Beta: CherryBerry12

EDIT 3/15/19: Added details to the beginning's third section and the ending. Some minor sentence edits.

Chapter 2: Unburied Heart

A hawk was soaring above the spiraling trees when a ripple of chakra passed over it. Not a second later, the hawk turned away from the field, flying back towards the forest.

"I've located the scouts."

After releasing his jutsu, the blond jounin opened his eyes to his patiently waiting team, all genin wet behind the ears. In some unspoken unity, they all wore their forehead protectors as bandanna and sported similar grim expressions.

"There's an unknown sensor guarding them. He'll know we're coming. Don't let his ragged appearance fool you. Stay on your guard."

"Yes, sir!" they answered. One followed with a muffled cough.

The group once again sped through the branches, leaving behind a passing breeze. Nearing the forest's edge, they leapt to the ground. Their run slowed to a walk as they passed the last line of trees blocking the moonlit battlefield.

Cracks ran all over the ground, stone rising and sinking like waves. Past this petrified ocean were the trees flown over by the hawk. As they neared, they could make out the bodies, severed and wrung dry, hanging off the trunks. The blood on the bark ran down into a pool at the center, but the red was already turning black. This wasn't the first battlefield this team cleaned up, but it was the most gruesome. No one voiced their thoughts as they walked over the pool's surface, ignoring the stench wafting from above and below.

Obito stood up, watching the four figures approach. The stylized leaf on their headbands summoned a spark of rage—Where were they? What took them so long?—but the feeling was forgotten in the next second. His limbs seemed to turn to jelly. Just as shock flashed on the genin's faces, the world blurred and tilted sideways.

"Obito!" One genin rushed forward and caught the Uchiha. "Is it really you?! What happened? How are you—" The young genin took in the scarred right side and half an arm. "Your arm…"

"Tokara," the blond jounin called the tongue-tied medic, walking towards them. "Hayate and I will take care of him. Go help Ibiki with Kakashi."

Tokara looked in the direction of his stocky teammate. His brows knit at the sight of the small, blood-soaked jounin being lifted out of the pool. He couldn't tell what injuries Kakashi had from this distance, but knowing Obito, he wouldn't have left him alone if something were wrong.

The sudden weak spell passed. Obito gathered himself and gently shoved Tokara off. "Go." The flare of anger took the last of his energy; he didn't want to deal with anyone anymore. He turned back towards Rin and sat down on the pool's surface.

Tokara looked down at Obito with a thoughtful gaze. Obito's arm wasn't bleeding, so for now, he should be okay. Tokara gripped his weapon, a metal staff. A green chakra flame lit the ring at one end and he crossed to where Ibiki and Kakashi were, lugging the large jar on his back. The blond jounin took the young medic's place next to Obito, shadowed by a young swordsman with dark, sunken eyes.

"Obito, I'll need to confirm your identity."

Obito didn't bother to turn around and greet his superior. He knew who he was—Yamanaka Inoichi of Torture and Interrogation—but so what?

"Do what you want," he answered apathetically. His eyes never left the green flames in front of him.

Inoichi glanced to the young swordsman, Hayate. The genin nodded and moved to stand guard. Inoichi knelt beside Obito and placed a hand on the boy's forehead. "Pardon the intrusion."

His chakra linked with the boy's and he closed his eyes, going to work skimming his most recent memories: Guruguru! What is this…? I won't believe it! Where's the Yellow Flash?! Guinea pigs… Bones the size of a giant summon… A wall of weapons… Darkness… I'm definitely leaving this place! The call of nature… Wait for me, Rin, Kakashi! A small, red light…

Inoichi paused. Following his intuition, he concentrated on the red-eyed figure staring at him through the memory.

The red-eyed man was wrapped in a black cloak and sat on a wooden throne. His gaunt face and spindly fingers showed he was no more than skin and bones, but his posture at once had the steel and fluidity of a shinobi. His long, wild hair and grey skin seemed paler against the bead of red light from his left eye.

"Thank you for saving me," came Obito's voice, but the slight frown never left the elder's face.

"It's too early to thank me…" the old man promised.

After watching the memories of the old man, Inoichi searched further back for a far-off memory, minor and brief: The bell at the shop door tingled, followed by a cheerful greeting, "Yamanaka-san! Your best bouquet of roses!"

Inoichi removed his hand and opened his eyes. The reflection of the green flames did nothing to liven the young man's gaze. He gave a firm pat to the young chuunin's shoulder. "Uchiha Obito, you've worked hard. Leave everything else to us."

Tokara and Ibiki returned to the group with Kakashi strapped to Ibiki's back. Inoichi looked to Hayate once more. The young swordsman accepted the silent order and walked over to Tokara while Ibiki gathered by Inoichi, Obito, and Rin. The two genin moved some distance away as Inoichi knelt down and formed the ram seal. "Ibiki, keep watch."

Inoichi closed his eyes. Veins bulged on his forehead and his chakra spiked. Pulses of unseen energy shot in the direction of the closest outpost.

Meanwhile, Hayate drew his sword, relaxing into a two-handed stance. "There are over thirty corpses. Does your jar have enough room?" He quietly coughed into his sleeve.

Tokara lifted his staff. The ring ignited with a flame of blue chakra. Tokara tapped the flame against the sword and against the rim of the large jar tied to his back. The blue flame swept across the blade's edge and along the mouth of the jar. "The bodies aren't whole, so they should all fit." He set one hand in a half ram seal.

Hayate took that as his cue and sped up one of the bloody spires. Konoha-ryuu—Meigetsu no Mai! Hayate darted between the trees, his blade flashing bright under the moon. Half-corpses fell one after the other, blue flame sticking to where he cut.

Fuushi Houin! The blue chakra flared around the jar's rim and wind swirled upwards from the opening. A wide vortex caught the falling masses and they disappeared into the vessel. As Hayate landed, the last of the chakra flew off his sword, joining the Kiri remains. The corpse sealing method ended once a black circle formed over the jar's opening, the character for seal (封) branding itself white in the center.

Several miles south of Hot Springs country, Minato flashed into the lookout tower at Outpost Twelve. He nodded to the sentries who'd been expecting him, and after some last directions, his figure vanished from the tower, reappearing in the north.

Minato was pulling double-time as he raced through the branches. The moment they'd received the emergency transmission at the front, Kushina had buffed his reserves and told him to go. With barely a pause, he beat it to the outpost like a bat out of hell. Whatever already happened, he couldn't change, but they were calling him for support. There was still something he could do.

He sensed seven—eight presences ahead, although the last one was faint and made his heart stutter. He dashed out of the forest towards the spiraling trees and slowed his approach near the pool of blood. He ignored what remained of the carnage, light steps taking him to where everyone was gathered near the strongest and weakest chakra source.

Minato could barely sense Rin through the veil of chakra, a force almost as strong as Kushina's when she tapped into half the Nine-tails' power. He quickly noted Kakashi's unconscious form slumped on Ibiki's back before turning his attention to the only unfamiliar presence—a long-haired boy watching over Rin. If the boy hadn't turned in his direction, he may have never recognized him. He almost didn't recognize him, blood spattered over his right eye and painted down his scarred face.

"Sensei," he called, his voice clear and unmistakably…

Minato's mind tripped over itself even as he moved closer with swift grace. "Obito."

Inoichi took this chance to speak up. "Minato, my team will go ahead and report to Hokage-sama. We can take Kakashi to the hospital," he glanced towards Rin and Obito, "We'll leave these two to you." They couldn't just bring unknown power into Konoha.

"I understand. Leave them to me," Minato agreed solemnly.

Inoichi nodded and looked back to his team. They left the pool of blood before sprinting off the battlefield. Minato watched their retreating figures disappear into the dark forest. He turned back to his remaining students. Obito had gone back to watching over Rin. Minato had noticed his missing forearm.

"I'll carry Rin."

Obito stayed still for a moment before standing back and letting Minato kneel beside her. Minato reached through the chakra cloak without hesitation and carefully lifted Rin. The tailed beast ball stayed suspended in the wound while blood poured into the space underneath the flaming cloak.

"Obito, hold onto my shoulder and don't let go until I say so."

Obito obediently reached out, tightly gripping his sensei's vest. The next second, the three of them flickered from the field.

There was a dim orange glow as Obito opened his eye. The curtains held back the glare of late afternoon as he stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling. It felt like he'd woken up from a very long dream. All he remembered were fragments of green and blue light.

He heard someone shifting and looked to his right. Minato was sitting in a chair by the bed. Seeing that, Obito made to sit up as well. He pushed himself back against the headboard. Day or night, he'd gotten used to thumping against a bare piece of wood. But this time, he sank soundlessly into a pillow. The gentle resistance reminded him—he was home.

"How are you feeling?"

"Alright," he answered automatically. Was he still in a dream? Obito rubbed his face in his hands before looking up. "How's Rin?"

Minato managed a wan smile, the light smudges under his eyes showing his lack of rest. Despite that, it didn't dampen his cheer. "She's doing well. Kushina and Kurama-san checked on her this morning while you were asleep. Kushina wanted to check on you too, but she had to return to the front."

Obito nodded in understanding. He wondered if it was okay for Kushina and Minato to both be in Konoha this morning, but he didn't think about it too deeply. He was glad that Kushina saw Rin directly.

The pressure on his heart eased and his senses wandered through the safehouse. Rin was hard to miss in her current state, even for non-sensors, but the wards of the safehouse would keep her presence from leaking outside. His sensei was obviously here…

"The medics will check on Rin again tonight."

His attention was pulled back once he heard her name, but quickly drifted off again, returning to the small thought that crossed his mind.

"A couple of them will be staying here to watch over both of you. You might've already met them at the hospital…"

Minato said a few more words, but Obito had already stopped listening. "Where's Kakashi?"

Minato looked at Obito with veiled surprise. Obito didn't reveal a trace of emotion either. He just wanted to know.

Minato scratched his cheek with one finger. "He should be resting at home," he set his hand down, "I asked him not to visit until the seal is removed."

"Oh." Obito wasn't sure what he was expecting. He didn't want to see him anyway. "So it's like that…"

Obito no longer heard the whisper of putrid chakra coming from his heart. Although Minato suppressed the black chakra, Obito could still feel it was there. He realized that the black chakra seal had to be Madara's work. He told Minato how he was saved by the Uchiha missing-nin before he went to sleep.

"I know you don't get hungry anymore," Minato interrupted his thoughts, "but your body will probably heal faster if you give it some food. How does curry sound?" He gave a warm smile.

Obito allowed the distraction. "Sensei, are you serious? No ramen in a safehouse for Kushina-nee?"

"I'll let Kushina make that when she comes to visit you," Minato parried, standing up. "Come on."

After Obito washed up, the two settled at the table. Minato told him about Kakashi's report, the Kiri plot to destroy Konoha, and of course, what happened to Rin.

Obito stared at his plate and the spoon left resting on the dish. He looked up, searching for the lie in Minato's face, but of course, there was none. Minato spoke without an ounce of deceit. Would Kakashi lie? Obito laughed at himself once he had the thought. Even if Kakashi wasn't the type to make such a poor lie, how could Minato not catch him if he did?

"That doesn't make any sense," Obito finally refuted with an unwavering calm.

Although nothing changed on the surface, Minato's heart flinched.

After sending Kakashi home and reporting to the Council, Minato met with Inoichi, who told him the results of his cursory field investigation. There were no overt issues. Obito's story matched with what Inoichi reported and there were no memories or thoughts of defection or betrayal. However, Inoichi couldn't access what happened to the Kiri Anbu.

But the results were obvious.

The safehouse air seemed to stagnate.

"Obito—"

"No."

A sharp glint passed his sharingan.

"Rin wouldn't do that and Kakashi wouldn't hurt Rin."

He trained his red eye across the table.

What were shinobi? Death could stare them in the face, and they would gladly accept its scrutiny. It wasn't death that worried Minato. He tapped the table once, twice. The dull taps were too quiet to break the silence.

"You're not wrong," he answered carefully, "The lab still has to confirm it, but we're certain there was a jutsu involved."

Obito's dangerous aura receded. "What jutsu?"

In his explanations, Minato hadn't mentioned one important fact.

Minato looked straight into the sharingan. "Once it's confirmed, we'll let you know."

Obito contemplated that gaze. More had been said in his eyes than his words. Obito was certain his sensei already knew the full circumstances, but he didn't ask after his sensei's thoughts. He trusted that later he'd get his answer.

Minato dropped off the medics that night. He never told Obito how long the analysis at the lab would take, or when he or Kushina would visit again. Obito quickly learned of the medics' penchant for dice games, but he wasn't about to sit around gambling all day!

Obito busied himself with training and rehabilitation. The containment seal didn't prevent him from using his chakra, so he freely explored his sharingan's new powers and discovered kamui's special dimension. Minato paid a special visit to question him worriedly later that day. When he warped away, Obito tripped a seal that alerts Minato if he or Rin suddenly left the safehouse. Obito continued his practice indoors, phasing through people and chairs.

Under the watch of the medics, he soon got used to eating regularly again. His body had no problem adjusting thanks to the cells in his right arm. With eating inevitably came pooping. He didn't think he'd miss it, but he did.

When Obito wasn't training, he'd sit by Rin's bed and watch her chakra flow. He wanted to ask her what happened. She appeared out of his blind spot. Sometimes, when he sat in the bath and looked at his right arm, he'd see the moment it sunk into charring flesh.

He didn't know when things changed, when Rin had become his whole world. She'd been with him before they joined the Academy, when they graduated as genin, and when they were promoted as chuunin. She was a greater constant than the sun; there was never a day without her.

He wanted to become Hokage and save the world. He doesn't remember what world he was talking about before. Now, the world was only one person. The brightest star never allowed to fall.

And then, and then…

Crash!

Obito put too much strength into his punch, taking off the head of the training dummy.

The female medic unhurriedly raised her head from her magazine and surveyed the scene. "Who were you thinking about, Obito? I hope it's not me."

"…Of course not, Ume-nee."

There was only one person who frustrated him even in "death."

Obito really couldn't make heads or tails of him. When that small back defended him during Kannabi Bridge, he thought the worst had passed for them. And then… Rin almost died.

How could that happen?

The tears that dried—what did they mean?

"Odd."

"Even."

The male medic lifted the cup to reveal the dice: a three and a five.

"Whaaaa! How come you keep winning?! This doesn't happen when I play against Sen," the female medic complained as Obito collected her makeshift chips, shuriken.

"How should I know?" Obito whined back. Except for the Legendary Sucker, everyone had a fifty percent chance of winning.

There was a knock at the giant sliding doors and the three paused their game at the dining table. Obito stood up from his chair, watching as seals lit up gold across the door. When the light died down, one side slid open and a flak-jacketed kunoichi with knee-length, coral red hair sashayed through the entrance. She kicked the door closed without looking back.

"Kushina!" The female medic smiled as she went up to her.

"Ume!" Kushina returned with equal fondness and the two old teammates briefly hugged. She grinned towards the male medic following up behind. "Hey, Sen!"

Sen nodded tersely. "He's all yours." He left these words before making his way down the left hall. Ume winked at Kushina before following after her fellow medic.

Kushina looked to the only person left in the room. The smile as she greeted the medics felt stuck on her face. She knew this wasn't like any other day, where she'd finish a mission and drop by the training field to pick on a certain Uchiha rascal, but her emotions were already a mess before she even looked at Obito. And now that she saw him, she didn't know what expression to make.

Obito stood still where he was. Was this guarded stance that thirteen-year-old chuunin? The scars on his right side seemed to tear into herself. The sharingan he'd always brag about was a life-pulsing red. Although Kushina felt it raise Kurama's hackles, her heart finally moved.

"Obito!" She slammed into him and held him fast. Her red hair blocked the rest of his vision.

"Kushina-nee," his voice wobbled as he hugged her back as tight as his right arm would let him.

They stood like that for a long while. When they finally let go, Kushina held him out and sighted a hand above his head. "Hehe, you grew, dattebane! Your hair too." She peeked over at his right. "And you got yourself a new arm."

Obito laughed a little despite himself. "It's a long story."

The air around them grew dense with chakra. "Minato told me." Kushina cracked her knuckles, hair levitating as her features grew more fox-like. "That bastard missing-nin," she snarled. "Once Kurama and I finish with him, the Pure Land won't even recognize him!"

"Hahaha…" Even if Madara was a bastard, Obito thought that was a bit excessive. "Kushina-nee, he's a feeble old man."

Kushina turned to him, hair falling limp and fox features retreating. "Minato didn't tell you?"

Obito straightened his back. His eye became piercingly clear. "Tell me what?"

In her mindscape, a large orange fox lounged on an island, chin resting on the back of his hands and nine tails swishing lazily behind him. Don't say I didn't—

"Shut up, Kurama," she answered aloud. She knew what she was getting into with their marriage, okay? Minato wouldn't be getting away with this…

Kushina held a fist up and cleared her throat, then pointed down at Obito's chest. "Obito, you know that seal tag on your heart?"

"Yeah."

Kushina watched Obito's expression closely. "The labs confirmed Kakashi's report with the Kiri corpses. They all had traces of the black chakra seal. It's likely they were Madara's men."

The words came down like thunder. Why didn't Sensei tell him? But there was no respite.

"That feeble old man had been pretty busy," Kushina huffed. Her expression entirely fell while Obito's heart and mind raced. Fear already told him the words she was about to say.

"Kakashi said the same seal was on Rin's heart."

The room was deathly quiet.

Obito felt ice crawling over his skin. "What does it do?" he finally mustered.

"It's a cursed puppet seal," Kushina began. "Whoever tagged Rin," she took a breath to quiet the flare of ire, "would be able to control her."

Obito grit his teeth, tamping down the wooden spikes poking at the surface of his skin. Madara. The old man tried to kill her. Why would he—

Why did he do it?

Obito blinked, the anger and blood draining from his face. Kushina moved her arm, ready to support him. "Obito, what's wrong?"

"You're always saying rin rin rin in your sleep. Are you looking for a bell?" Zetsu's voice resurfaced.

"Sometimes you say baka baka baka too. And 'bakakashi.' What's a 'bakakashi'?" Guruguru chimed in.

"Kushina-nee."

"Then we'll ask you about Rin and stupid Kakashi later."

Wood speared out of his right hand.

"Obito!" Kushina grabbed for his arm, but it went through. Her eyes widened in shock. While caught off guard, he broke the stake from his palm and drove it towards his heart.

A moment later, the tap of wood hitting the floor echoed in the room. Obito's hand was shaking out of the paralysis, his breaths dragging air into his lungs.

"Idiot!" Kushina grabbed his arms and jolted him with one firm shake. "What if you'd actually hurt yourself?!"

"Kushina-nee… Guruguru, Zetsu, Madara…" He slowly reached for her vest, pale fingers twisting into it. His tears already couldn't stop.

The reality dug into his heart.

"I told them about Rin and Kakashi!"

Kushina relaxed her grip on the boy's arms. "Obito."

"I said I would go back to them. I said I was going to leave."

"I was just outside! Rin and stupid Kakashi are in big trouble!"

"I was so stupid—!"

"Obito!"

"Kushina-nee!" his voice broke and he lowered himself to the floor, hiccoughed sobs shuddering his body. Kushina went with him, alighting like a leaf on water as she sat down.

She pulled him into another hug and stroked his soft hair. She held him for a while, muffled sobs and a patch of dampness growing on her vest.

"Rin and Kakashi are here, Obito. They're safe, so you don't have to cry anymore."

Her voice hummed through her chest as it reached his ear. He took in a few shaky breaths. "But I, I could have, killed them. They, they could have…" He forcibly swallowed down the last word.

"Obito, you don't have to protect them alone." She drew back. The cool air worked to sober him. He gradually sat up, sniffled, and wiped at his eye. "Obito, we're shinobi. Rin and Kakashi are shinobi. We'll always face danger, and there may come a time when we can't overcome the danger we face."

He put his hand down. "But Kushina-nee, it was because I—"

"Obito," she stamped down. "Have you forgotten Minato's words?"

His mind didn't have time to focus on the first question when she threw out the second one.

"What's the most important thing to a shinobi?"

Obito sat, stunned by the question.

"You have your part in the team, and Rin and Kakashi have theirs. Minato, myself, and everyone in Konoha has their part. The village let a missing-nin escape," Kushina rose from her spot, "and that missing-nin ended up saving you. He's still a bastard, but now you're back home, here, with us." She extended her hand out to him. Her cascading red hair lit up her smile.

"Where one falls short, your team will pick up!"

Obito stared up at her. He looked back down at the proffered hand and grabbed it firmly, pulling himself to his feet. "Okay, I get it."

"Good!" She slapped his back, giving him a few more "friendly" pats. "Don't. Try. To pull. Any. Shit. Like. Stabbing. Yourself. Again!"

"I won't! Kushina-nee! It hurts!"

She huffed. "So you know!"

He'd just finished crying when he felt the prick of tears again.

Kushina mercifully stopped and stretched her arms. "Anyway, I didn't come here to beat you up and make you cry. Kurama and I are here to get rid of that stupid seal! But, not gonna lie," Kushina felt a bit guilty looking at her teary-eyed little bro, "it'll probably feel like your insides are being set on fire."

At one time, Obito might've been afraid of the pain. But for a person who was crushed by a boulder, underwent un-anesthetized eye surgery, and almost lost his friend—the pain from the first two couldn't hold a candle to the third. "Fire? Fire's an Uchiha's best friend! I've got this."

Kushina laughed. Gold chakra whipped around her entire body and a shining chakra cloak snapped into place. Fox ears flickered on her head and her pupils turned into vertical slits. "Then let's get that shitty chakra out of you!"

Obito lay on the floor with Kushina and Ume sitting on either side of him.

"Are you sure we can't numb him?" Ume worried. Kushina asked her to monitor Obito, but she hadn't asked for anything else.

Kushina held her hands in a ram seal, cloaked hair flowing out behind her. "Obito should stay awake as long as possible. His seal might react differently from the samples Minato brought me from the lab. If it has any unknown effects, it'd be better to be awake. Ready, Obito?"

"Ready!"

A glowing claw from her hair landed on his belly and a vermillion chakra shroud spread from the palm, bubbling over him. Obito relaxed into the warm chakra blanket, feeling the wash of it as it entered and circulated through his network. Minato's seal burned away and Obito felt his chest tighten. Once the squeezing sensation ended, his chest felt lighter. That's when the burning started.

Pin pricks became pincers biting everywhere, like he'd put on a suit filled with fire ants. His head was spared, but he didn't know whether that made him feel worse or not. He was already sweating before he started to feel the searing heat from the chakra. And when it fully engulfed him… Kushina wasn't lying. Obito conked out, frothing at the mouth after a few minutes of Kurama's chakra forced into his extremities.

"We're not killing him, right?" Kushina checked with Ume and Kurama.

"He's alright, just fainted," Ume confirmed after performing a sweep with medical chakra.

My chakra's only burning up the oily bastard's, Kurama reported. It's pretty nasty how it's hooked into his muscles. Kurama fell silent in thought.

Noticing the stir of his feelings, Kushina looked back in her mindscape. "What is it?"

Kurama relaxed his glare to look down at his host. "The black chakra—it isn't Madara's. I would have recognized it if it was his." His lips pulled back, fangs bared at a memory. He didn't get controlled by the rogue-nin's sharingan just to forget.

Kushina pat the fur on his arm, sending her own chakra to soothe her friend's bubbling anger. Don't worry. She returned her attention outside. Ume had fixed up Obito and was monitoring him dutifully. We'll make sure he's taken care of once and for all.

And whoever else was involved, they better watch their back.

When Obito came to, he found himself lying in bed. He thought he had it bad in the cave—he couldn't even lift a finger now. Except for his face, every single muscle was sore. It even hurt to think about moving. Still, he forced himself to look to the side, sensing Kushina was there.

"The black chakra's all gone!" she happily announced from her seat by the bed. When he continued to struggle to turn his head, she couldn't help speaking up. "Hey, hey, it's too soon to injure yourself again. Don't push it."

Obito exhaled all at once like he'd put down a large weight. He'd tilted his head enough to see Kushina. He laid still to catch his breath. Testing his voice, he found he could talk with no problem. "Thanks, Kushina-nee. Kurama."

Kushina smiled. "Just treat us to some ramen later, then we'll call it even!" she grinned.

Obito put on his best puppy act. "But Kushina-nee, wasn't this done out of the goodness of your heart?"

"Can't you take an excuse to get ramen when you see one?!"

He didn't seem to notice. "Kushina-nee."

"Hm? What is it, Obito?"

"…Could you cut my hair?"

Kushina examined her work in the mirror, holding her chin thoughtfully. "It might've been better if you waited to see Hasami-baachan…"

"No, this is good." It really didn't look bad. Short and choppy, just like before. He shook his head slowly, feeling nothing brushing his back or weighing down his head.

Kushina ruffled his hair to test it for herself and snickered. "I like it like this too!"

Obito stared at his reflection in the mirror. He felt a lot more like himself.

There was a small ceremony in the village center to welcome Obito back. News of a returning war hero boosted the morale of the village for the winter. The change of weather strained the war efforts on all fronts, choking out most of the conflicts, but that didn't mean Konoha could let her guard down.

Despite being reinstated, Obito wasn't enlisted to active duty immediately. He left the village square after greeting all the excited wrinkled smiles he could. Most of the Uchiha who attended came and left just as quietly. A few off-duty classmates had gone to say hi. A spiky head of silver hair had been absent.

The snow crunched under his new sandals and he let out a fog of breath as he adjusted his scarf. He looked up at the grey sky and towering apartments of Konoha covered with a blanket of snow. It felt like yesterday that it was all green.

Obito padded down the roads and ignored the glances some of the villagers stole. Minato arranged for him to get his old apartment back. Vacancies popped up more than renters during the war. He paused in front of the old landlady's door and knocked. For a second, he wondered if she was still living here. It didn't take long for the door to creak open.

He smiled, breaking into a grin. "Kaname-baachan!"

Maybe it was her failing eyesight that let her smile at him as if nothing had changed. "Obito," she warbled happily. "Come in, come in!"

The two sat at a low, heated table with steaming cups of tea. "Forgive me, Obito. The apartment hasn't been cleaned yet."

"It's okay, Kaname-baachan," he quickly reassured her. With fewer tenants and more resources siphoned to the war, the cost of a D-rank might be more than she could afford now. "I haven't been taking missions for a while. My body could use a workout."

The crow's feet at the corners of her eyes crinkled with her smile. She reached for a decorated tin in the center of the table and popped the cover off. It was filled with a variety of hard candy. "Here, have some, have some!"

After chatting a bit and helping himself to a piece of candy, Obito left to clean up his old home.

He made his way up to the second floor, passed the neighboring unit and came to a stop in front of his old apartment. He stood outside the door, simply staring at it for some time. Finally, he opened it. "I'm back," he greeted the house. Except for a thin layer of dust, the plain living room was hardly different from before. Obito stepped in and set down the cleaning supplies he'd borrowed, then closed the door.

At the yawning gates of Konoha, a team arrived to check in. The current gatekeepers diligently verified their identification and waved them through. The shinobi walked down the main road leading up to Hokage tower. Despite the war and the cold weather, villagers bustled around the streets. It didn't differ from most days, but compared to the quiet air when they departed, the village was filled with cheer.

"Was there a festival around this time?"

"Maybe everyone's getting ready for Christmas."

"Isn't that still weeks away?"

The team members chatted with each other while following their jounin leader, who seemed to be off in his own world. Once they arrived at the mission desk, the team quickly submitted their report before heading their separate ways.

When the jounin leader finally returned from his thoughts, he found himself at a snow-dusted memorial stone. Today, the frost on the memorial made one spot stand out even more. His heart rate sped up as he knelt down and ran his fingers across the smooth surface where Obito's name used to be.

"Was that today?"

He remained still for a moment before standing up and flickering away from the memorial grounds.

TMIT jutsu:
Konoha-style Harvest Moon Dance (Konoha-ryuu – Meigestu no Mai): A sword technique used to cut down large numbers of enemy in quick succession.

Corpse Sealing Method (Fuushi Houin): Most ninja corpses aren't worth collecting, but safe transport of deceased bloodline limit users and bodies carrying village secrets is a must. Each village has their own variant of this technique.

A/N: Well, they're finally meeting next chapter c: