AN: Still alive! Sorry for anyone who's still reading but heu at least I got it out. Please review to let me know how much you like the story so I know to keep this baby going!
Chapter 7: Conflict and No Resolution
It's with a heavy sigh that Sarutobi sets the documents down. His student stands before him shoulders slack and face neutral. The old man takes a drag from his pipe to steer himself before talking to the younger man. They're alone in the office and can talk freely enough for now.
"There's not much of note in your reports," Sarutobi states in an even tone. He slides the file towards Jiraiya. "Nothing I haven't heard from Inoichi that is."
"What can I say?" Jiraiya shrugs. "The guys a bit of a puzzle, but he doesn't exactly seem like a threat."
"So I've read," Sarutobi says. He folds his hands together over the desk "From the reports I've been getting there's no sign of ill intent for our village at least. Still, I can't release him fully in good conscious while other individuals are still in doubt."
"Can I take a guess at who those other individuals are?" Jiraiya scowls.
"It's better you don't," Sarutobi says in a clipped tone. He takes another drag from his pipe and closes his eyes. "You have permission to loosen the seals another 2 levels. He should be able to mold chakra with ease and perform up to B-rank level jutsu if he's capable."
Jiraiya is unreadable as always and nods. He gives the other man a mocking salute as he turns his back. "As you wish, sensei." Sarutobi is long done with the days where he scolds him for his lack of respect and merely dismisses him.
Jiraiya leaves and Sarutobi can only shake his head. Certain people on the council are pressing him for answers, and so far he has little to give them. They've learned very little on Tobi's actual past. Only small elaborations on a few details, yet somehow the people sent to observe him are certain he isn't a threat. Sarutobi himself even has to admit this has long gone past the point that would be believable for an infiltration attempt. Blinding himself, drawing as much attention to himself as he has even unintentionally, and leaving himself all but helpless and at the mercy of their village is about the poorest strategy for spying he's ever heard of if anyone honestly still thinks that's the situation on their hands here. Aside from that, there's no evidence of any sort of seals or triggers implanted besides whatever mental alterations Inoichi found.
Despite what Danzo might think, Sarutobi is no fool. He knows the interest in this man isn't for security purposes. He's a potentially very powerful shinobi of an unknown lineage, and more opportunistic people see value in him. He's not sure he likes the idea of those individuals getting ahold of him. Especially not a certain formerly mentioned councilman. Keeping Tobi safe from threats inside the village until he can be thrown back outside of it are perhaps the most important part of this mission. Which Jiraiya seems to be well suited for so far.
Sarutobi truly misses his more naive days, where he thought the villages well being was his only priority.
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"You've been doing pretty well since our last talk I hope?" Inoichi smiles.
He's sitting directly across from Tobi in his home at the kitchen table, a cup of tea in each of their hands. Inoichi's fiance is out for the day to give them privacy for this session. A small plate of matcha cookies is left between them and the atmosphere is fairly relaxed. Tobi appreciates the effort, even with any double motives the other man has.
"Alright I guess," He says. "As well as I can, Jiraiya is being less grating at least."
"Jiraiya is a confusing man on a good day," Inoichi hums setting his steaming cup aside. "I would much prefer we keep focus on you and how you're doing in the village."
Of course. Tobi understands the real reason for these get togethers. Even if Inoichi appears to have developed a strange fondness for him, this is still a mission. Gathering information on him and reporting it to his superiors is his main focus. Tobi is smart enough to realize giving little bits to Inoichi is the best option he has, at least this one is on his side to a degree.
"I've adjusted to my sight being gone," Tobi says. "I don't even notice that something's missing half the time to be honest between the sensory techniques and applying my chakra to my nose and ears."
"I'm glad to hear that," Inoichi says sipping at his tea. "And what about stress? You haven't had the most courteous welcome to the village."
Tobi huffs. "An understatement. I don't like this situation and I'm waiting for the day I can be done with it, but it could be worse." A lot worse. As in, locked in a cell blind and his other senses dulled until they found the time to question him each day, worse.
"I thought we talked about thinking positively," Kakashi's deadpan voice rings out in his head.
"I'll be sure to feel much happier about the near impossible task ahead of me from now on."
"That's better."
"-Tobi-san?" Inoichi calls out. Shit. What did he miss? "Are you sure you're alright? You seem to be distracted."
"Just thinking," Tobi says. Technically not a lie. His thoughts just weren't as private as most people. "Jiraiya asked me to meet up with him at a one of the training grounds today."
"That'll be...something to do," Inoichi awkwardly chuckles. "Have fun with that?"
Tobi scoffs and plucks a cookie from the plate. "I appreciate it Inoichi. It was a terrible attempt at assurance, but I still appreciate it."
He plops the cookie in his mouth and continues his therapy session while conversing with his ghost lover on occasion. All while making sure not to reveal anything that might hint he's exactly the sort of person they should lock away in the darkest corner they can and burn the key until it's a pile of ash afterwards. He wonders why his life as a madman bent on global domination felt so much simpler than his current one.
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They manage to hike well into the evening and take refuge deep inside one of the many bountiful forests in the land of fire. They make it over the border without issue, and sensei claims they are making excellent time. That could very well just be a way to make them feel better about the amount of walking they still have ahead of them though. Kakashi sits before the crackling fire, freshly kindled and illuminating the four tents around it.
He and Obito volunteer for first watch so Rin and Sensei can both handle second. The Uchiha sits not far from him on his sleeping mat spread out over the dirt similar to Kakashi's. Orange flames reflecting in his dark eye, making it glow almost. As much as he gives him flak for it, orange can be an appealing color on Obito in moderation. Like from the light of a fire or even a sunset.
"Am I that pretty or is the patch that weird?" Obito laughs softly tapping the dark eye patch pressed over his missing eye.
Which is coincidentally covered by Kakashi's hiate on his own face. "It's nothing like that!" Kakashi says quickly. His face feels warmer, and the fire doesn't appear to be the reason. "I've been wondering something."
"Oh?" Obito leans back on his palms and turns his full attention to the other boy. "Feel free to share Bakashi."
As much as he wants to snap that that's definitely not his name, he doesn't have the heart to currently. Not when his chest feels like it's floating separately from the rest of his body and a certain concern is on his mind.
"How will your family feel, about the eye?"
Obito's face takes on a steely expression. It does little to reassure Kakashi. "I have no idea." He sighs and curls in on himself. "You have to understand, the sharingan is important to us...to the Uchiha. It's one of the few things we have that ours. It wasn't given to us by the village or-" he cuts himself off and shakes his head. "Pride and family are the most important things to the Uchiha. And the sharingan is a symbol of both."
"I'm the last of my bloodline," Kakashi says. "It's hard for me to imagine being a part of something like that and what comes along with it."
"I don't know if I can really explain it," Obito admits. He scoots closer to the other boy, crawling to sit on the other mat with him.
Kakashi's visible eye goes wide and he freezes. He considers backing away. Obito doesn't give him the chance, taking one of his hands into his own. There it is again. Another oddity in his heart. Now, it's beating faster than ever before. It pounds in his chest so hard Kakashi swears he can hear the blood pumping through his own body. What's wrong with him?
"Kakashi," Obito says gripping his hand in a firm hold. "I promise, I'll be by your side through this. No matter what happens, or what my family says...I'll do everything I can to protect you. Just like you protected me and Rin at Kanabi."
Protect him? Not too long ago he would have laughed. No one has ever made such a bold declaration to the prodigy. He's never been the type anyone thought needed protecting. A shinobi at age three, a killer by age four, and now a jounin at twelve. Yet, as Obito sits there staring at him with the same determination he puts into everything else with only the moon and stars to witness this promise, Kakashi believes him.
He wants to brush it off, call him an idiot like always, and grumble about not needing such a pointless promise. The wetness he feels run down his face and soak into his mask stops that plan. He blinks and another tear falls. He tries to steady his body, but only causes it to tremble. He focuses on the ground beneath their knees.
"Kakashi," Obito says. He sounds so concerned. It only makes the feeling suffocating Kakashi that much worse.
He yanks his hand from Obito and balls his fists in his lap. "W-Why?" His voice never shakes. Kakashi is the epitome of composed, but here he is. Like a damn breaking after collecting generations worth of cracks in it's foundation. "Why do you keep doing this to me?"
He tries to steady his voice before speaking again. It doesn't work. "I n-never had to f-feel this way b-before." He gets out. All of the overwhelming thoughts and feelings of these past months are colliding into him at once. "Everything was easier...I...I don't know how-"
Obito's arms are around him just like at the creek. His head is jostled so it pillows on the other boy's shoulder. He quietly lets out a few more tears into Obito's shirt. The fire's crackle and the chirp's of the crickets seem especially loud. Only that steady beating in his chest louder.
"It's okay," Obito holds him even tighter. "I told you, you're not alone anymore Kakashi. Rin, Sensei, and I will be here. It may take some getting used to, but you have people who care Kakashi. It's okay for you to want that. It's okay for you to have it."
Kakashi doesn't respond. Before either of them can pick the conversation back up Kakashi shoves Obito away and turns his gaze to the south. A familiar sound and scent is approaching. The sound of amazingly soft padded feet that most people could never hope to pick up running through the grass attached to the smell of expensive kibble and a special morning dew scented fur shampoo.
Pakkun leaps out of his stealth position in the grass and onto the ground in front of the two boys. Flopping his ears loose of any dirt or debris before staring up at Kakashi with his furrowed wrinkled face. Kakashi quickly scoops the puppy into his laps and gives him his full attention.
"You're back early," Kakashi states. "Is everything alright?" No injuries he mentally notes, and Pakkun doesn't seem overly distressed. Still worry creeps into him.
Pakkun shakes his head and both of them ignore the soft 'aww' from Obito. "I heard a strange noise coming from the south of the camp. It sounded like footsteps, heavy ones, but no strange scent. Just the forest and animals."
"I see," Kakashi says. He cradles the pug in his arms and stands. "Help me find where you heard them. Obito wake Rin and sensei and-"
"No." Obito states crossing his arms and narrowing his remaining eye and performing hand symbols. "I'M going with you." A bite on his thumb and a quick few symbols in the ground made at the same speed as his hand symbols and smoke billowed.
Kakashi was staring at the two largest moths he'd seen in his entire life. Each was roughly the same size as Pakkun with large black eyes staring at him as they fluttered their wings. Both were covered in fuzz, but one was black with a set of bright white wings, and the other the opposite. Kakashi blinks at the creature.
Obito has no such hesitation and wastes no time in giving them an order. "Kuroko... Shiromi wake Rin and Minato-Sensei up and patrol the perimeter with them before you track our scent. If anything happens follow it and come find us, understand?"
"Hai Obito-chan!" The white winged one chirps and sways side to side.
"Be safe Onjin," The black winged one says in a quiet voice before they both fly off towards the tents.
He and Obito turn and start to dart off the moment the two summonings begin to fly away. Kakashi drops Pakkun letting him lead them towards the trail and runs by his friend's side. He glances at him while they follow Pakkun.
"I didn't know you had a summoning contract," He says. He pauses for a moment before adding on. "They seem interesting."
Obito scoffs playfully and smiles at Kakashi. "They just stopped being larvae, not exactly combat ready yet." His mouth twists into a smirk and he looks back ahead with a determined light in his eye.
"Late bloomers," Kakashi teases and Obito gives him a mock glare in response as they continue to follow Pakkun.
They reach a section of woods in the forest about fifteen minutes northwest. Kakashi's first instinct is to dismiss this as a false alarm. Non strange scents beyond typical animal and forest scents...and even whatever noise Pakkun complained about hasn't made itself known the entire way there. Something didn't feel right deep in Kakashi's gut though. Obito didn't seem to feel the same however.
"Meh is your dog sure it didn't hear a bear?" he crosses his arms.
"Pakkun knows what a bear sounds like you-" before he can finish defending his dog he catches sight of it. Movement behind Obito in the treelines, a shadowed figure shifting and something sharp emerging.
He acts without thinking for once and pulls on Obito while shifting himself in front of him. Aiming to block the projectile with a kunai, it moves faster than any thrown weapon he's encountered and he barely even has the knife drawn by the time a wooden spike slides into his flesh beneath his ribs. The initial stab isn't so bad, but the feeling of the spike splintering and spreading as if it were somehow growing underneath his skin is pure agony and he screams in response.
"BASTARD!" is the only thing he can hear from Obito's voice who he sees charging at some...creature. Kakashi wonders when he fell to the ground as he watches Obito spit an inferno of flames at the monster.
It's body is a deformed and swirled mass of white flesh with its face forming a hole into itself. It moves fluid and boneless like vines in genjutsu. It fires more spikes at Obito as it dodges his flames, but Obito isn't so lucky and is hit. The hand symbol he's forming is abandoned to grab his bad leg in agony. He doesn't think the boy even notices the creature moving towards him and extending vines from it's hands to wrap around him. It hit him in the worst place and Obito is on the ground crying and screaming and Kakashi is just laying here powerless.
No. Not again!
He struggles through the pain lifting up his head band and forms the symbols gathering chakra. Chidori sings like an echo of chirps as he charges at the monster. The vines flick from Obito to himself quicker than he thought they could and lash out at Kakashi. He has to use Chidori to slice into them and prevent from being wrapped up. It's right as the lightning clears that a stray stand he failed to notice wraps around his ankle and flings him against a tree. His ears ring and he feels dizzy for a moment. His vision clear just in time to see the monsters vines aiming towards him one more time. Obito is still lying prone on the ground in pain...and is somehow also appearing right behind the monster in mid air?
Waves flair around the Obito on the ground revealing a rather beaten down shrub...as the real Obito forms hand seals and wraps his legs around the creature's torso from behind. He breathes enough fire to probably burn this entire forest down if the flames weren't contained and controlled by chakra and the creature wails in agony as its mock flesh singes and fades in the flames while trying to regrow itself. It throws Obito off of it and the boy skids onto the ground not far from Kakashi.
He helps him stand as quick as he can.
"Brat! Ungrateful wretch! We want to take ypu to him and you do this!"
It screams highfpitched and almost childlike and turns to stare at them both, Kakashi tenses unsure if he can drop Obito to continue the fight. Then, he feels vibrations from Obito's body like laughter. It is laughter.
"Boom." He hears his friend whisper.
BOOM!
What Kakashi presumes is a paper bomb explodes on the back of the creatures head and strange flesh like matter spreads around the forest floor. The pieces starts to crawl back to the rest of the body in small chunks as it also continue to regenerate. Obito grabs Kakashi's hand and forces him to turn away from the gruesome sight though.
"C'mon!"
Obito's still slowed down by his leg some but thankfully is keeping up with Kakashi somewhat decent. Kakashi moves back slightly behind him. He feels a bit weak and notices the wood in his side is gone leaving a gaping and open wound. He didn't notice it fall out...or how else it might have vanished. He stumbles though as adrenaline gives way to blood loss.
Obito catches him cursing. "Are you okay? Can we keep going?"
"P-Pakkun?" Kakashi questions. His dog had vanished from sight at some point and now he can't stop the worry now that he has a moment to think.
"He ran to get help...he'll probably be back with Rin and sensei soon…" Obito assures trying to help him stand. His weakened limbs are no help though.
"Shit c'mon Bakashi that thing might still be following us!" He urges.
Footsteps ahead...and scents that mean safety.
"Rin and Sensei...they're almost here," Kakashi says with relief. He swears he can still feel splinters crawling under his skin. Like pinpricks to every nerve they touch.
"You did well," he manages to get out through the pain to Obito.
Obito smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. They look watery and ready to release tears at any moment actually. "It was just a substitution I readied while it was focused on you...layered a triggered genjutsu over it so I could get behind it."
"Nice one crybaby…thanks for protecting me. I guess we're even now huh?"
The pain and blood loss wins out right as he hears footsteps surrounding the two of them. He gives into unconsciousness hoping it's safety instead of more danger appearing all around them.
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"If you try to dunk me into another pond it'll work out as well as last time just so you know," Tobi says following Jiraiya. He flows chakra into it
Jiraiya had insisted the other man let him guide him to a training ground they hadn't been to yet. One of the more secluded ones on the outskirts of the village. He chuckles at the accusation and the memory it brings up.
"Heh I probably needed a bath anyways and it got you to laugh so not really a bad outcome eh?" He says to the blind man who scoffs.
"Moron," Tobi says.
Jiraiya takes it in stride bringing him to the grounds with a rocky ground area and the beginnings of a tree line to their east. There's a pleasant breeze out today and the open area is perfect to feel the full bright sun on them with it. Jiraiya is hoping for a peaceful setting for this conversation.
"So...believe or not I have good news, Jiraiya says. "Your leash is getting loosened."
Tobi halts and turns to him.
"Just to B-Rank capabilities but it's a step, Jiraiya says. "Wasn't an easy sell for me or that Yamanaka brat I'll tell you that."
"You vouched for me that much?" Tobi says slow and quiet.
Jiraiya walks forward placing his hand on the seal on the back of his neck. Chakra coils into the divots and intricacies of the seal. Readjusting strands and erasing them as needed. A moment is all it takes. He removes his touch amd pats the other man on the shoulder.
"What can I say? I've got a bleeding heart deep down."
"Bullshit," Tobi says lightly moving his hand away.
"Fair enough," Jiraiya laughs. "Let's just say the people I think are lobbying to keep you close and I have a long standing issue of seeing eye to eye."
"That's petty and underhanded enough for me to actually believe," Tobi says rubbing the back of his neck.
Jiraiya's ready to make another comeback when he notices the way Tobi seems to freeze in place. His body on high alert in an instant he almost counters when the blind man grabs him. He notices the foreign flare of chakra nearby just in time to understand and assist the other helping them dodge the barrage of wooden spikes aimed for them.
Both land on the feet within arms reach of each other. Jiraiya looks ahead and sees it...a creature vaguely shaped like a man half black and half white with a bulbous plant head around its shoulders. Jiraiya's personally seen weirder and decides to focus on keeping his defense up rather than asking any question.
"Somehow I knew you'd show up early," Tobi says. Jiraiya hears a hint of anger in his voice.
"You know us?" A voice says but the mouth doesn't move.
"He holds pieces in him that feel like ours," this time it's mouth moves but only on the white half of its face.
"Jiraiya…" Tobi says quiet and tense. "If we want to survive this...you're going to need to trust me and loosen this seal a bit more."
Only a fool makes rash decisions in a tense situation. Jiraiya likes to play the fool card quite a lot, and for good reason. Sometimes you need a wildcard every now and then to throw the rest of the world off its game.
He reaches over grabbing the back of the other man's neck, and shatters the seal completely.