A/N:Word count is ~4.5k.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 25 - Making Preparations

Kushina blinked. Minato merely stared at Obito with a curious look. "The Hiraishin?"

The time traveler nodded, not lifting his eyes from the plate he was drying with a rag. "Yeah. I want to see if we can create a collaborative jutsu derived from my Mangekyō and the Hiraishin. I was thinking we could probably make some sort of teleportation seal."

Kushina rinsed her hands of soap suds and stepped back to level an assessing look at the Uchiha. "… Why Fūinjutsu? Even though the Hiraishin uses a jutsu shiki seal with Minato's application, in theory it shouldn't be a necessary element… Should it?"

Obito shook his head, shuffling to the other side of the kitchen to return the plate to its proper cabinet. "That's just it. With two separate jutsu like my Kamui and the Hiraishin, considering the fact that they are of the same type of jutsu subcategory, it should be possible without the application of Fūinjutsu. However, because of the naturally immeasurable aspects of time-space ninjutsu and the fact that one utilizes a dōjutsu, a stabilizing medium would be needed." He shrugged as he went to retrieve another piece of kitchenware to dry. "Minato-sensei uses Fūinjutsu as that stabilizer for his Hiraishin, so I figured it would be simplest to use the same principle with this hypothetical transportation seal."

The red-head pinched the bridge of her nose, a grimace forming on her face. "… Wait. What are your freaky eyes able to do, again?"

"My Mangekyō has an ability that allows me to enter an alternate dimension," Obito supplied, not at all deterred from her comment. "It's my own personal dimension, as only my eyes are capable of reaching it."

"But what does that have to do with transportation?" Kushina asked.

"Everything. The theory behind this hypothetical seal I want to create would be able to transport the user to my dimension, and could leave through a specified anchor somewhere in this world. The Hiraishin allows Minato-sensei to travel to specified points, or to send an object or person to said point. While this is certainly useful, the problem with using the Hiraishin alone is that it requires Minato's own concentration and cannot act as a singular, activation-based seal. The Kamui can, in theory, be transcribed into an object or technique to activate upon a set command. The problem with my Kamui is that it does not have a specific anchor in this case, and without my Sharingan eyes it could deposit the user in an unspecified, potentially unreachable plane."

"And the point is the safe transfer of the user," Minato concluded, earning an affirmative nod from the raven-haired boy. "Who would be the one using this?"

Obito paused in his movements, contemplating how to word his thoughts. "… An ally. Or rather, allies."

A brief moment passed as Minato observed him with a measuring gaze, Kushina watching the exchange with narrowed eyes. Finally, he nodded. "I see. Where would the anchor be? And who should we expect?"

The time traveler looked over to the blonde, an expression of relief left plain. He didn't really want to have to explain why he was doing this or who he was doing this for. "I was thinking my room, since I don't think any other easily accessible location will be nearly as secure at here." He turned back to the dishes. "… Orange hair, amber-brown eyes. Rippled eyes, amaranthine in color. Or blue hair with a paper rose. There may be three, or two, or one."

"… I'm confused, dattebane."

Minato chuckled, and despite himself, Obito smiled. "Alright, I'll see what I can do."

"I'm helping too!" Kushina interjected, placing her hands on her hips. "Even though you're a genius, I'm still the one with Fūinjutsu running through my veins. We'll all be needed." She turned to grin at Obito. "Minato with his Hiraishin, you with your Kamui-whatsit, and me with my crazy seals."

After the three of them tidied up the kitchen, Kushina had gone to her room to retrieve a box-full of her sealing materials and spread them out on the coffee table and the three of them began working immediately.

"I'd like the seal to be conjoined with my left Mangekyō, if possible," Obito interjected after a few exchanges of theories.

Kushina raised a crimson eyebrow. "Why?"

"My left eye doesn't require physical contact to transport others. A Kamui transcription might not be possible if I use my right eye, which requires physical contact," he reasoned. In truth, he had never attempted a transcription seal, though he had little doubt he could perform it with his own eyes. The only true issue was that he was equally uncertain about whether or not it would work on a seal instead of Sharingan eyes, which was the only surefire way to control his ability.

Plus, he had little doubt that in the event that the eye used no longer existed, it would no longer work. Unlike the Amaterasu, which would continue to blaze brightly should the Mangekyō activating it lose its light, the Kamui was very much reliant on his eyes. He even speculated that, in the event that both eyes were lost, the dimension connected to them would vanish—not that he could ever prove this, considering he wouldn't be able to verify this even if he destroyed his eyes, but it was an ever present possibility. Conversely, the same could be said about the loss of the eye used in this seal. Its properties could be lost once the eye used to create it was destroyed, and though it was a minor possibility, it was there nonetheless—he would need to use the eye he knew for a fact would survive past his own predicted demise.

"A transcription seal?" Minato questioned, gaining Obito's attention. "You can do that?"

After a moment, Obito inclined his head. "… Aa. In theory."

"In theory," Kushina reiterated, urging him to elaborate.

"Yes. I've known that transcription seals of other Mangekyō techniques are possible. The only issue is that I've only see them used in place of other Sharingan, not…" He motioned to the scroll. "… On seals. However, I know that my Sharingan, and its abilities, are not exactly normal. Where most Sharingan cannot be activated or deactivated—whether dormant, Sharingan, or Mangekyō state—while in possession of those without Uchiha blood, mine has a history of a certain malleability in this regard."

The couple had questioning looks pertaining to his own knowledge on the subject, but thankfully did not pursue it. "So you can perform your own transcription seal…" Kushina trailed off, biting her lip as she observed the drafted seal. "… But the seal itself needs to allow the transcription to adhere. I don't know how we can accomplish that."

"We could mix some traces of his eye with the ink," Minato added helpfully. "It would help identify the eye he wishes to use, and would work as a binding agent for his chakra."

Kushina made a face. "How the hell are we gonna do that?"

The blonde turned to Obito with a smile that the time traveler found wasn't exactly friendly. "… Minato-sensei?"

Obito suddenly felt himself lifted off the ground several feet from the swift uppercut Minato delivered to his diaphragm, and he felt bile creep up the back of his tongue. He collapsed on the ground dry-heaving, fighting back his dinner that threatened to surface as he clutched his midsection (while quietly wondering if his insides had been rearranged from the hit). That punch fucking hurt.

"… Wha… Minato, what the hell was that for?" He grimaced at the way the blonde lifted him back on his feet unceremoniously, not noticing the syringe the man had withdrawn from his left eye.

"Here," Minato said simply as he handed over the vial to Kushina, who allowed the liquid to drip into the mixture of ink.

Obito stared. "… You punched me to get me to cry?" He asked, not bothering to mask his incredulity.

"Would you have preferred that we stick the needle in your eye to draw out blood?" Minato questioned, looking over at him.

Obito winced. No, he wouldn't have.

Kushina waved him over. "Obito, I need you to channel your chakra into the ink." She handed the small ink well to him, her eyes riveted to the scroll. "Keep treating it with your chakra. It'll need to be completely laden with your chakra once we get around to finishing this."

The time traveler's brow rose. "But it wouldn't take more than two hours for me to do that."

She nodded. "We'll make this a chakra and blood sensitive seal. Since we don't have the actual samples from the people you are intending to use this, they'll need to put together a mixture of their blood and ink, signing their names in the spaces indicated." She glanced to him with a smile. "Minato and I will have everything planned and drafted in less than two hours, trust me."

Obito blinked in minute surprise, though he realized that he probably shouldn't have been. These two, aside from Jiraiya, were Konoha's most knowledgeable Shinobi in the art of Fūinjutsu, one of them having come from a long line of seal masters. They were possible the best Fūinjutsu masters in all of the five great nations, if he really thought about it.

Still, it spoke of just how skilled in the art they were. Obito hadn't known where to begin with his idea, aside from going to them for help, and within two hours of presenting the idea to them he would find himself with a completed scroll, primed for delivery. It made him wonder why he hadn't gone to them for help before… Why he had decided to hide the truth from them.

His thoughts sobered immediately. For the previous thought, yes, he could admit it was foolish of him to have decided he could handle everything on his own, hence, he had gone to these two. He had even revealed some truths to Minato. However, he couldn't chance revealing too much, nothing that could incriminate either of them in the eyes of Konoha's shadows.

Obito flexed his hands, resisting the urge to ball them into fists. Danzō. The man was an ever-present thorn in his side, and not simply because of the minor actions the man had taken thus far. No, those could be excused to a certain degree, as curiosity or suspicion were likely what fueled them. It was the promise of what the man could, would do should the future continue along the same path, that worried Obito.

Still, even though he held a firm dislike of the man, Obito wasn't blind. He was disgustingly aware of the fact that Danzō, while having less-then-valiant ideals, was fiercely loyal to Konoha and her wellbeing. Besides, it wasn't as if Obito could call himself a saint, and the man had yet to do something blatantly incriminating. If only because Naruto extended a hand to Obito once, when he had so selfishly sought after the completion of his own ideals… Obito could at least offer Danzō a chance.

Obito shook his head, returning to the present.

"By the way," he started, drawing the attention of Minato and Kushina once again. "If possible, I'd like two other seals…"

He was not nervous.

It was a thought, more like a mantra, that Kakashi repeated in his mind as he paced around the outskirts of the training grounds.

He had arrived an hour earlier than Minato had specified through his messenger toad, and had spent said hour pacing back and forth to the point where passersby wondered if he was attempting to wear a hole in the ground.

His mind was focused on a topic that he never would have though he would ever (need to, happen to) dwell on in his life.

He didn't know how to act around Obito and Rin.

Kakashi scowled, his shoulders stiff and slightly sore from an hour of tension.

The reason why he never thought he'd have this issue was mostly due to the fact that, ever since his father died, he had decided to adhere to the rules studiously. While Minato put heavy emphasis on teamwork, amiable feelings amongst those in the team wasn't a great necessity—as long as they could act professional and put whatever ill feelings aside when important, than that was all that was strictly necessary in Kakashi's book. Therefore, common courtesy and platitudes were useless, and for the vast majority of his career he had made certain to keep interactions with teams and others to a minimum.

He hadn't accounted for the idea that he would end up being the one to shift the strictly work-related relationship to a more personal one, and he definitely hadn't predicted that he would cry in front of his teammates.

It was embarrassing, humiliating, and most of all, he was ashamed. He had allowed his guard to drop completely—not just slightly, as he could admit to having done before with Team Seven—completely. Not to mention, of all people, Obito had been the calm and collected one at the time.

He'd be lying if he said that the… Event… Left him strictly irritable and angry, however. He was reasonable enough to admit that he had actually appreciated (he didn't like it, no, he tolerated it) the show of affection from his teammates to a degree. But still…

Kakashi groaned, slapping his palms over his face. It was all so domestic and friendly. He wasn't accustomed to that sort of relation with others, with people, and he found that he was more comfortable slitting an enemy's throat than participating in… That.

He was not nervous.

The silver-haired Chūnin straightened his back and walked stiffly to the center of the training grounds. He was not nervous, no. It was simply a matter of behaving as he usually did; he just had to remain aloof, and treat this meeting as any other. As business.

"Kakashi!" Rin waved to him with a bright, mirthful smile. Obito turned around to him and offered his own, somewhat subdued greeting as well, with a lazy wave.

Kakashi turned 90 degrees and studiously observed the tree line for their sensei, facing away from them.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the crushed look the brunette wore and Obito's eye twitched.

The Uchiha cradled his head for a moment, shaking his head. "… I see."

Kakashi wanted to punch something. He felt torn, as a part of him wanted to interact with and assure them that he hadn't meant to ignore them, but he didn't want to deal with bonds at the moment and the fact that he simply didn't know how to act around friends didn't help.

His thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt. They were… Friends. A part of him felt stupid for even assuming otherwise, and the other scolded him that it was not professional or acceptable to keep such close relations with one's teammates. But he knew, that, even though he might try to deny it, he did consider them his friends.

But how the hell did people act around friends? How was he supposed to convey his friendship to Rin and Obito?

Kakashi paused. And then he slapped a hand to his face.

'What… What the hell am I thinking?' He thought quietly, feeling shame at his own obtuse idiocy.

Obito had said that those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash. There was truth to those statements, Kakashi knew. But it wasn't as if the Shinobi rulebook ever explicitly stated that fraternizing with teammates was against the rules—no, in some cases it was actually well-accepted. It was only ANBU where such a thing was frowned upon, mostly due to the fact that identities could be exposed. But even though Kakashi was well on his way to Jōnin, he was not part of ANBU, meaning that he was allowed to befriend Rin and Obito.

And he therefore had no excuse to pretend otherwise.

He turned to his teammates, noticing that they were looking at him oddly and sighed. He was nervous, a little bit, but he wasn't a coward. "… Look, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to ignore you two. I'm just unaccustomed to this, because of what happened… the other…" He trailed off at Rin and Obito's expectant looks—why did it look like their eyes were sparkling?—and turned away, feeling an accursed red forming on his thankfully-covered cheeks.

Rin and Obito exchanged a look before smirking knowingly at Kakashi, who only reddened further as a result. 'Great.'

They tackled him, Rin wrapping her arms around his midsection and Obito holding him in a sort of head-lock as the brunette shouted, "Kakashi needs another hug!"

They tumbled to the ground, Kakashi frozen stiff and the other two laughing their asses off (which really didn't help the burning sensation he could feel on his face).

The Hatake felt the odd compulsion to clock them both.

It was at that moment that their sensei arrived, and Kakashi extricated himself from their claws and scrambled to his feet to dust himself off casually before attempting (and failing) to regard the blonde impassively. He heard Rin giggling and Obito release a quiet snort as they stood up as well, standing on either side of Kakashi as they turned to face Minato. The man had an amused, knowing look on his face, and Kakashi's eyelid twitched.

"I see you three are getting along well," the Jōnin noted, earning two grins from Obito and Rin while Kakashi studiously observed the grass at his feet. "That's good. We're going to be taking another mission, soon."

Automatically the three Chūnin straightened, listening to Minato with rapt attention. "Is it a D-Rank, Minato-sensei?" Rin questioned tentatively.

The blonde shook his head. "No. It's labeled a B-Rank, but it is possibly a higher ranking considering the stakes. Team Seven has been tasked with destroying the Kannabi Bridge in Kusagakure so that Iwa's supply will be cut off."

Kakashi was about to ask his own question, but immediately turned to catch his suddenly pale and stiff teammate. Minato and Rin looked at Obito worriedly, who looked as though he had been punched in the diaphragm with one of Tsunade's punches.

"Obito, what happened?" Rin questioned, already summoning her chakra to her hands to perform a diagnostic. "Are you alright?"

The Uchiha blinked, and color slowly returned to his face as he shook his head. He swallowed, straightening. "I-I'm fine. It's just nerves, we've never taken such an… Important mission, before." He turned to Minato. "This would be the turning point of the war, wouldn't it?"

Minato observed him for a moment, before nodding and beginning to explain the rest of the mission details. "We'll be leaving in two days, and at the moment, the leader of the mission has not yet been decided." He turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi will be taking the Jōnin exam before we leave, and the Hokage has expressed his wishes that he be the one to lead this mission so that I can attend to another matter."

The Hatake only half-listened as he glared at Obito, worry and annoyance prevalent. Clearly, something else was going on, and even if Minato and Rin were convinced by the boy's poor excuse Kakashi certainly wasn't—and he wanted to know exactly what was going on.

His scowl deepened, as he came to a realization. Now that he thought about it, Obito… The other day, Obito had never divulged his secret. Only Kakashi had spoken on his thoughts, turmoil and regrets, while the Uchiha had managed to slip by because he had been too weakened mentally.

Before he could say something and demand that Obito tell him everything, a dark-haired man appeared a few feet away. Kakashi immediately took in the man's features, noting the onyx eyes, the pale complexion, and the high-collared shirt. An Uchiha.

"Namikaze-san," the unnamed Uchiha gave a curt bow to the blonde. "I was ordered by Fugaku-sama to notify Obito-san that his presence is requested at the Uchiha meeting hall, post haste."

Kakashi didn't miss the way Obito's eyes narrowed slightly before he nodded. "Tell him that I'll be there."

The Uchiha turned to regard Obito with a curious look before nodding. He disappeared in a swirl of leaves, and Team Seven was alone in the training field once again.

"… What are you going to do?" Minato questioned Obito, a strangely strained note in his tone.

Obito was quiet, pensive, before nodding to himself. "… I'll go see what they want. It sounds pretty urgent." He turned to leave, but paused before sheepishly smiling at the blonde. "Sorry, may I…?"

The Jōnin nodded, and Obito disappeared as well.

Kakashi turned to Minato as soon as the Uchiha's signature vanished. "What was that all about?"

Rin looked curiously at Minato as the blonde carded a hand through his hair. "It's… Complicated. Are either of you aware of the circumstances surrounding Obito's ostracization from the Uchiha?"

The team's medic made a face. "No, but I know that it affected Obito negatively before."

"While that is true enough, that is far from the full story. Any details should probably be given by Obito himself, but basically, ever since he awakened his Sharingan the Uchiha have been trying to get him to rejoin the clan." He paused, contemplating. "… The elders have been, at least."

Kakashi stared. "Rejoin the clan…?" He hadn't been aware that ties between Obito and his family had been severed at some point in time. He had simply thought…

Minato nodded, his expression cooled. "Aa. They are zealous protectors of their dōjutsu."

A small silence blanketed as the Hatake dwelled on those words. He knew that the clans with kekkei genkai were often in danger of villages and independent Shinobi alike attempting to steal their abilities—especially clans like the Uchiha and Hyuuga, whose kekkei genkai rested in their eyes. It wasn't solely for the clan's benefit to keep a constant vigilance regarding their eyes, and such a course of action—attempting to keep all bearers of their dōjutsu under the jurisdiction of the clan—was actually to be expected.

But the idea that Obito, who had apparently been disowned once before was now being dragged back into the clan just because he had activated the Sharingan…

It just seemed wrong.

"… What is it like?" He questioned, stirring Minato and Rin from their own thoughts. He clarified, "what is it like, for Obito? Is that why he changed so much?"

A grim look cast over Minato's countenance. "In a way, I suppose you can say that it is. His family, his bloodline, is a curse. And yet it is also his strength—the power running through his veins is the very poison that grips the Uchiha clan."

Rin frowned slightly. "… What do you mean?"

The darkened look on the blonde's face receded slightly, and in its place was a kind smile. "It means that we need to be that much more persistent about the fact that Obito has us, his team."

After a moment, the two Chūnin nodded, agreeing. Team seven was the closest thing to a family, for all of them.

And if Obito couldn't open up and trust his own blood-family, then it was clear that they needed to be the ones to fill that role.

The first thing Obito did after leaving the training grounds was head home.

Even though he had been summoned by the clan, he had little desire to respond immediately, so he had gone home to prepare for the Kannabi Bridge mission instead.

Mechanically, with his mind dwelling on other things, he checked the seals he, Kushina and Minato had made, and packed for the mission. Supplies, rations, weapons; he made sure he was fully prepared, as he mentally fortified himself for what was soon to come.

He had not expected the Kannabi Bridge mission to come up so soon. Hell, a part of him had started to suspect that it had been given to some other team, even though he knew that Team Minato had been specifically requested for the mission previously—meaning that, considering the changes that had taken place, the chances of them not getting it this time were anyone's guess.

Still, he had been blindsided from the realization that, yes, time was short, and he was rapidly losing ground. He felt several shades of ill when he heard the words spoken, and unbidden his memories of the past had been dredged up. For the brief few moments he had been frozen in time, re-living every gory detail of his previous life, he felt as though he were trapped in life's own sick and twisted variation of the Tsukuyomi. Had it not been for the fact that he was mentally thirty-one (or was he thirty-two, now?) with a past of pain, he most certainly would have broken down right then and there.

He disconnected from his thoughts to double check his supplies, ensuring that he hadn't missed anything. After he was certain that he was fully packed and prepared, he left the apartment, but headed in the opposite direction of the Uchiha district.

Normally, people preparing for battle trained, to ensure that they would enter the battlefield as prepared as they could be. But Obito could only think of one thing he really wanted to do. He had decided to walk around Konoha.

He went from corner to corner, watching the tilt of the sun as it slowly descended to the horizon, the sky still imbued with faint hints of afternoon blue. Bustle had receded as citizens hurried home to prepare for evening dinner, but Konoha was still alight with life and sounds. It was very well possible that the day's wanderings would be the last he would see of his village, and he wanted to make it count.

This, he had realized, was going to be how he remembered Konoha as he died.

Obito released a sigh from where he sat on the Hokage Monument, just above the perch where the Yondaime's head would soon come into existence. He was under no assumption that he would survive the encounter, even though there was a slim chance that he would—there were simply too many variables for him to pin his hopes on a chance that may be infinitesimal or nonexistent.

He knew that, deep down, he still hoped. But he refused to dwell on that fact, instead, allowing his eyes to roam over his village.

This was his last moment to himself. His last moment of peace, of happiness, before everything went to hell, before he went to talk to the Uchiha (a conversation that he had no doubt would be less than pleasant). Before he went on his mission tomorrow. Before he died, for the third time—this time, permanently.

Taking a fortifying breath, he leapt down to the nose of the Third and looked across the village, imprinting the sight into his vision.

With a stony expression and hardened resolve, he turned away to head for the Uchiha compound.

A/N: I don't know what's been going on in the anime, but in the event that they've decided to elaborate on Obito's past: this fic doesn't adhere to it. I heard that Obito apparently has a grandmother now (what?) and while I could decide to randomly throw in a character that hadn't made an appearance in this story prior, I'm not gonna do that. Everything that I know pertains to earlier episodes and the manga.

Edit: I forgot to mention. I have a tumblr now, so now there's an official outlet for you guys to throw ideas/questions/tomatoes/shit at me. XD Same username as the one here.