Chapter 3

Kakashi didn't begin to panic until they came upon the empty campsite.

"No signs of a struggle," Zabuza said as he strolled through the campsite, eyes scanning the ground around him. "Nothing to indicate they were ambushed. You got anything?" He looked at Kakashi pointedly, and the Leaf Shinobi shook himself.

"No traces of scent to indicate they were gassed. And they weren't interrupted," He indicated the hatchet stuck into the log. "He put that down on purpose."

"Genjutsu?"

"They'd have to be a world-class caster. It's not impossible, but between Rin's ability and Obito's Sharingan, I think it's fair to say it was unlikely."

"So they left on their own?"

"Or were faced with such an overwhelming foe they surrendered. And I have a hard time imagining Obito surrendering." Kakashi groaned and sat down on a log. "Besides, there's no signs of another group in the area." Scenario after scenario was popping up and being shot in Kakashi's mind in quick succession, each one worse than the last.

"What do we-"

"No other options." Kakashi look at Zabuza in surprise and the man hefted his sword over his shoulder, drawing out a scroll from his weapons pouch and throwing it on the ground as it rolled out. He placed the blade onto the scroll-which was exactly the right size to accommodate it-made a few quick hand signs, and it disappeared in a cloud of smoke, now sealed into the scroll.

"Zabuza?"

"I hate keeping it in here," The man grunted as he rolled up the scroll. "But it stands out." He stood up and looked over at Kakashi. "Until we figure out what's going on, we shouldn't be so noticeable. We can go down to the nearest village and ask around-and it'll be a lot easier if we don't look ready to kill anyone."

"Then I think I should do the talking," Kakashi said dryly, untying his headband. "Sword or no, you still look like a murderer."

Zabuza, wrap off his face, flashed him a fierce grin. "You are less threatening than me." Kakashi rolled his eyes, not commenting, while he stowed his headband. "Mask." He groaned, but complied.

"I hate having this thing off."

"Tough shit."

"Thanks, Zabuza."

"For the record, I'm still here," Kousuke called from the edge of the campsite.

They ignored him.

Kakashi wasn't sure what he was expecting when they walked down into the village, but it wasn't Obito running down the main street straight toward them.

"Kakashi! Hey!" He skidded to a stop in front of them, apparently out of breath-which was ridiculous, considering how small the village was.

"Obito, what-"

"I was wondering when you'd catch up!" Obito said, cutting him off. "Where's Mom and Dad?"

Alarm bells were once again going off in Kakashi's mind.

"They got held up at the village. What happened to getting the campsite ready?"

"Well, we did! But then Kira got really sick. I had to carry her all the way down here!"

"But-but is she alright?" Obito was clearly in-character, but his dancing around of the important information was driving Kakashi mad.

"Oh, the doctor says she will be, but she's really weak."

"Uh...aren't they healers out here? Not doctors?" Rin was ok-and going by the name Kira, apparently- and that was what mattered. Now it was more important that they not get found out. Obito was still in his disguised form-which did little aside from masking his scars-and Rin evidently had so far gone unidentified. None of the Shinobi that had traded blows with him or Zabuza were around to talk about it, so as long as they didn't do something stupid, they might get away.

"Right, right, the healer. Well, she said that she thinks it's a disease from around here, but that it's not normally a problem this time of year. Something about plants."

Kakashi nodded mutely as he and Zabuza fell in step behind Obito as he led them to the healer's house, talking all the way.

"It was really scary at first though. It seemed like she just fell over while I was chopping firewood! I was so tired when I got her back to the village, I almost fell asleep! And then I did fall asleep! Anyway, the doctors weren't sure what it was at first, but I guess Kira had heard about it before, and she was really scared of it. They didn't think that's what it was at first, because it's seasonal, but-"

So Rin, quick thinker even in times like this, had remembered a disease that would obscure whatever the real problem was, and then imitated some of the symptoms to help convince the village healer. The only problem, it seemed, was that it was a winter plant.

"And then these guys from the BIG village were asking me a bunch of questions about where we were, and where we came from, and where the plant was, and I told them where the site was, and that you were on the way, and that Kira had gone for a walk yesterd-I mean, the day before, and I didn't even know what the plant was, and then we were told to stay in the village while they looked for it, and then you showed up, and then-"

Kakashi stepped forward and placed a hand over his mouth. "We know what happened after that, thanks."

"4 of them, 2 at the village edges, 1 hangs around the hut. Only one is out looking for the plant at a time. They don't know, but they think we're suspicious anyway."

Kakashi released him and gave him a little push. "Do you ever stop talking unless someone makes you?"

Obito just grinned. "Probably not!"

Hiruzen found Minato at the War Memorial, alone.

"Thinking deep thoughts?" Hiruzen grunted, studying the Memorial. "I don't have an escort. And neither do you."

"Well, if you must know, I am not."

"No deep thoughts?" Hiruzen asked, amused.

"I'm trying to figure out how in the hell you'd go about taking a name off this without re-doing the whole thing."

"Well, I-what?" Hiruzen turned to look at Minato, bewildered.

"Remember that fog a week ago?"

"At night?"

"Kirigakure no Jutsu. Apparently, Kakashi made a friend," Hiruzen's eyes widened, before he turned to scan the buildings around them.

"I checked already, and there's a couple seals for dampening sound around. Kushina showed me how."

"What's going on, Minato?"

Minato turned to face him in turn, looking troubled. "Kiri made Rin into a Jinchuriki. Kakashi thinks they meant for her to be rescued, because the seal is set to release if she enters the village."

Hiruzen swore softly. "That'd kill her. And a lot of other people. I take it Kakashi snuck in to ask for help?"

"It's too long a trip for Kushina to make, and she's the only one that would help them in good faith. They know the kind of man Danzo is."

The old Hokage nodded. "What did you do?"

"I would've sent them to Jiraiya if I knew where he was. I went with the next best thing. Toad from Myoboku is acting as a guide."

"Good thinking." Minato flashed him a smile at the praise."Do you know anything about this friend from Kiri?"

"Other than that he was strong enough to sneak Kakashi into the Village-and all the way to our house. Including explanation time and the trip back, and that's an awful lot of Chakra use. He's also the one who helped them to escape from the Kiri trackers. Kakashi was light on details otherwise."

"Risky, but I suppose it's safe to trust him for now. With the kind of hierarchy Kiri has, he'll likely just get punished for not turning them in sooner."

"We'll see if that lasts." Minato said grimly. "But-happier news. And why I'm here. Obito is alive."

Hiruzen frowned. "Obito? Uchiha? Your old student?"

"We thought he died during the war-he's the one who gave Kakashi the Sharingan."

"Then I'm sure the clan will love to have him back." Hiruzen muttered. "But he was buried alive, wasn't he? How on earth is he alive?"

"An excellent question, and one we have don't an answer too. He's got the matching Sharingan to Kakashi's, and they confirmed there's no disguise or illusion. Nor is there any apparent Genjutsu cast on him."

"So he's the real thing...still, we can't rule out the possibility that there is Genjutsu that Kakashi can't detect. Obito may not mean harm, but there's no guarantee he couldn't be made to do harm."

"I know," Minato said quietly. "And I'm sure Kakashi does as well. But that won't stop us from being happy he's alive."

"It shouldn't." Hiruzen rested a hand on Minato's shoulder. "You and your students have responded perfectly, as I see it. And if all goes well, even Danzo will have to admit that a second Jinchuriki in the village makes this all worth it and then some. Good work, Minato." He turned and began to walk away, calling over his shoulder "And as for the monument-I'll think on it."

"Kakashi!" Rin's voice was horribly weak, and Kakashi had to remind himself that she was acting. "You're here! Where's Mom and Dad?"

"At the...village," he said with a sigh, grabbing a hand as Obito moved to the other side of the table. Zabuza leaned against the door, watching them.

"I guess you already said that, huh?" She said with a slight giggle, before breaking into a coughing fit.

The healer, a reedy little man, bustled over with a cup in his hand.

"There, there, young lady. Calm down and drink some of this."

"Uh-she needs to be propped up first," Kakashi said, sliding an arm under Rin's shoulders and helping her sit.

"Eh? Yes, yes, of course. Gotta make sure it goes down properly." He all but shoved the cup into Kakashi's hands before turning and making his way back to over to his office.

"No wonder you were able to convince him," Kakashi muttered as he lifted the cup.

"This stuff is terrible and unhelpful," Rin whispered. "But I can't think of a way to dump it out without getting caught. I have to keep the coughing up so I'm not suspicious." She accepted the cup and drank it all in one go, making a face as she returned it to him. "Terrible. He uses all his sweetener in his damn tea."

"In his tea?" Kakashi asked, taking the cup back and and laying her back down.

"I know! And he doesn't even offer us any!" Rin was speaking in something closer to a stage whisper now, further confirming what Obito had said about a Shinobi being around the hut.

"So what exactly happened? Is it safe to go back to the campsite?"

"Uh-huh," Obito said. "That was the first place they checked. They don't really seem to know where the thingy is."

"It's just one plant," Rin said. "All the tracking skills in the world wouldn't help find it." She sighed. "I should've worn normal shoes…"

"Well-you're alright, right?" Kakashi asked uneasily.

"Yeah, the healer said I'm through the worst of it. It's just recovery from now on."

"Everything's still at the campsite," Kakashi said. "We should probably go pack it up."

"It does seem like we won't have our camping trip," Rin said woefully.

"I'll stay here," Obito said unhappily, letting out a loud, dramatic sigh which they all ignored. Zabuza held the door open for Kakashi, who gave him a slightly confused look, but said nothing.

"I think everyone assumed I was some kind of bodyguard for you," Zabuza said as they moved back into the trees. "Decided to keep up appearances. Don't get used to it."

"Used to what? You holding doors open for me?"

Zabuza shot him a glare and said nothing.

"Is pretending to be nice that painful for you?"

"You should worry more about how painful it'll be for all of you."

"Oh," Kakashi said in understanding. "You're just mad that you had to listen to Obito that whole time."

"Yes."

They took their time walking to the campsite, both of their senses stretched to their limits. It wouldn't do for them to be overheard as they weighed their options.

"Aside from the fact that no, I don't want to kill them, there's also a lot of other reasons not to. I am not interested in being hunted all the way to the border."

"But you won't fake her death."

"Of course not! Rin could, sure, but we'd have no way of communicating that was the plan. And she's supposed to be past the worst part of her 'infection'."

"And you won't use clones."

"Do you know the right transformation to make our clones look convincing? Or what family we should pretend to be? Or how to explain what's going on to the others?"

"Right. So you have absolutely no ideas." Kakashi glared at him. "Unless you can erase memories, we're going to be pursued no matter what we do. Tactically speaking, the option that gives us the most time is-"

"No!" Kakashi had stopped walking. Zabuza came to a halt a few steps away, turning to look at him. "Just...no."

"It's necessary." Zabuza's voice was cold, and unfeeling.

"No, it's not." Kakashi was shaking slightly. "It's necessary sometime. You were right about that. But killing those men will not make the problem go away. It'd just delay it for a few days. And these men aren't on guard like the others were. They aren't our enemies. They're just doing their job."

Zabuza sighed. There was no arguing it. "Then conjure up some magic, Kakashi. Because that's the only way we're getting out of here." He started to walk again, when he realized Kakashi still wasn't following him. He turned back to look again. The Konoha Shinobi hadn't moved, but he no longer looked troubled-instead, he had a hand held over the eye-patch they'd put on before reaching the village.

"Memories, huh?"

Obito was fidgety.

Kakashi and Zabuza were taking too long. Obito was sure they'd gotten into some kind of argument-even in the short time he'd seen them together it was obvious they were two very different sides of the same coin- and there was a welcome lack of explosions, but still. Suspicions were bound to be rising among the Shinobi stationed around the village, especially with Zabuza apparently playing a giant mute that followed Kakashi around. He thought his acting had been just fine, though he had to admit to himself that it wasn't much a stretch to get in character.

Rin was sleeping-or pretending to, anyway. They had no way to safely communicate.

Come on, Kakashi...you better have a way out for us… He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. Because I sure don't have one.

Thump

Obito jumped to his feet as the healer let out a gasp of alarm. A small part of his brain supposed the healer had probably had enough people faint around him to recognize the sound of a body falling to the ground.

Kakashi and Zabuza dashed through the doorway, and Obito had a heart-stopping moment where he wondered if they were about to attack the healer. He drew breath to say something, and then Zabuza was next to him, slapping a hand over his mouth, while Kakashi came to a stop in front of the healer. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, but when he opened his Sharingan, he could see the Chakra swirling around them.

"Ah...y-yes...of course...she's...feeling better...anyways…" The healer turned, a little unsteadily, and began to walk toward the back of the hut. "Jumping at...nothing...need to lay down…"

Zabuza removed his hand from Obito's mouth and hissed at him "Grab her and lets go before we have to carry Kakashi too!" Rin was wide awake, but Obito didn't even start to protest, picking Rin up and running out the door after the other two. They immediately jumped up to the top of the hut, where Obito saw the slumped form of one of the Kiri Shinobi's.

"Is he…"

"Asleep," Zabuza snapped.

"Obito, you can put me down now!"

Obito blushed and complied, as the other two had already stopped.

"We need to stay out of sight," Kakashi panted.

"You used Genjutsu?" Rin asked, concerned.

Kakashi nodded. "The Shinobi on watch will remember a couple people walking into the hut right before he dozed off. The healer thinks your parents came to pick you up. We waited for a change in shift, so one of the village entrances wasn't watched."

"It's thin, and they might come looking for us," Zabuza continued, "They'll figure out nobody's on the west road pretty quickly. We're gonna have to move." He glanced at Kakashi, who nodded.

"I'll be fine for a while-but I don't think I'll be sitting watch tonight. Rin?"

"I'm in the same boat as you."

"Alright," Kakashi was nodding as much to himself as to them. "Let's move. Stealth."

None of them were content to stop until they'd put 3 miles between them and the village. And none of them but Obito was content until they'd traveled another two.

"They think we're traveling injured, remember? This should be putting us out of their initial tracking range," Kakashi said irritably.

"It should put me into an early grave," Obito said.

"Rin nearly died and I had to cast powerful Genjutsu on two people. You have no excuse. Now help set up camp."

They were in a clearing on the edge of the forest, unpacking the supplies Kakashi and Zabuza had brought with them. Rin already had a small fire going, intent on getting warm food in her before passing out.

"We won't be setting everything up," Kakashi said. "We're going to be on the move now, and we should assume pursuers starting tomorrow."

"You don't want to keep watch tonight?" Rin asked.

"No," Kakashi said tiredly. "We're too tired. We might as well get a full night's sleep."

"Even if they figure everything out I'll doubt those Shinobi will come back on their own," Zabuza said, walking over and handing Rin a pot of water. "They seemed pretty low level. Probably green."

"I suppose so," Obito started. "I guess you're ri-"

"HEY!" They all started and turned toward the forest. "I AM STILL HERE, YOU ASSHOLES!" Kousuke angrily hopped down from a tree. "WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM? A DOG? I AM A TOAD! AND YOU SHOULD'VE WAITED FOR ME DAMMIT!"

"What is that?" Rin asked. "Or-who?"

"Is it dinner?" Obito asked.

"I wish." Zabuza growled.

"It's our guide," Kakashi said, still irritated, casting a glare at Zabuza.

"I'd eat him. I really would."

Kousuke came to a halt, about to start yelling again. "Uh…"

"Especially if he keeps yelling."

Kousuke stared at Zabuza for a long moment. "You know, I think you're less scary when you have those bandages on."

The three of them fought to hide their amusement as Kakashi and Zabuza abruptly realized their faces had been uncovered the whole time.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Rin said, drawing Obito's and the toad's attention to her as Zabuza and Kakashi hurriedly got their equipment back on. "I'm Rin, and this is Obito."

"Well aren't you polite! That's a pleasant change. My name's Kousuke, and I'm a messenger toad from Mount Myoboku. I'm here to guide you there. I guess Minato thinks they can help you with whatever your problem is." He looked at her curiously. "What, ah...is the problem?"

Rim smiled, not missing a beat. "If they couldn't tell you, neither can I." Kousuke shrugged-or did the toad equivalent, anyway.

"Worth a shot. Now then-hey, where'd they go?" Zabuza and Kakashi were gone.

"They'll be back," Rin said, catching Obito's eye and motioning for him to be quiet.

"But-that guy always knew where the best ponds were!"

"Zabuza went that way to get me water," Rin said, pointing for Kousuke.

"Oh...thanks!" The toad said, hopping off in the direction she'd indicated.

They waited until Kousuke was out of sight, and then Rin put out the fire.

"Come on," she said softly, and Obito followed her out of the campsite.

"Are you really still suspicious of me?"

"No, it's just-well, maybe I am." Kakashi dragged a hand through his hair in frustration. "I want to believe you're just helping us, but-there's no gain in this for you Zabuza. None. Kousuke made it pretty clear there's no treasure waiting for you at Mount Myoboku." Zabuza leaned against a tree and crossed his arms, watching Kakashi impassively. "Look, I just-tell me you're going to come back to the Leaf Village with us."

"What?" Zabuza was actually caught off-guard.

"Or-or at least that you aren't returning to Kiri after this. Otherwise it doesn't make any sense! Nothing you've done makes sense if you're planning to go back to Kiri for any amount of time! All you've done is put yourself in danger for no reward, and that's only more and more true the longer you stay with us. I want to just think that-that we're friends now, or something." Their eyes locked. "But we're both Shinobi, Zabuza," He said softly. "And I know it's not that simple."

Zabuza stared at Kakashi, trying to think of an answer. At first, it had been pure fascination, and curiosity. Kakashi's Sharingan and skill, Rin's apparent sacrifice. He hadn't worried about being caught, and he didn't care about attacking other Kiri Shinobi. But Kakashi was right. Potential benefits had been evaporating as he went, and yet he'd still gone.

"I'm not saying either of those things," Zabuza growled as Obito and Rin dropped out of the trees behind Kakashi.

"Then why should we trust you?"

He wanted an answer. It was honestly a little baffling to him. Rin and Obito were going to go along with whatever Kakashi decided, but Kakashi truly wanted him to give them a reason to trust him. Zabuza almost wished he had one.

"You shouldn't," He said, standing up fully. "You never should've. And yet here I am."

"Because we didn't have a choice. We needed your help and you kept giving it. But now we have time to talk about it."

"Not much to say."

"Zabuza, please," Rin said, a hurt note in her voice. "Just say you want to come with us."

"You don't know a damn thing about what I want." He wasn't thinking anymore, not really. It was all automatic. Pushing them away.

Kakashi looked in the eye for a long moment.

"Fine."

Zabuza nodded once, slowly. Then he turned away and began walking toward the trees.

"That's it!?" Obito called after him. "After everything? Just because you won't admit we're friends?"

He kept walking. It had been stupid. The whole thing.

It had been fun.

Stupid. He knew who he was, what he would do. He wouldn't regret any of this, but he wouldn't be bound by it either.

As he walked into the trees, he heard Rin yell after him.

"Thank you!"

And then they he was too far away to hear anything.

Maybe he'd regret something.

Just a little bit.

One Month Later

"Either your plan worked better than expected or Zabuza headed off pursuit," Obito said, yawning. It was a bright morning as they trekked up a small, cleared dirt path.

"Ow!" Rin had very deliberately stomped on his foot.

"Or we crossed the border!" She said, glaring at him.

"And we're on the hidden paths now," Kousuke called back helpfully.

Kakashi said nothing, keeping pace a few feet ahead of the group.

"What was that for?" Obito whispered.

"You can be so dense sometimes. Stop bringing Zabuza up!" Rin hissed back at him.

"What? Why?"

"Because Kakashi clearly still feels bad!"

"Kakashi also has better hearing than either of you." They started guiltily as Kakashi glanced back at them. "He made his choice. I've nothing to feel bad about."

Rin's expression as Kakashi turned away made it clear she didn't believe him, but Obito decided he wouldn't pry.

They'd spent an uneventful month making a wide circle back to the Land of Fire. They'd kept strict watch until they'd crossed the border, but encountered nothing. That had made them more suspicious than anything, and they'd taken nearly 3 hours to scout the surrounding area before letting Kousuke take them onto the secret paths. Once there, Kousuke had assured them that only sages could get onto this path, or people being led by a toad like them. The only people they might encounter would be people they'd want to see anyway, and keeping watch was no longer necessary.

He'd been just as sure that they couldn't have a fire on the path, and they'd been stuck to cold rations the entire time.

"We should be there by tomorrow, the day after at the latest," Kousuke said cheerfully. Messenger toad he may be, but Kousuke was more used to traveling in puffs of smoke rather than a cross-country hike. He'd stopped complaining about halfway through, deciding instead to take the opportunity to make a 'toad-friendly' map of the area, as Kakashi had never failed to locate him a water source to find food, and that information could be useful in the future.

What they had no answers for was what had happened to Rin. Kakashi had gotten the full story from them: Rin had tried to help Obito recover some of his memories. There had been some sort of reaction with her Chakra that had shaken her seal. Obito had been disoriented while Rin passed out. He'd panicked and taken her down to the village in case the healer could help. She'd recovered quickly, but had to keep up the ruse to stay concealed. They still had no idea what had caused it.

"Hey! Keep up!" Kousuke called. He and Kakashi had picked up their pace slightly, and Rin and Obito hurried to catch up.

"Ta-da!"

They'd decided not to enter the sanctuary at night time, instead camping just outside of it, and now they were grateful. Myoboku could not be truly appreciated at night.

"It's beautifu-"

CRASH!

"KOUSUKE! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!"

"What the hell!?" Rin shrieked as she jumped away from the towering amphibian that had landed in front of them. Obito's jaw dropped, and Kakashi had to grab his arm and drag him back.

"Oh, uh, hey boss!" Kousuke called. "I've been on a mission! A real important one!"

"ONE THAT INCLUDES BRINGING STRANGERS TO MYOBOKU!?"

"Uh, yes, actually. The bosses said they had to be brought here!"

"OH." The large red toad seemed stumped for a moment, before he reached into a pocket of his massive haori and pulled out a similarly-scaled pipe. After lighting it and taking a few puffs, he looked down at them. "Sorry about that."

They just stared at him.

"Well, say something!"

"...um...nice to...meet you?" Obito tried weakly.

The toad leaned down slowly, until he was as close to eye level as he could get. There was a long pause, all of them too afraid to move.

"Nice to meet you too." Obito jumped nearly a foot in the air at the unexpected boom of a voice, and the large toad stood up straight, laughing. Obito turned a deep shade of red and took a step back, leaving the other two to deal with it.

Kakashi sighed and stepped forward. "Um...excuse me!"

The large toad ceased his laughter and looked down at him.

"We're looking for someone who can help with seals!"

The toad's eyes narrowed as examined Kakashi. "Don't you have any manners, youngster?"

Kakashi started to say something, but Rin stepped forward.

"We're very sorry!" She said, bowing. "I'm Rin, this is Kakashi, and, uh," she turned back to indicate Obito, "This is Obito. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Ha! Knew there had to be a polite one," He turned his attention to Rin. "I'm Gamabunta, but everyone here just calls me Boss. The ones who are really in charge, though, are the sages. They're the ones you'll be wanting," He waved to Kousuke. "Get'em moving already!"

"Er, yes, sir, boss! Sir!" Kousuke waved at them to follow as he hopped past Gamabunta.

"Don't cause any trouble," Gamabunta cautioned as they moved to follow Kousuke, before the huge toad turned and moved away, making little quakes as he hopped.

"Well...that was...interesting," Rin said.

"Yeah, Boss tends to come on strong," Kousuke said. "Good toad though. He's just the main fighter here and he takes that seriously."

"I guess…" Obito muttered.

"Oh, come on," The toad scoffed. "He was just having fun with ya! Don't get so down."

"He's just embarrassed," Rin teased.

"I am n-well...maybe a little. But I think getting startled by a giant battle toad isn't that strange! Besides, he startled you pretty badly too, if I remember correctly!"

"At least she didn't become a slack-jawed idiot because someone said a bad word," Kakashi muttered. Obito turned red and attempted to respond, though he clearly couldn't think of anything. Rin just laughed, and after a moment, the other two joined in.

"Ok," Rin said. "This whole trip has just been so...so ridiculous, I finally lost it. Is that so bad?" And then, before either of them could say anything, she started to cry.

"Rin?" Obito and Kakashi both moved to either of her as she shook her head.

"I'm not-I'm not sad." She sniffed, trying to stop. "I just...we were never going to laugh like this again, you know? Obito was gone and I was going to be...be an idiot and make Kakashi…" Her sobs renewed, and Obito, on impulse, hugged her.

"But we're here," he said simply, as Kakashi placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.

They stayed like that until her sobs faded, and she smiled at them.

"Thanks. You're g-good friends."

"I'm just surprised Obito didn't start crying too."

"Is that really necessary?" The Uchiha asked, wounded.

Rin laughed and wiped her tears away. "We're here." She said, smiling at Obito. "We're us. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Obito let go of her, and she suddenly grabbed both of their hands. Obito smiled, and Kakashi didn't say anything, as they walked up to the Sage's hut.

Together.

"I'm sorry, did you say stab her?"

The old toad looked at them. "I told you I had good news and bad news. The seal is simple to remove. That doesn't mean it's easy."

Kousuke had bid them farewell at the entrance to the hut, an event that had almost drawn a fresh wave of tears from Rin, and when they entered the hut, they found the floor had a seal on it, the only light coming from two lit braziers, and two old toads sitting on opposite sides of the room. They hadn't said anything, just motioned for Rin to sit between them.

"But-but-that's-" Obito spluttered. Rin looked like she was about to faint.

"There's no time release or area detection on her actual seal," The female old toad, who had introduced herself as Shima, said.

"There a tag wrapped around her heart," The male one, Fukusaku, told them. "It's set to kill her and release the beast the moment she reaches Konoha."

"You want to stab her in her heart!?" Obito yelled, somewhere between shock and anger.

"There's no way to do this gently, boy," Fukusaku told him sternly. "The moment that seal detects interference, it'll release, and then we'll all be in trouble. It has to be disabled and taken out in one move. It's not pretty, but we have to make an opposite seal on the end of a stick."

"And then stick that...stick...into her heart," Obito said faintly.

"Right next to it," Shima said. "A very important difference. We can do it, and make sure she'll be alright."

"We really don't have any other options," Kakashi said grimly, and after a moment, a very pale Rin nodded.

"The alternative is so much worse," she whispered.

"Now, now," Fukusaku said, hopping up on her shoulder. "It'll be alright! By the end of the week, you'll be good as new! Sage's honor."

"We'll have to make the disabling seals tonight," Shima said. "Now, you all look tired, and hungry."

"I think I'd rather get stabbed next time," Obito groaned as they waited in the same room as the previous day. It was far less ominous than it had been the first time, the seal gone and the windows opened to let natural light in. There was clatter, and they looked at the door to see Fukusaku picking two long, smooth wooden sticks back up.

"Um...are you anticipating multiple...attempts?" Kakashi asked slowly, and Fukusaku gave gave him a stern look.

"Always good to be prepared youngster." Shima hopped in after him, followed by three smaller toads.

"Get in formation," she said to them, and the toads hopped past them, waiting expectantly behind Rin.

"Well," Fukusaku said, dropping one of the sticks and readying the other one. "I think we should just get this over with. Nice and easy, one and done, ya know?"

"Um...right," Rin said nervously, making what appeared to be a huge effort to drop her arms to her side. "Just...right away. Rip off the bandaid, right?"

"Ri-"

"Are you sure you're ready though? There's not anything else you need to set up, or-or any seals you need to lay?"

"I'm sure."

"Oh...shoot." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Ok. Just-just go!"

"Alright!" Obito closed his eyes. "Here we go!"

"Unless-" Fukusaku stepped forward and thrust the sealing stick through her chest. Rin bit down a scream as a flash of light almost blinded Kakashi. Fukusaku hurriedly pulled the stick back out, only now there was a white tag stuck to it. Kakashi caught Rin as she fell, unconscious, laying her down gently in between the waiting toads, who began to sing a strange tune. There was a surprisingly small amount of blood, and as the toads sang, Kakashi could see the blood flow slow.

"Maybe it's a good thing Kushina couldn't help, if this is what had to be done," Kakashi said, shaky with relief.

And then Fukusaku grabbed the other stick and stabbed Obito.

The expression on the young Uchiha's face was one of pure shock before he passed out. Only Kakashi saw the same flash of light erupt from Obito as Fukusaku pulled the stick back, also with a tag on it. Kakashi was frozen as Obito crumbled to the ground, Shima hurrying over to him and starting to sing the same song the little toads were singing to Rin. Kakashi turned to Fukusaku, who held the stick up grimly. The tag on it was crumbling up and turning to ash. The other tag was already gone.

"There were better ways a good seal worker could have removed these," The toad said grimly. "This was the only we could do it, but it doesn't leave any evidence." He turned and looked Kakashi in the eye. "I want you to tell him he just passed out in shock. Couldn't handle seeing what we did. If he knows-if anyone knows that tag was in him-they'll start asking questions about where he's been. Minato-boy filled us in on your story. I lied to you lot-those tags were for control. Whoever placed them would've used them to make the girl release the seal herself. Who knows what they would've made the boy do?"

Slowly, Kakashi nodded, understanding. What had happened to Obito was and would remain a mystery, because it was the only way he would be safe. The memories Rin had attempted to recover were erased, and the shock she'd felt was her touching the same kind for seal she had on.

"It wasn't Kiri," He said softly.

Fukusaku shook his head. "No, probably not. At least not knowingly. We can tell Minato-boy-maybe Jiraiya too. Because they can come here to hear it. Nobody else." He looked down at the other two, who were now sleeping soundly. "And these two...they're better off not knowing."

Kakashi just nodded again. 3 people. 5 toads. That's everyone who would know this secret. And he wouldn't be able to talk to any of them about it. There was an enemy out there with enormous power and reach who wanted to destroy Konohagakure. And they would keep their secret for them, because the alternative would be to do their work for them.

The door burst open, and a large man with long, spiky white hair stepped in with a flourish.

"Jiraiya the Gallant is here!"

There was a very long, very awkward pause as he held his pose in the doorway, taking in the scene before him. The toads had stopped singing, and Shima and Fukusaku's expressions were slowly transforming to anger. Then Shima hopped up and smacked Jiraiya across the face.

"YOU ARE SO LATE!"

Jiraiya saw them back to the village by reverse-summoning, where Konoha medical-nin were able to properly care for Rin and Obito. Kakashi stayed in the hospital with them, as Minato and Jiraiya pleaded their case to the Elders. As they'd all predicted, the addition of a new, safe Jinchuuriki, overruled any charges Danzo could think of for their unannounced, unplanned time away from the village. Rin's seal had been thoroughly examined by Kushina and other, unaffiliated seal workers, and while it was different, it was as secure as any Jinchuuriki's. A few of the seal workers were tasked to deconstructing it on paper, so they could learn about it as well as Kiri seal work as a whole.

Obito's case was dismissed outright, though Danzo had raised the most objections to it. Between them, Minato and Jiraiya had taken Hiruzen with them to Myoboku so he could hear the Sage's explanation, and with he had managed to shout Danzo down in the meeting, knowing and later proving, through other means, that Obito was no threat.

Taking the name off the memorial prompted something of a festival as Konoha celebrated the return of a war hero. The Uchiha clan was noticeably absent, but Obito, overwhelmed by the rest of the village's joy, didn't seem to mind. Actually changing the memorial required an intricate series of Jutsu cast by both the current and former Hokage. And to top it all off, Kushina made her first public appearance swollen with pregnancy.

Obito decided to have Kakashi keep the Sharingan. The Uchiha had already made it clear that neither Obito or Kakashi was welcome, and Obito decided that it was his eyes, and his decision.

Zabuza had vanished. They were certain to meet again, though in what context, Kakashi didn't know.

It was as wrapped up as it possibly could be.

And all Kakashi could do was wait for the next thing to go wrong. They still had an enemy who wanted to destroy the village. Foiling this plan didn't mean there wasn't a backup plan.

He had to wait.

"Zetsu...I must move. I must use this eye of mine, one last time."

"Are you sure? You'll shorten your life considerably."

"I will live until we find a worthy vessel for this eye. But things must be done first. Events must be put in motion."

"I understand. Our contact will move. We will see to the plan. We will see that you can fulfill your role."

"See to my plan, Zetsu."

"Of course…"