looked like she would have to be the pilot of this discussion. That was until two other voices disrupted Jitsuko from her thoughts.

"I could do it if I wanted to."

"Oh yeah?" teased Shisui. "What'd we spend all day practicing for then, if you've apparently mastered it?"

At his prodding, Sasuke's withdrawn act instantly faded as he peaked his eyes open in the direction of Shisui. "How about I take you on right now?"

"Easy there, bud. You wouldn't want to harm your future superior of the Police Force." Shisui winked at him humorously. "Not that you'd be able to land a hit on me anyway."

With Sasuke and Shisui distracted, Jitsuko made her move.

"Itachi, is it?" she instigated while looking straight ahead, though she watched in her peripheral vision that he responded with his head turning silently in her direction, indicating that Jitsuko had at least a shred of his precious attention.

Remember, Jitsuko. You have to play dumb!

She knew Itachi was sharp, likely even the most clever in the village. She had to be extremely careful about what she said, as even the smallest slip or insinuation could give her secret away and force a wedge of doubt about her to develop in his mind.

"Um… do you know… who I am…?"

Itachi continued to glare stoically before breaking off to stare ahead once more. "Jitsuko Mawatari. You helped Shisui and I on our Kusuo investigation back when there was still tension among the clan and village.

He remembers me even when he was so young?!

"R-right! So, your brother… he wants to be a member of the Police Force with Shisui, huh?"

Even with Sasuke's family still alive and together, he is still so ambitious!

Itachi's eyes shifted suspiciously at Jitsuko's inquiry and his head returned to her general direction. "What do you know of my little brother," he demanded in an eerily calm manner.

"I-I know that he thinks the world of you."

The sounds of Sasuke and Shisui play wrestling nearby attracted Jitsuko's attention for a moment, but Itachi's glare remained situated on her.

"S-so I was heading back from the prenatal wing in the hospital earlier," she began anxiously while still gazing out in the distance. "They've renovated the space there recently and I love what they've done with the place. They put up these little hanging storks to get us all excited and prepared for becoming parents, it's, uh, pretty funny to see, actually. You should check it out sometime!"

No response, not even a cough.

This isn't working, Jitsuko!

"So, have you, um… been to the hospital lately…? Been sick at all?"

Still, he didn't reply; he was likely choosing to dissect her intentions rather than humor her small talk. That didn't stop a strained cough from finally escaping his lips, however.

Jitsuko blinked and turned to look directly at him with newfound confidence, the softness in her voice expressing genuine concern. "How long have you had that cough?"

He finally felt inclined to answer. "What's the purpose of you asking?"

Oh, he's good.

"I was just thinking… if you've had it for a while… then maybe it's a bit more serious than the act you're putting on for Sasuke."

"Is this girl bugging you?" Sasuke interjected while Shisui noted the dumbfounded expression on Itachi's face.

"Not now, little brother," he replied almost coldly without tearing his scrutiny away from Jitsuko's ever-increasing anxious form. "Shisui, please take Sasuke home and leave us to talk for a moment."

"Hold on, how does this girl get to stay, but I can't?" argued Sasuke before Shisui locked him in a friendly and choke hold in a joking manner.

"So what, did the last four hours of our precious time training you not matter, then?"

"Oh brother," he replied with unamusement riddling his voice while rolling his eyes.

"Sorry Sasuke, another time," Itachi responded in a rhetorical manner with the slightest smirk cracking on his lips, to which Sasuke scoffed before returning his grin and went along their way, leaving Jitsuko and Itachi to talk in solidarity.

She made a quick note of amusement how Sasuke was a tad more cheery than his old vigilante self. There was a spark in his eyes – one that expressed that he was proud of his family. Proud of his clan.

"It's no question that Sasuke means everything to you, too. So why don't you tell him?"

"It's not of his concern, nor is it yours."

"Itachi... you may think you're protecting Sasuke now, but what about when you can't hide that illness anymore? How do you think he would react when he finds out you've been lying to him this whole time?"

Jitsuko was met with silence, Itachi's face remaining unreadable as he stared blankly ahead. The slightest crease in his eyebrows gave away his true sentiments.

"Please, even if you still decide against going to a hospital, at least tell him. Tell Sasuke that it's not a head cold. Trust me when I say that I had my own inner demons hidden away for years, too, and I implore you."

She struggled to her feet to continue the trek back home, but not before looking over her shoulder back at Itachi with a knowing smirk.

"Once you share the truth with those who are most precious to you, it's the most liberating feeling in the world."

Jitsuko silently pleaded that Itachi will choose to heed her advice to confess his illness to his beloved brother and possibly seek medical treatment, but the rest was out of her hands.


"Oh, welcome, Obito! We weren't sure if you would be making it today," the nurse stated calmly to the visibly distraught Uchiha. "Your fiancée is in room 12B."

"She's, uh, my wife now… as of today, actually," he chuckled nervously. "It's a good thing they didn't want to come out an hour early before it was official, or it would've been an even bigger mess."

"I see, so your little one just couldn't wait another day," replied the nurse while smiling reassuringly. "The procedure was performed without any complications. Just try not to be as jumpy when you enter the room. Your… wife had been rather on edge since she arrived here, from going through this alone I reckon." Her demeanor suddenly shifted to accusingly as she stared down Obito while he closed his eyes and grinned innocently but nervously.

After spending an extended period of time at the hospital and getting to know the sweet and goofy side of Obito, the nurses allowed their professionalism to drop to rather unacceptable levels. Unbeknownst to them, there was a reason why he was late.

He was still dressed in a dark blue traditional montsuki kimono with the Uchiha symbol etched throughout its design, most notably on his shoulders. The marriage ceremony had been that very morning, and while Obito was now officially Jitsuko's husband, and she was now an Uchiha, a few rather unexpected turns managed to pervade the day.


"Obito, look," Rin announced sweetly, her formal outfit blew with the gentle caress of the wind from the outside ceremony. "It's a messenger bird, and it looks like it's coming right for you!"

"Make sure you hold your arm out for it this time, dummy!" Jitsuko remarked playfully to her new husband while in her stunning dark blue wedding kimono dress, one that had a large Uchiha symbol right on the back, as Obito had envisioned innumerable times in the past. It had been specifically fitted for maternity, as her front sported a cute and stretched baby bump. She was due any time next month.

He raised an unsteady arm for the bird to perch on before unraveling the note and began to read with his back facing Jitsuko. He was expecting yet another 'congratulations' letter, but the words engraved into that sheet sent booming waves of insuppressible joy throughout the Uchiha. Jitsuko and Rin watched his head lower slightly and his back begin to tremble, and they started to worry.

"I-I don't believe it," he murmured.

"Obito, what-"

Without warning, he whirled around and engulfed her and Rin into a tight, crushing and inescapable hug before picking them up and swaying them side to side.

"Just when I thought this day couldn't be better! Look at this!"

"Ah! B-be careful, Obito! The baby…!"

"Oh, right!"

Once Obito set Jitsuko down, he couldn't help but shove the document in her face before she even had a chance to stabilize herself. The note described Obito's past achievements and various abilities, and at the very bottom read the words,

'Congratulations on the Land of Fire's highest honor of being nominated for the next Hokage.'

The only downside was that the urgent assessment meeting was to be mere hours from that very moment, despite it being the day of their wedding. Obito broke his gaze form the document to address Jitsuko with sadness and doubt in his eyes. It didn't truly dawn on him that his ultimate dream of becoming Hokage would put a severe handicap on his family life, but the realization struck him like a sack of bricks.

Jitsuko could tell that he was going through a serious dilemma. Reading Obito's thoughts through his gestures and body language had become a sixth sense of sorts.

"Hey," she addressed him with sincerity in her voice. "Don't think if it that way. Think of this as two special events rolled into a day. It's a two-for-one deal!" she said with a genuine laugh and smile. She truly felt nothing but joy that Obito's dreams were coming to fruition. It didn't bug Jitsuko that he would have to depart the wedding party somewhat early.

At that, Obito became expressionless as his head lowered and trembled, which caught her off guard, until he shot back up and stated while brushing the hair out of her face,

"Jitsuko. I love you so much!"

After a kiss goodbye and best wishes from everyone attending the ceremony, Obito left to prepare for his evaluation for the position of Hokage.

The next few hours were spent with the guests. Minato and Kushina greeted Jitsuko, their hands never separating. Tailing behind them of course was Naruto, his extravagant formal wear directly contradicted the bored expression on his face, until Jitsuko began calling to him, arms out. When she had his attention, he couldn't help but run to her like he did as a child, delivering a powerful return hug with enough force to almost knock Jitsuko over. Rin and Kakashi were there to steady her at each of her sides, their nervous expressions soon breaking into a hearty laughter.

Within hours after the grand news, a faint but aching pain reverberated through Jitsuko's abdomen, which she'd felt multiple times in the recent past, so she thought nothing of it. That was until Kakashi pointed out a wet spot that had developed between her legs. The reddened blush stung Jitsuko's cheeks, and the pain of her embarrassment was almost enough to overlook the growing pain in her abdomen.

Hold on…

No. Way…! But it's too early! They're not supposed to come yet…!

It wasn't until the sky grew dark did Obito find the time to return to what was left over from his wedding. Drinks and streamers riddled the lawn behind his house, and he scratched the back of his head at the mess he was left to clean up. Someone even made a show to create a makeshift pool out of the giant hole Jitsuko conjured out of anger that one time, and in it lied various objects ranging from chopsticks to flowers. Was that a shirt floating around in there?

Noting the lack of lighting inside his house, Obito wondered where everyone went off to, until he spotted familiar faces that brought him comfort. His closest friends and teammates remained behind to aid in the aftermath of the storm that had seemingly brushed though his yard, and they stopped and greeted him his enthusiastic faces and smiles.

"Kakashi, Rin, Minato-sensei!" he voiced in gratitude before approaching them.

"Hey. Figured we'd stay behind and help you clean up a little," Kakashi announced nonchalantly. "Consider it as a second wedding present."

Rin stepped in and delivered a light smack on Kakashi's shoulder to scold him wordlessly with a stern look on her face before it dissolved immediately upon making eye contact with Obito.

"We're happy to help out in any way we can, Obito!"

"Thanks guys. What kind of creatures did you bring in here after I left, anyway? It looks like the fourth war started in here!" he joked while collecting trash, to which Minato responded by pausing his cleaning for a moment in swift remembrance of what Jitsuko told him about the fourth shinobi war, most notably who caused it, before shifting his thoughts away from it and returning to his work with a gentle grin on his face.

"I take it that the assessment training went well, then?"

"The village elders said to give it a few months before they make the right call. Heh, it wasn't anything that I couldn't handle!"

"That's right!" Rin smiled. "You can do anything you set your mind to. Don't let anything hold you back!"

"Except Jitsuko, maybe," added Kakashi. "When are we supposed to tell him that she went into labor a while ago?"

Obito's actions ceased instantly. Concerned, Rin and Minato switched their gaze to Obito's direction, and watched how his stature was completely immobile.

"We weren't supposed to tell him like that, Kakashi!" Rin scolded.

"Regardless," the retiring Hokage stepped in. "That's why we're here cleaning for you, so you can go to Jitsuko in her time of need. Go find her, we have things covered here."

Still shocked, Obito left without another word, but not before Rin waved him goodbye, proclaiming, "Good luck, Obito!"


The mechanisms of a doorknob turning managed to rouse Jitsuko out of her exhaustion, and her eyes opened and squinted immediately upon being exposed to the brightness of the room. She then turned her attention to the door, where her husband slowly and cautiously advanced forward, seemingly apprehensive about something.

"Jitsuko… are you… okay…?" he inquired softly, realizing the blood-soaked bandage on her abdomen meant the procedure of nurses removing the baby by cutting the stomach – a cesarean section - that would no doubt leave a scar.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine."

"The baby… is he… she… h-healthy?"

His eyes then carefully scrutinized the room until it landed on the bassinet next to the bed, where his breath caught in his throat at the sight of an infant. His infant.

"Y-yeah," she muttered before a tired smile formed on her lips. "About the fumes… the nurses came back with the final test results. Baby's just fine."

Obito exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was holding before approaching his little one at an agonizingly slow pace. Uneasiness riddled his every feature, and his lips distorted in a blend of anxiety-ridden but rapturous fatherly joy upon laying his eyes on the thin black tufts of hair that adorned their head. The shifting of his feet roused the child into easing their eyes open, where Obito took glee in seeing that they were as dark as his were, as they shifted around to absorb their surroundings before finally settling on their internally frenzied father.

The signature sound of his Sharingan activating out of pure emotion filled the room. Obito hadn't even realized it had activated until the baby's face scrunched up and began to fuss at the sight. He found himself stepping back slightly, just like he did with Naruto thirteen years ago, but something about this time was different. There was an overwhelming urge to hold this child, to protect them. He didn't need any convincing or coercing.

Without needing any prompts, he scooped the fidgeting child from the warmth of their sheets. Jitsuko watched in awe over Obito's unexpected action. Despite him taking the initiative, his arms were still trembling, clearly uncertain about what to do next, and the baby began to stir uncomfortably, until she leaned in and whispered,

"Obito… remember Naruto."

Obito looked at Jitsuko with surprise before he understood, and he cradled his baby into the crook of his elbow and chest as gently as he could, treating his child as if they were the most fragile and valuable china in the world. Instantly, the two felt at ease; the baby stopped their squirming, and Obito's entire posture relaxed as he regarded his child with a profound fondness and heavy pride that only a father could understand. It was the most beautiful image Jitsuko had ever seen.

"Looks like Kushina was right," Obito remarked without tearing his eyes away from his child. "You really are an expert on babies already."

Exhaling though her nose in a mix of flattery and amusement, Jitsuko replied softly, "It's just what I would do, is all."

"But Obito," she added, which her voice was stern enough for him to finally break off his attention from his child to her in confusion and concern.

"Don't you ever put me through this again," she stated firmly before an exhausted but playful smirk formed on her lips to which Obito shut his eyes and lifted his free arm to scratch the back of his head while exchanging a nervous smile.

Jitsuko's eyes then went half lidded, her grin fading slightly. "So… do you think… you can handle this?"

He never admitted it to her, but for Obito to say that he felt insecure about his parenting abilities was a severe understatement. But they were finally here. Looking back at his impossibly tiny child once more as they looked up at him and made a noise, Obito's crimson eyes went half-lidded, the uncharacteristically serious expression on his face reflected indescribable emotion. In the moment with his partner, the glow of being a new parent was all the encouragement Obito needed.

"Yes."

"Tobi Uchiha. Perfect."