DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY ASSOCIATED CHARACTERS

Another update here. I know these are shorter than normal, but I didn't exactly want to combine them, as the two vibes are completely different with regards to the last chapter and this chapter. That being said, I hope you all enjoy, drop me a review, feedback really helps when it comes to motivation and so forth.

Chapter 25 - Pain and Love

Sasuke could still hear the distant rumbles caused by combat between shinobi, likely from the elite Jonin squad that had been assigned to act as rear guard, but the Uchiha heir still thought it was quiet. Almost too quiet. After leaving Naruto and Guy-sensei, he'd begun his journey back to the staging area when he saw Itachi's crow get essentially knocked out of the sky. To top that off, mere moments later, what Sasuke assumed were two Susano'o appeared out of thin air.

One he knew to be his sensei's, as the sky blue coloring reminded Sasuke of the day of the preliminary matches, when he'd channeled it out of anger after Sakura's injury. Yet the other, a vibrant green, was unknown to him. If Sasuke hadn't known better, he'd say it was Itachi's, but there was no way that Itachi and Obito would be warring with one another while a village-threatening battle raged around them.

What Sasuke did realize was that this meant that one of their adversaries possessed the awesome power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, and that Obito was being pushed to his limit while fighting him. Sasuke had never seen the full extent of Obito's power, but he could feel the killer intent from nearly a mile away.

Not only that, but then a third, blood red Susano'o materialized on another rooftop, not far from Sasuke's location. The site was close to where Itachi had fallen from his crow, so Sasuke could only assume that this third Susano'o belonged to his brother. And if that were the case, then Itachi would have to be fighting a truly fearsome opponent in order to use the full extent of the Mangekyo's power.

Deciding that he was needed in the fight, Sasuke consciously ignored Naruto and Guy-sensei's advice, moving to where he saw Itachi's Susano'o. The power radiating off of it was immense, and several buildings had already crumbled around it.

Sasuke scrambled up one of the piles of rubble, the dust coating his clothes as he disturbed it. As he crested the top, he smacked his palms together to clean them, setting his eyes on the scene as he did so. What he saw made his breathing speed up and eyes widen.

Itachi stood in the center of his Susano'o's torso, but he didn't look the strong, reliable figure that Sasuke knew him to be. He was half hunched over with pain, his face covered in a steady stream of blood that flowed from his eyes, as well as a coating that covered his chin and ran down his neck, originating from his mouth.

His opponent, conversely, looked fresh as a daisy, a lackadaisical smirk on his face, as if he were playing with a pet. This was the Snake Sannin, the legendary rogue shinobi, Orochimaru. His very movements were smooth and calculated, narrowed eyes and pointed teeth contributing to the apt comparison of him being a literal snake.

Even as Sasuke studied him, the Sannin began to speak. "My, those eyes take quite the toll on your body, don't they, my dear Itachi? Not to worry, once I am in possession of your body, we will remedy that with the cells of the First Hokage. I'm pleased to say that the man had quite the constitution."

Sasuke furrowed his brow, confusion radiating off of him as he crouched behind a pile of shattered shingles to observe. What did Orochimaru mean by taking possession of Itachi's body? Did he mean to kidnap him and brainwash him? Or was he referring to something more sinister?

"You'll never have this body, Orochimaru. At least not alive. And I don't plan on dying just yet," Itachi responded, the pain evident in his voice.

Orochimaru looked giddy at that. "Oh, how mistaken you are, dear Itachi. I suppose I shouldn't toy with my food any longer. I'll need something a little more potent to capture you."

As the snake user finished, he seemed to quite literally shed his skin. As his outer layer seemed to literally melt away, Sasuke watched it transform from goo to what could only be described as snakeskin. Once this was done, the snakes began to grow and mold together, becoming nearly as thick as a great tree trunk, with snow white scales for bark. The head began to transform as well, stil resembling Orochimaru's human head, only with massive teeth, a snake's tongue, and an unhinged jaw. The hair on top was also more wild than before, as if Orochimaru had transformed into a feral beast.

Sasuke felt as if his hair were going to stand on end as the massive snake coiled up and readied itself to strike. It darted forwards, deceptively fast for something its size. It wrapped its tail end around Itachi's Susano'o's right two arms, effectively immobilizing the sword that rested there, as well as the gourd. Simultaneously, the rest of Orochimaru wrapped around the torso and left arm, effectively constricting the Susano'o. It was then that orochimaru began to tighten himself, putting as much pressure as possible on the armor that protected Itachi.

After what seemed like an eternity of immobilization, cracks began to appear in the chest of the Susano'o. The pressure was immense, and the spectral armor was finally caving under it. Seeing the first chunk fall away, Itachi acted, bringing his hand to his mouth and spewing a massive fireball that scorched the entire section of Orochimaru's body in front of him. The snake screamed in pain, loosening its grip just enough for the left arm of the Susano'o to pop free. The four armed warrior bashed Orochimaru across the face with the Yata Mirror twice, forcing the snake to uncoil itself.

Orochimaru retreated nearly a dozen meters, rearing up high into the air and roaring at Itachi with his unhinged jaw. But he didn't get the chance to finish, as the Totsuka Blade darted forwards, quicker than expected, and pierced the roof of Orochimaru's mouth. The massive snake screamed in pain, even as it began to be sucked into the gourd underneath, where it was to be sealed away.

Sasuke broke into a wide smile once the sealing was complete, and stepped out from his hiding place. "Itachi!" he called.

From within the Susano'o, Itachi's head snapped to the side, his bleeding eyes taking in the form of his little brother. "Sasuke? What are you-"

The Uchiha clan head didn't get to finish his question as he just managed to catch a gleaming flash out of the corner of his eye. Before he could react, Itachi looked down, seeing the sword of Kusanagi embedded in his chest. The blade had come through the small chink in the Susano'o armor that Orochimaru had created with his constriction. Blood began to flow freely, soaking the insides of his shirt as he fell to one knee, the Susano'o fading around him.

Sasuke's eyes instantly began to burn as he sprinted as fast as he could, managing to catch his brother before he faceplanted on the concrete roof. "Itachi! No! Don't go! You have to stay with me, please! You're all I have left, please!"

As Sasuke pled with his mortally wounded brother, cackling began to fill his ears as Orochimaru, in human form, appeared from behind another pile of rubble. "The only thing that can save him is me, little Uchiha. You have a choice now. Either give him up to me, and I will save his life, or you can let him die. Your choice," the Sannin grinned.

"A…shadow clo…clone," Itachi managed to breathe out before a fit of intense coughing covered the front of Sasuke's shirt with blood. The young Uchiha heir looked between his dying brother and the man who had caused the injury, hatred welling up for the Sannin, but also an intense need to get his brother help.

Sasuke began to hyperventilate, the burning in his eyes now accompanied by an intense itching. He moved his fingers to scratch at his eyelids, but they came away bloody. Before Sasuke could even respond to the snake Sannin, he was suddenly overcome with intense exhaustion, yet he felt more powerful than he had in a long time. He collapsed on top of his brother's body, his vision beginning to fade.

The last thing he remembered seeing was a flash of yellow before he lost consciousness.

Naruto couldn't feel his legs. It would have been a strange sensation if it weren't accompanied by the most intense pain he'd ever felt, stemming from his lower back. Naruto grunted, forcing tears back at the pain, refusing to cry since the water would obscure his vision.

Kabuto stood over him, pushing his glasses back with two fingers. "In case it wasn't obvious, you can no longer feel your legs. I've lacerated your spinal cord, though I didn't sever it completely. That would have killed you in a matter of moments, and Lord Orochimaru needs you alive at the moment."

Naruto could do nothing but manage to roll himself over, pushing behind him with his hands to force his torso to an upright position, gritting his teeth against the pain. "What's stopping me from killing myself to keep you from capturing me?" he threatened.

Kabuto laughed at that, glancing over to where Guy was still preoccupied with Zabuza. "We both know you wouldn't do that, so don't make empty threats, Naruto. People tend to stop believing anything you say when you do. Besides, it's not like you'll even need your legs for what Lord Orochimaru has planned for you."

As the pair of them spoke, Guy was beginning to get desperate. He was a few seconds away from opening the Seventh Gate of Shock before his opponent suddenly spoke.

"The kid needs help," Zabuza said quietly, being careful to keep out of Kabuto's earshot.

Guy narrowed his eyes. "I know that, which is why I need to defeat you so I can go do just that."

Zabuza hefted the Executioner's Blade into a reverse grip. "Here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna lunge at you, and you're gonna bat the blade aside. Give me a hard cross on the temple and I'll go down like a sack of rice. Then you can help the kid," the Swordsman said in his gravelly voice.

Across from him, Guy stiffened, genuinely confused as to why this rogue shinobi was seemingly willing to help him. "Why would you allow that to happen?" he asked suspiciously.

Zabuza looked over Guy's shoulder, still seeing Kabuto preoccupied with his gloating to Naruto. "Can't say. Once I'm unconscious, put me in a cell and send Obito Uchiha. I'll only talk to him."

"But why-"

"Shut the hell up and do it already before that asshole runs off with the kid," Zabuza snapped. Then, without giving Guy time to think, the Swordsman dashed forwards, sweeping the Executioner's Blade in a low arc that would have taken Guy's legs off had he not jumped over it. While in the air, the taijutsu user snapped his leg out, knocking the blade away from Zabuza before twisting in midair, bringing the heel of his other foot across Zabuza's temple. The Swordsman dropped like a ragdoll.

He grabbed the unconscious man by the back of his sleeveless black shirt and threw him over one shoulder before turning and lunging towards Kabuto and Naruto. He knocked Kabuto aside with a Leaf Hurricane that sent him through the concrete wall of a nearby shop before grabbing Naruto and throwing him over his other shoulder.

As Guy ran, he felt Naruto go limp as the adrenaline left him, and only the pain was left, which was now excruciating. The boy moaned and grunted and swore before the pain became too much and he slipped into unconsciousness. Guy's immediate destination was the medical tent at the staging area, where he knew Rin would be. He only hoped that the medical nin had the knowledge needed to save Naruto's legs and heal his spine.

After running for a few long minutes, he became aware of a large group of shinobi approaching him. Glancing over Naruto on his right shoulder, he breathed a small sigh of relief as he saw Asume flanked by Kurenai, Anko, and the rest of the shinobi assigned to hold the rear guard. Another shinobi that Guy recognized as the Jonin sensei of the Kumo team was also with them, flanked by an injured Izumo and Kotetsu.

"Guy! Who's that?" Asuma called.

Guy slowed to a halt and dumped the unconscious swordsman onto the dirt road. "Zabuza Momochi. Take him to a cell, the rest of you, come with me, we have to get back to the staging area."

"Is that…is that Naruto?" Kurenai asked tentatively.

Guy nodded, a solemn look crossing his features as he turned and began to run again. "We have to get him to the medical tent as soon as possible. He's got a lacerated spinal cord, but Rin should be able to help him if we catch her in time."

Moments later, Guy came barreling into the staging area, not slowing his pace until he was inside the medical tent. What he saw brought pain to his heart, and the sting of tears to his eyes. The tent was completely full, every conceivable bedroll or cot occupied by either a body or a wounded shinobi. The place was so busy that the medical personnel had yet to even notice Guy.

Desperation once again creeping into his mind, Guy grabbed the nearest medical kunoichi and spun her around, pulling Naruto off of his shoulder as he did so. "This is Naruto Uzumaki, Lord Yondaime's son. He has a lacerated spinal cord and has lost the use of his legs. He needs immediate medical attention."

The kunoichi scanned Naruto with her eyes before looking up at Guy apologetically. "I'm sorry, but his injury is not life threatening, and we have others that have been waiting far longer with far more significant injuries. He'll have to wait."

"No, you don't understand," Guy began, put he was silenced by a raised hand from the kunoichi.

"I understand perfectly, there's just nothing I can do for him right now. Ever since Rin left, this place has been chaos," the kunoichi explained before turning away.

Guy reached forward and stopped her with a hand on the shoulder. "What do you mean Rin isn't here?"

The kunoichi turned her head to look at him. "She left a while ago and we haven't seen her since. Now if you'll excuse me."

She brushed Guy's hand off of her and returned to a patient that had blood spurting from a stump where his leg used to be. Guy averted his eyes and cradled Naruto against his chest. He parted the tent flaps and made his way back outside, where he found Kurenai and Anko speaking to one another.

Guy said nothing, grabbing a nearby sack of rice and laying it on the ground against the base of the Hokage's tower before placing Naruto's head on it. If anything else, at least the boy could rest. If his spine could be fixed, he was going to have a long recovery period. Just as he turned around, a flash of yellow alerted everyone to the sudden appearance of their Hokage, who was accompanied by the Raikage, as well as Lord Sandaime.

While the Sandaime was carrying Sasuke Uchiha, Minato was carrying Itachi in his arms, a sword pierced straight through the clan head's chest. Blood was dripping off of the bloody point and spattering on the dirt underneath them. Minato ducked into the medical tent without a word, emerging a few minutes later with a rag that he tried to wipe the blood off of his hands with, Itachi nowhere to be seen, having been left in the care of the medical nin. His injury was certainly one that would be tended to straight away.

Noticing Guy and his group, Minato approached them, concern for his son sprouting across all of his features. He hurried over, dropping to both knees next to the boy, and placing his ear over Naruto's chest.

"He's alive," Guy said quietly. "But it's bad."

Minato straightened to a standing position, accepting the information without a word. The assembled shinobi watched him go through the stages of grief in a matter of seconds. During his silence, the Sandaime placed Sasuke next to Naruto on the ground, placing his head on the other side of the sack. The young boy's face was covered with dried blood that seemed to stem from his eyes.

Seeing this, Minato snapped his head towards Anko. "Escort the Raikage to the interrogation division and place the Kazekage and his son in separate cells," he ordered.

Anko obeyed without a word, approaching the pair of shinobi and leaving with them moments later. Minato turned back to Guy, mouth hardening into a line before asking his next question. "What's the status?"

Guy shook his head. "I have no clue. I was occupied away from the front line, and have only just come out of the medical tent myself. They said they couldn't help Naruto since his injury wasn't life threatening at the moment."

Minato raised a hand, halting Guy. The more he heard about his son's condition, the angrier he would get. That would leave him unable to perform his duties to the village. "Who knows, then?"

"I do, Lord Yondaime," a voice said to their left. The pair turned to see Iruka, who bowed his head slightly before continuing. "I've been organizing our civilian evacuations, but a group of our vanguard have just returned," the sensei pointed towards Genma, Raido, and Aoba. The trio looked extremely exhausted, likely owing to their participation in the frontline combat from the start of the battle. Evidently, they'd split off from the rear guard to do a bit of scouting.

"They say that the Oto shinobi have all disappeared, but the Suna shinobi have begun to set up a camp about five miles into the forest. They originally assumed that this was to continue the siege on us, but now that I see you've captured their Kazekage, I would wager they are waiting to hear word of his fate before they make the journey home," Iruka explained.

"Orochimaru has fled, which would mean that all of the Oto shinobi have as well. As for Suna," Minato sighed. The battle had taken the majority of the day, lasting from the late morning. As a result, the sun was beginning to set, and it cast long, solemn shadows across the ground. "Thank you, Iruka. Set up recurring patrols so that we will have prior warning if they choose to attack again," he said quietly.

"Already done, Lord Hokage," Iruka said with a bow before taking his leave.

Minato pressed a hand to the red concrete of the Hokage's tower and used it to slowly lower himself into a seated position beside Naruto. He stretched his legs out in front of him and pressed his back to the wall, placing a hand in his son's hair.

"Let me know if anything changes, or if Rin and Obito turn up."

Guy nodded, leaving the Hokage to his solitude. With no news of Obito or Rin, Guy began to fear the worst. After all, Kakashi had shown himself, and his only interests seemed to be towards killing his two former teammates, who had yet to be found.

He needed to find them, and soon.

After all the years of imagining their next meeting in his head, this is not how Obito would have imagined his encounter with Kakashi to go. Most of his thought processes ended with Kakashi dead on the ground in a pool of his own blood. They did not include the ability to turn Rin against him, nevermind that he'd never imagined that she would have been there in the first place.

Not only that, but the irony continued to bite him in the ass the longer that he thought about it. Here Rin was, doing the one thing that Obito had always accused her of doing: defending Kakashi. Only this time, she wasn't in her right mind, and had no control over herself. If that wasn't evidence enough, then the kunai that was repetitively aimed in Obito's direction was.

Rin hadn't stopped ever since Kakashi hit her with the Kotoamatsukami. She hadn't stopped when Obito brought them to the Kamui dimension, and she hadn't even stopped to so much as breathe since they arrived. Obito had spent the last several minutes ducking, dodging, and blocking Rin's attempts to murder him, as it was impossible for him to be intangible in the Kamui dimension.

Uncharacteristically of him, he hadn't stopped talking to Rin since she was hit with the genjutsu. He continued to call her name, trying to get her to snap out of whatever trance that she'd been placed under. He tried to remind her of things that happened in their childhood, but Obito didn't so much as see a change of emotion in her eyes at any of them. All that was left was ruthless determination. No hatred was present in her eyes, as it seems not even the Kotoamatsukami could artificially implant that. What it did do, evidently, was create an uncontrollable desire to fulfill one's instructions. All of this flooded through Obito's brain as he continued his avoidance of Rin's attacks.

If Obito weren't so busy trying not to die, he would have thought that this was somewhat artistic, like a continuous dance where the two never touched. The Uchiha seemed to have his hands tied, as he would never hurt Rin, and he certainly wouldn't kill her. Yet every fiber of his being was telling him that as long as she were under the influence of this genjutsu, she would never stop trying to murder him. She hadn't even spoken a word while under the influence of the Kotoamatsukami.

While Obito dipped and dodged, his brain whirling, trying to find a solution, his brain seemed to call back to a conversation that they'd had some time ago.

"You wanna know why I never deactivate the sharingan? Because the only emotion that it ever displays is anger."

"Show me your eyes, Obito."

Obito vaulted over Rin and leapt backwards, up to the top of a rectangular wall, where he gained a brief respite from Rin's attacks. It was there that he wondered why that conversation was the one that he recalled. It was as if he were trying to tell himself to show Rin his eyes, his true eyes, in hopes that they would free her from the Kotoamatsukami.

But Obito found himself shaking his own head. All these years of despising her presence, and he was really considering baring the most private thing that Obito had aside from what lay underneath his clothes? He kept telling himself no, yet the more he thought about it, the more that it sounded like a plan worth trying. At the very least, if it didn't work, she wouldn't have anyone to tell, since he would leave her here until he could find a solution.

Whatever reservations Obito had were knocked out of his head as Rin landed a hard right cross, catching him in thought. The punch knocked Obito backwards off of the rectangular wall, sending him down to a larger square space on the other side. Rin leapt down to follow, but Obito stuck out his leg while he was on the ground, landing a kick to her midsection that sent her back into the wall he;d just fallen off of.

Without giving her time to recover, Obito shot forward like an arrow, grabbing her arm and wrenching the kunai from her grasp, tossing it behind him. She countered with her left, cracking him across the cheek as he tried to restrain her. Finally, he grabbed both of her wrists and slammed them against the wall above her, so that the pair were standing eye to eye, faces only a mere three inches apart.

They stood there, both breathing heavily for a moment before Rin began to struggle against him. But the Uchiha was too strong for her, keeping her arms secure above her, and he used his weight to keep her body pressed against the wall. When he was confident that she couldn't get away, Obito closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. He felt her continue to try to lunge at him, but he ignored her.

Instead, Obito searched within himself for the desire to forgive Rin, because if he didn't, he would resent himself for revealing something so personal to her without repairing their relationship first. Then, he realized something. Their relationship had already begun repairing itself for some months now, ever since that fateful night when Rin showed up on his doorstep. Despite their arguments and Obito's many attempts to push her away, it was her refusal to leave that convinced Obito. Perhaps that was why he'd found himself thinking of her more and more lately.

Perhaps that was why….Obito's breath hitched as he realized it.

Perhaps that was why he loved her.

Obito gave the slightest of smiles as he opened his eyes.

Rage.

All Rin felt was rage. She couldn't even think, it was so blinding. Her train of thought was completely jumbled, and she found herself unable to form complete thoughts. It was as if someone were broadcasting a signal in her head that repeated a kill order every half second.

The man in front of her, she knew to be Obito, because that was what her master had called him. She knew that it was her duty to kill this man, and she wanted nothing more than to do that. Yet she found it a nearly impossible task, as the man was faster, stronger, and more agile than her. She had yet to land a single blow on him, at least until she caught him lost in thought when he perched himself on top of the wall.

Her anger only intensified, though, when she was pressed against said wall, her hands restrained above her head, and her body blocked with his. She struggled with all of her might, growing angrier by the second, her rage reaching its zenith when the man in front of her closed his eyes. He didn't even take her seriously enough o keep them open in a fight.

Yet, a mere few seconds later, her rage faded in an instant. Anger turned to curiosity, and her struggling ceased instantaneously. Her mind cleared as if a curtain had been lifted from in front of it. Suddenly, she remembered what had happened. She remembered Obito's fight with Kakashi, and she remembered the moment that her vision suddenly became clouded.

But she forgot all of that, as she lost herself in the black sea of pain and hurt that were Obito's eyes. She'd never seen such pain so evident in a person's eyes before. It made sense, though, as Obito was never adept at hiding his emotions, which was exactly why he never deactivated the sharingan.

Rin's eyes traveled downwards, spying the slight smile that Obito was giving her, the first real display of happiness that she'd seen from him on over fifteen years. It took her back to simpler times, when they were Genin together, laughing at one of his jokes while on break from training. It made her feel young again as she was finally catching glimpses of the old Obito. He was still in there, he was just buried under a mountain of guilt, pain, anger, and experience.

Then, her eyes widened and she inhaled sharply at Obito's next words.

"I love you, Rin. Come back to me, please."

The words broke her heart, then mended it before she even realized that it was broken. She gave a soft smile, then leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

"I've been back for a while, Obito. I love you, too."