Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I am not profiting from this. As usual, please point out any mistakes you see. Even things like if my writing is unclear or something. I want to make sure the reading itself isn't like a puzzle.

This part is not very happy, but what can ya do?

Thank you for all the reviews and stuff, I really appreciate them all. I do try to reply as much as possible, but I know I miss some (a lot). Sorry about that. I'll do better. Also, Guest has requested/suggested an omake idea thing. That's like an extra, right? I might do those after I finish this story. You can send in ideas if you want, I don't mind. (The end is quite near, actually. Maybe one or two more updates.)

Thanks for looking :)


Part 12: Can you see the future?

"I need more teeth," Obito broke the relative silence with his declaration. His sole companion, Gai, glanced at his friend with puzzled eyes.

"Teeth?" he inquired.

"Yeah. I'm gonna get more teeth," Obito spoke with determination. Gai was still confused, but he was glad his friend seemed to get the life back in his voice. The few days after Team Minato's mission, both Rin and Obito spent their days with listless steps.

"Okay, Obito-kun! Go get those teeth!" he cheered on.

"Yeah! I'm gonna get those teeth!" Obito cheered along.


"Kakashi-kun, I think you should watch out for Obito-kun," Gai confronted Kakashi one day with the most serious expression.

"Wh-What do you mean? Is Obito okay?" Kakashi, being the worried friend, asked after Obito's well-being. He had been focused on Rin's well-being the past two days. Did he neglect Obito too much? Did something change in those couple days?

"I think he's doing better, but he was talking about getting more teeth. I am… worried he might start taking teeth out of anyone."

That's… What?


"Ririn-chaaaaan! Come dooooooown!" Obito shouted at a third floor window. After a few seconds, Rin poked her head out.

"Obi! What are you up to?" she asked.

"Come down and I'll tell you!" he grinned.


"You see, Ririn-chan, Team Minato's members have arranged themselves like this. Namikaze-sensei as the leader and all around cool guy who can do everything. Hatake-san as the close combat ninjutsu specialist. Me as the mid-range fighter with some ninjutsu and mediocre throwing abilities. Ririn-chan as the long-range fighter and awesome medic with amazing accuracy," Obito explained.

"Obi, I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit," Rin spoke.

"Hm, maybe. But! I need to be better. When I watch people like Hatake-san, they do a lot of cool slashing with their swords and knives, you follow?" Rin nodded.

"And since I assume the middle position, if Hatake-san were to fall, I'd be next in line to die, right?" Rin didn't like how he said that but nodded anyway. She didn't point out how it wouldn't turn out like that if they were surrounded. He probably knew.

"So, I need to get better at doing the slashing and stabbing, too. But I think if my blades have some teeth, it'd be easier to do damage. Maybe. I don't know."

"You want your blades to be like a saw?" Rin asked warily.

"Essentially. I don't- huff- I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't want to- kill anyone, either. But it's harder to immobilize someone than to kill them. Or so I've heard," Obito looked away, squinting at something in the distance. "And, it'll be a useful tool for other things, too…"

"Yeah."


Two friends sat on a hill, watching something in the distance. Watching something no one else could see. What was it that they saw? Was it an apparition of a happy girl? A visage of a smiling boy? Perhaps the fleeting wisps of the carefree days they could no longer return to?

Who knows. But they watched for a very long time.


"Erm, yeah. That was what I saw thinking. I'm gonna ask Ichi-san for help later," Obito tore his gaze away to face Rin. Rin did the same.

"Yeah. Do you need anything else? Any more ideas?" she asked. She didn't mind being with Obito. She didn't want to do anything else.

"Um, I was thinking, if you're okay with it, if you could, maybe, teach me some tips and stuff about medical stuff… If you want to- you don't have to," Obito trailed off with red ears. He was embarrassed, though Rin couldn't fathom why. She smiled wide, eyes crinkling with happiness.

"Of course, I'd be happy to," she said.

Obito couldn't believe he thought Rin was an enemy a seemingly long time ago.

He couldn't hold back a truly content grin.


It had only been a week since that horrid event.

Alas, war was impatient and waited for nobody. Not even children.

Three members of Team Minato were hastily promoted to Chunin and sent back to the field.


Rin's family was absent during that week, doing their own parts in the war, scattered in mud and blood and leaves and grief.

Ichiro had words to say, but could not say any of them with the clan council breathing down his neck.

Without fanfare, Team Minato, along with many others, returned to war.


Hiding out beneath the bushes was fun. When it was a game.

But war was not a game to the soldiers. It was hell. It was shit. It was life.

Hiding beneath the bushes while the clouds drizzled nonstop for four days was just uncomfortable. Especially when holding a single position for nearly five hours with brief five minute breaks in between. It was very uncomfortable. Truly. Really.

And worst of all, Obito couldn't even talk to his friend just three inches next to him!


In the small glowing embers of their camp, the Team's faces were drenched in its eerie orange light. Shadows danced on their faces and the corners of their visions. Every snaps and ticks of the night were potentially fatal. There was no relief.

They only had themselves.


It was hard to sleep. Their bedrolls could hinder their movements, so those were left untouched. Campfires any brighter than a little glow could reveal their position (and honestly, they were usually in complete darkness. Even little glows could lead to their demise). Anything brightly colored or shiny could give them away, so clothes were muted and weapons were left unpolished.

Three members sat around a single tree, their backs against the trunk as one member crouched above in the leaves keeping watch. Sometimes, they all huddled around in the leaves, safe from the ground and its prowling dangers.

Obito pressed himself into the rough bark, hoping for daylight, for daylight meant movement.

Obito drew his knees closer to his chest, dreading the daylight, for daylight meant movement.

Obito didn't know what to do.


The extra teeth were effective. Sort of.

Obito had successfully ripped off a woman's arm off. It wasn't on purpose! Honest! His weapon got caught, and the woman instinctively jumped back. But Obito's grip had always been firm. He didn't let go, and neither did his weapon.

Silver lining, Obito thought, silver lining. The woman was alive. Hurt, in pain, three limbs. Alive. She was alive.

(She was declared dead long before arriving at T&I, but Obito didn't need to know that.)


Two months was a long time. Too long of a time to spend in war country.

"Obito, how are you feeling?" Namikaze-sensei asked. He always asked his students individually. He always asked. How kind.

"I don't know," Obito did not lie. He had no strength to hide.

"Tell me anything. Or show me. Anything." Namikaze-sensei crouched down to his height.

"Sensei, I want to cry. I want to throw up. I want to scream. I really hate this. I don't know what to do," Obito admitted.

Namikaze-sensei didn't say anything else, but his eyes held an understanding depth.

Obito looked away.


"Ichi-san, I don't feel alive," Obito told the man. The man listened.

"Yeah," he said.

"How did you deal with this?"

"I didn't."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't deal with it. I didn't do anything about it. I simply… let it take me."

"..."

"..."

"Will I ever feel better?"

"I don't know."

"Yeah, me neither."


After a five day rest, Team Minato, along with many others, returned to war.

Rinse and repeat.

War was impatient.


note 1: I imagine rank promotions don't work the same when the villages are at war. So, in this story, promotions during war are mostly field promotions and recommendations. This also leads to hasty promotions. Not a very good system, I admit.


note 2: just gonna answer a few guest reviews here.

Heart: I agree. War related things make me cry.

Tiffanycr: They are all suffering :(

blades: Kakashi thinks he's being subtle and whatnot, but he does slip up now and again. It worries his friends, and Obito has some thoughts on that.


note 3: Obito's thought process on the teeth thing: If he can do enough damage to incapacitate his opponents, he won't have to kill anybody. In his mind, teeth = more damage.