When Rin woke, she was too tired to groan. Every part of her ached. Her heartbeat hurt her ears, and an itch was right under her skin, spread along her whole body. The room was low-lit, and still, her eyes ached as she opened them.
She was in a tent, resting on a bundle of clothes. In the corner, she saw a small table of herbs. Turmeric. Gingko. Aloe. Calendula.
"Careful," a man's voice admonished. A shard of light cut through Rin's eyes as the flap opened. She sat up, regretting the movement immediately. "It's not every day you burn out your chakra coils."
Her eyes popped. Burn them out? She had seen burnt chakra coils in Konoha's hospital—shinobi who were pushed far past the point of chakra exhaustion and strain. It didn't happen often, surprisingly—chakra exhaustion was enough to make most shinobi pass out before completely draining their chakra.
But she had Isobu. She thought she could burn off more chakra but still use the same jutsus she used in the past.
You aren't used to Isobu's chakra, Ashura said. Rin could see him in her mind's eye, turned away from her. You refused to listen to me. Underneath the sullen tone, Rin could feel his concern.
"—with you?"
Rin blinked, and focused on the man. Milky white eyes stared at her with odd intensity, like he was looking beyond her skin. Were it not for their opacity, Rin might have mistaken him for a Hyuuga elder. Long grey hair drifted past his shoulders.
"I'm sorry—"
"Which one do you have with you?"
She frowned. "Excuse me?"
For a moment, the man stared at her, and the back of Rin's neck prickled. He couldn't know about Ashura and Isobu. He couldn't read minds, could he?
He must have seen the panic on her face, because he snorted. "I could sense you as soon as you walked into the village. Very few people have chakra that burns like yours."
Rin went very still.
I thought you said you sealed Isobu's chakra!
Ashura turned around in her mind's eye. I can't seal it entirely, but enough so most won't sense it. The man must be a sensor.
"I waited. I knew they would come to me eventually. They always do." He moved over to the herbs, and with wizened hands, picked a few sprigs from a jar. Yarrow, one of the types her mother used to bring home from the flower shop. "They brought you in here after you pulled little Kenji up from that building, saying you needed help. Your skin would heal and blister, over and over. But your body healed, far faster than any I've ever seen. Your chakra has a monstrous aura."
Rin bared her teeth. She wasn't sure if it was Isobu's anger or her own. The man didn't look fazed.
"Which one?"
"Six," she answered.
He looked at her, and if Rin didn't know better, she would say the man was amused. "Right chakra nature, wrong village. Try again."
Wrong village?
You speak like a Konoha shinobi. Ashura interrupted. We'll need to mask your voice.
She kept her mouth shut.
"You know, the Konoha shinobi began tearing through the tents, looking for a black-haired girl." He stuck sprigs of herbs in a small pack. "Accused of corpse-robbing, of all things. Luckily, you didn't match her description. At least, not right now."
Rin's eyes widened, and she grabbed her hair. Short, dark brown strands fell through her fingers.
What happened? She asked Ashura.
I cannot maintain your henge if you're unconscious.
The words bounced around her skull. She stared up at the man, horrified.
"Did they see me?" Rin breathed.
Had it been a shinobi from a different cohort, it may not have mattered. But it had been Ibiki. He would have recognized her immediately. She could imagine it, Ibiki's pale face, staring at her like she was one of Grandma Masae's living ghosts.
The man let out a little laugh through his nose. "After I gave them a good lashing for nearly waking up my sick granddaughter, they left." He looked at her meaningfully.
Rin sagged back into the makeshift bed, exhausted.
Pale eyes watched her silently. Then, "I felt a shockwave of chakra not long ago, when one of the tailed beasts had perished. I never imagined it would be able to reform so quickly. Let alone be sealed into a Konoha shinobi without her village symbol."
Just how far could this man sense? He ignored her shock as he sat back on a small stool. "Did you know the last holder?" he asked.
"No."
His brow shot up. "Interesting. Why seal someone with such obvious chakra? An intimidation tactic?"
Rin glanced down. Her aura was gone. Her eyes shot up to the man, heart racing.
He gestured to his arm. With a grunt, she lifted her arm from under the blanket. The sealing paper she stole had been wrapped around her arm. Red ink lined her bicep like a dance. With her lifetime spread across two timelines, her lessons with Kushina occurred decades ago, and faded with time. All she knew was the even arrays looked like the basis of a containment seal.
Solid work, Ashura said, but his accent had changed, sounding more like Kushina. Like Mikazuki, Rin thought. We just need to make a few adjustments.
The man looked proud. "Can't remember the last time the village had ink. Blood works just as well."
"Thank you for the sealing work, sir—"
"Fuyuki."
"Fuyuki-san." Rin corrected. "How long have I been unconscious?"
"A week." Her eyes bugged. She shot up, and her entire body protested the motion. A week. Obito would attack the Akatsuki in less than two months. She didn't have a week to waste. The man clucked at her, fussing until she lay back down.
"Try not to do too many chakra-draining moves and the internal burns should clear up well on their own." Rin nodded her head, knowing she would not follow his directions if need be. A loud sigh echoed in her head.
"What do I owe you?" Rin had nothing to give.
"You saved Kenji," Fuyuki replied, shrugging. He stared at her for a moment, silent, then, "Jinchuriki often lead a violent, demanding life. A life of loneliness. It's not a fate I would wish on my worst enemy."
She thought of Naruto, doing his best to navigate a village that had turned its back on him. His friend Gaara, hated by all, doing his best to fit the image of the monster his village believed him to be. The girl from Taki, Fu, would be the first to die from Obito's plan. Her time with Isobu had been so short, there hadn't been time to think of the ramifications of being sealed.
But history didn't have to repeat. "He…he's not a burden, he's my friend." She searched for the right words. "He saved my life." Rin meant it. Without Isobu, she would have died before she even had the chance to save anyone. Isobu, sealed to her soul without his will, had helped her, healed her.
Isobu's distant amazement resurfaced. Fuyuki's eyes widened, before he chuckled, a hoarse sound half-caught in his throat."If you're running from Konoha, I hope he continues to do so."
—-
For the first time since Rin returned, she dreamed.
"Psst, Rin!"
Her eyes had barely closed from taking first watch. First watch was the most peaceful, because you never had to shake the grogginess away. Rin could watch the stars as her teammates slept, and calm the anxiety in her heart. They could make it through this.
Please let them make it through this.
"Rin!"
She groaned, waving a quelling hand at the voice calling her. A hand shook her, and Rin's eyes popped open. Her fingers gripped her kunai handle just as the voice stopped her.
"C'mon, it'll be quick." Obi.
Rin turned and gave him the dirtiest look she could muster. Obito looked half awake himself, voice rough and goggles off. His hair, as always, stuck up in a tangle of curls.
"I—it's just—"
"Please, Obi," she cut him off. "Just say it, I'm tired."
Their last battle had left her with an ache she felt down in her bones. Rin had taken an earth jutsu to the solar plexus right before she was able to sever the enemy's carotid, and she could still feel her lungs rattle. She healed Kakashi's arm, Obito's ribs, and Minato-sensei's concussion. Rin just wanted to sleep.
"Happy 13th birthday, Rin."
Oh. Of course he would be the first to say it. Rin sat up, smiling in his general direction. "Thanks, Obi."
She couldn't see his face, as he turned away from her, abruptly. "I got you something!"
Rin gaped at him as he rummaged through his pouch. They were at war, when would Obito have the time to get her anything? He crowed in victory, and a small square was thrust into her hands.
A ration bar, chocolate flavored.
They had run out of the flavor ages ago—none of the bases had them, nor the hospital. The flavor all Konoha shinobi ate now, mass-produced for easy distribution, tasted like crumbling bark. Rin stared at the chocolate bar, then at Obito, open-mouthed.
He shrugged, still scratching the back of his head. "I had one left over from a while ago, and decided to save it." 'A while ago,' had to be before the war. Obi loved chocolate more than her—Kushina-nee always made her famous chocolate cake for his birthday.
He kept it for her? For months?
Rin scooted over to Obito, leaning into his side. Obi's back went rigid. She poked his side, and he jumped slightly, before sagging into her. She broke the chocolate bar, and passed him half.
"No!" he pushed her hand back. "It's your birthday."
"I want to share it with you," she urged, pushing the piece back. "It's my birthday."
He huffed, but accepted the piece. They sat there, savoring the luxury they had been afforded. Rin mourned the last crumbs on her fingers as she polished them off. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and craned her head back to the stars.
"Hey, Obi?"
"Yeah?" His voice was strained.
"Do you think we'll make it to the end of the war?"
She had seen the new dead at the bases, sealed away to be buried. Their Academy cohort had been halved. The war was only starting, Sensei said, despite all the skirmishes they had seen. It would get worse before it got better, he said.
Rin was tired of the funerals.
"We're gonna make it," Obito whispered. "I still have to become Hokage, and you still have to take over the hospital, and Bakashi still has to, I dunno, read all the shinobi handbooks of every village." They laughed together.
"…I'm worried I won't see my mother again," Rin said. Her mother's missions had grown longer, and Rin hadn't seen the woman since the beginning of the year. Rin's mother had given her that same pat on the head, like she always did, and left. Awkward as it always felt, Rin wouldn't trade it for anything. Just as long as she could see her.
"Of course you'll see her, Rin," Obito said, soft. "We'll make it back, and this time next year, you, me, Tsutsuji-san, and Kushina-nee and Minato-sensei will have a big party in Konoha with actual chocolate and actual cake."
She laughed. It couldn't be promised, not with Iwa hanging over their heads."What about Kakashi?"
Obito made a face. "I guess he can come too."
Rin could imagine it; Kushina-nee brandishing a cake, Minato-sensei only trusted to candle duty, Obito and Kakashi bickering. Her mother, as always, with her small, distant smiles. "I hope so," she managed through a closing throat.
"I know so," Obito said. He nudged her gently towards her pallet. "Get some sleep."
For the first night since the war, Rin slept through the night.
Much to Fuyuki's disbelief, Rin's back had healed almost completely by the next morning. Shards of sunlight cut through the tent as the man gave her one last inspection, before tiredly waving his hand. She just managed to sidestep the human-shaped lump beside the tent flap.
The figure bounced up. "Nori-san!"
She had a moment to react before rail-thin hands wrapped her waist. She flinched, and looked down into Kenji's bright eyes.
Out of the rubble and in the light, Kenji looked better. A splint held his foot in place, and the boy's hair was no longer matted by dust, allowing dark brown curls to spring around his face.
"We've been waiting for you to wake up! Fuyuki-san said we should let you sleep. Do you still feel hurt?" He scanned her, watching for injuries. His eyes looked too old for his face. Rin put on a smile, kneeling before him.
"I'm fine, Kenji." she frowned. "What do you mean, we?"
"Thank you for saving my brother, Nori-san." A figure stepped out of the nearby trees. Himari stood next to her brother, half in front of him. She frowned at Rin. "You looked different before."
Rin tucked black hair behind her ear, saying nothing. She could only hope the villagers who had seen her true appearance would forget her in time.
"Before you leave, I wanted to thank you for helping my brother." The girl swallowed, closing her eyes. "He's all I have left. Please, take this."
Inside the pack, Rin found bread and clothes. Herbs had been wrapped in paper. Surprisingly, a small stick, charred at both ends, rested on the side. It looked like it would fade into dust at a glance. She paused over it.
"My family's piece of the Bodhi tree. Now that She has burned, we only have pieces of her. I kept that one for my brother and I, for luck."
A feeling of unreality washed over her. "The tree burned?" Rin asked, numb. She remembered the desperation creased in Minori's face. Then she remembered the throngs of villagers swarming around something smoking.
Himari blinked at her, shocked. Then she took Rin's hand. "See for yourself."
Rin, Himari, and Kenji walked towards the center of the village, where it became painfully clear how the Bodhi tree fell. The fig tree towered over the village center. From the burn marks, fire jutsus had burned through the tree, leaving a smoking husk behind. A symbol had been burned into the trunk. Rin turned away from the center spiral, the same one she'd traced every morning for years.
Konoha did this?
Her stomach turned. The tree had stood for centuries. Why?
To send a message, Ashura said, grim. Not one I or Tobi would support. It took Rin a moment to realize Hashirama was speaking through him. Some soldiers want to pillage, to claim everything in reach.
Rin swallowed. In the distance, villagers were sticking their hands in the dying embers for pieces of their tree.
We should move quickly, before anyone finds us.
Looking at the husk, Rin thought of wood release. How Obito had made branches twist in and out of the ground like worms. The way Kakashi's teammate, Tenzo, could create wooden spires. The way Hashirama could will forests from grass.
Rin, we have to get to Ame—
After, she thought. After we stop Obito, we're coming back.
Rin stared at the remains of the tree, closed her eyes, and made her wish.
—
The humid air of Taki had thinned the further Rin travelled inland, towards Kusa. She stayed clear of the roads, sticking to jumping through the trees. The further she pushed away from the village, the heavier she felt. Rin could feel the pull of Kannabi Bridge, just a few hours away.
After Kannabi, after having a breakdown, she was transferred back to Konoha Hospital, surgery division. She had always assumed Minato-sensei was the reason—maybe he believed the village would be good for her, full of familiar faces, even at war.
Rin hated him for it.
Didn't he know how Obito's ghost haunted her? Walking back from the hospital, it danced in front of her, waving its arms with excitement as Obito recalled his day. Down by the Naka, where they hunted for river stones, the ghost trips and almost lands in the water, without Rin dragging it back. In Grandma Masae's house, the ghost was larger than life, leaving Rin laughing at nothing in Obito's (old?) bedroom.
Konoha without Obi felt like punishment. In hindsight, Rin could understand—he believed it would be a comfort to be back in the hospital, serving patients. At the time, she thought he saw her as weak, because losing her friend had made her lose grip of reality.
After they emerged from the cave, she had confessed to Kakashi, not because it was the right moment, but because...she was sure she was dying. Wasn't she? The world had gone fuzzy, and a voice that sounded like Obito's was ringing in her ears.
But Kakashi had said that Obito loved her, (past tense?) and Obito was...he wasn't there, he was in the cave (a part of her mind held the image of the blood pool, the shaky breaths, but it didn't match up: Obito just got his sharingan and he was cooperating with Kakashi and his blood was still tacky and warm on her hands, so it couldn't be true).
She floated, detached from her body and mind, watching herself and Kakashi walk in silence. They destroyed Kannabi bridge. Waited for Sensei. Sensei asked for Obito, and that didn't make sense. Obito was still in the cave. He was late again, but they were going back to Konoha—they'd have to wait for him.
Minato-sensei said they had to keep walking, and Rin interrupted him. She still floated, half-stuffed into her body. The sounds of the world felt distorted, like cotton had been stuffed into her ears. Obito would make fun of her for having her head stuck in the clouds. "No, we have to wait for Obito," she said.
Rin had peered into the sparse forest of Kusa's backwoods. Something pushed at the back of her eyes—Rin couldn't get her vision to clear enough to see him. "He's late again Sensei, but he'll be here." Rin rubbed her hands together, they were still so red but she was sure she had washed them off. She used her apron instead—it was already dirty.
Sensei and Kakashi went very still. She had lingered behind them as she waited for her best friend, and Minato-sensei swiveled, blonde spikes resting belatedly around wide blue eyes. "Rin?"
"It must be his eye—" Kakashi flinched, and Rin didn't know why. Sure, she had given him Obito's eye, but Obito was still here, he just needed more time.
He just needed more—
"Rin, he's gone."
She shook her head, rubbing the red on her palms into her apron. "No, he's just late Sensei, he's fine. Right, Kakashi?" She looked at Kakashi, but her teammate trembled slightly, clenching his fists and...crying?
Her hands began to burn. Minato-sensei—when did he appear in front of her?—pulled her frenetic hands away from her apron, and she stared, fascinated, at the crimson streaks on the pink fabric. Were they hers? Kakashi's? Obito's?
"This is a genjutsu," she breathed. Of course. That's what was wrong. Maybe she was still in the grasp of the enemy. Nothing else made sense. "Release." Her vision still looked the same. The sky was dark, and Obito wasn't by her side. Minato-sensei looked pained. Kakashi stared at the ground.
"Release!" She redirected her chakra flow. Her hands shook. She cut it again. Obito still wasn't by her side.
"Rin—"
"Release!"
"She's in shock." Sound warped around her ears. "Genjutsu….head ba—...Konoha."
The world tilted on its head, and she was suddenly much taller than she ever had been. No, her arms were around a tan neck—Sensei? Her pack was gone. The world blurred, and a shout tore itself from her throat, because Obito wasn't there and they were leaving him in the rocks and his blood seeped into the lines of her palms and she couldn't get it off.
They stopped moving, and something in her blurred vision recognized the kanji of Konoha's gate. A red blob rushed towards them, and stopped. A buzz started up in Rin's ears.
Maybe someone spoke, maybe they didn't. But the world blurred again, and Rin found herself in a world of white, as nurses and doctors rushed about around her. They blinked at her, a little like fish, Rin thought.
The hospital. Rin's old home. The nurses spoke lines of gibberish, and she was put into a bed next to a shinobi who had lost both legs. She didn't know why she was here. Was she right before? She was dying? She didn't know, she was just waiting for Obito.
But...he didn't come.
Not when the doctors gave her medicine to fall asleep, not when Minato-sensei came back and held her hand and told her he was sorry, so sorry he was late, not when Kakashi stopped haunting her window, not when her Auntie came to take her home.
Obito didn't come, and they buried an empty casket in Konoha cemetery and said he was gone.
Reality descended on Rin two days afterward. She had been lying in bed, staring at the wall. Her mother was gone, of course, so Auntie Toshiko's miso and Uncle Itsuki's big blanket surrounded her, but she wasn't hungry. She wasn't thirsty.
Rin was hollow.
Kurenai had stopped by, sitting at her desk as Rin stared at the wall. Purple, her favorite. One of Obi's favorites, but he never admitted it—
The tears fell. One by one, until she was breathless with it, curled into her sheets and sobbing like the world was ending, because the world did end and they wanted her to amputate a kunoichi's right leg tomorrow, because the world did end and Rin and Grandma Masae were the only ones who noticed.
Kurenai stayed. Stayed, until Uncle Itsuki forced her to drink some soup, and she cried into the bowl. Stayed, while Rin babbled that she didn't know Obi loved her like that and Kurenai didn't say it was obvious. Stayed, even when Rin fell silent for hours.
On the fifth day, Rin woke to Kurenai carrying her into the tub. She stayed as Rin cried under the water. Kurenai made her favorite breakfast, steamed rice with egg and grilled salmon, not saying anything when Rin didn't eat it. Together, they walked over to Grandma Masae's house and watched the grandmother bury her grandson.
In the days after Kannabi, all Rin remembered was Kurenai. Somber, silent, and still there.
By the time Rin reached the destroyed bridge, the sun had fallen, and she was out of tears. Shadows danced along the wreckage, where animals had begun to live in the debris. A squirrel poked its head out of a damaged fort of rocks, staring, before growing bored with her. With a shaky grip on her chakra control, Rin jumped across the wreckage to the other side.
The rocks hadn't moved. Rin didn't know why she was expecting they would have. She wasn't sure if there was blood dried on the rocks, or if her mind was playing tricks on her.
So this is where Obito…Ashura's voice was quiet. Rin nodded once. She didn't walk on the rocks. It felt too much like a burial ground. She sat down at the edge, arranging her pack like a pillow. Rin looked up at the stars.
For months, her life had been a before and after of this infernal bridge. Everything she could have done differently. It was her fault she got kidnapped—she had
been completely caught off guard. If only she'd been strong enough, fast enough…
"He was so excited for his Sharingan," Rin whispered. "I was so happy for him. He always wanted to prove himself, and he thought it was too late to get them. Then suddenly, he had awakened them." She smiled, remembering the way he had hollered as he fought with new eyes. "Obito was going to make them all proud."
Rin blinked, and she could see Ashura, Naruto, Hashirama, and Mikazuki in the mindspace. Hashirama, somber, stared at his other counterparts. Mikazuki and Naruto shouted to each other from their seats.
"But those who abandon their comrades—" Naruto started.
Mikazuki's voice was ragged with grief. "You won't always be able to save everyone, Naruto!"
"I will, anyway!"
They looked over at Rin. Naruto's eyes were red. He sniffed, brushing tears away with one hand. "I didn't realize it happened like this," he said, subdued. Rin sat on the edge of the well. "You and sensei left him?"
"We didn't have a choice," Her voice broke. "The Iwa soldiers closed in on us. If we didn't leave, we wouldn't have survived to complete the mission."
"The mission," Naruto said. He sounded discontent. "But Kakashi-sensei said—"
"Naruto." The boy turned to Hashirama, who gave him a look Rin didn't catch. Naruto sagged into his seat.
The First Hokage looked at Rin. "Now that you're here Rin, we've thought of a way to train you on your journey."
"Training?" She asked.
Mikazuki pounded her fist into her hand, violet eyes ablaze. "Training," she said, "Because I don't think logic will work on Obito."
Ashura stood. "Rin, by using your dreams, we can create a space for you to train. I can teach you ninjutsu, and we can figure out which chakra natures work best for you."
"I'm fire- and water-natured," she replied. Ashura shook his head slightly.
"After being sealed with Isobu, I doubt fire will come to you as easily." She hadn't thought of that. What else had changed inside her since becoming Isobu's jinchuriki? Besides gnawing hunger and increased healing, Rin wasn't sure. Ashura smiled. "We'll have to test it."
Hashirama glanced at Ashura, before turning to her. "Along with ninjutsu, I will help with your chakra control." He beamed.
"I'll be teaching you taijutsu," Mikazuki said. "Uzu taijutsu focuses on evasion, so it should work well with your style."
"You never offered to teach me Uzu taijutsu," Naruto grumbled.
"Are you the one saving the world?"
"I was!"
"Naruto will help you connect with Isobu," Mikazuki added. Naruto rolled his eyes at her, before turning to Rin.
"You and Isobu can be partners, like me and Kurama!" It was hard not to match his grin. A moment later, his eyes dimmed. "I guess…I won't have Kurama anymore, do I?" For a child who was mercilessly bullied for being a host, he looked downtrodden.
Mikazuki slung an arm over his shoulder. "You've still got your memories, don't you? He's still with you."
Naruto's lips quirked back up. "Yeah, you're right." He turned back to Rin. "If Mom is with Kurama right now, you can teach her how to be partners with him, too!"
Kushina never shared her jinchuriki status with Team 7. Minato-sensei knew, but as far as Rin was aware, Kakashi only learned when he found out Naruto was coming. Obito must have figured it out from Madara. But this time, maybe Kushina wouldn't have to witness her son being sealed at birth. Maybe, Isobu wouldn't have to be alone. There was a way for the tailed beasts to meet through their jinchuriki. Obito had tried to plan around that.
I miss my brother, Isobu whispered in her soul. He was bossy, but funny.
"The sun has set," Hashirama said. They all turned to him, where he still sat. He grinned at Rin, motioning her over. "We should begin—we don't have long before we reach Ame."
The world flashed, and suddenly, Rin stood on training ground 12.
She closed her eyes, breathing in fresh petrichor—Konoha after a hard rain. Hashirama trees blew lazily in the breeze. The tree Obi and Rin used to mark their heights with kunai still bore their notches, etched into the trunk. In the distance, she could almost hear the village proper, bustling with street food and morning shoppers. All that was missing were Sensei, Obi, and Kakashi. In their place, Mikazuki walked towards the center, shaking out her hair. Ashura stood with Naruto and Hashirama on the side of the clearing. The First Hokage looked around the clearing, wondrous.
"The village," he breathed. "I created this forest decades ago." He reached out, touching a trunk. Rin could have sworn the leaves began shaking faster. "Glad to see the village still running."
Naruto squinted at the surrounding area. "Where are we? I've never seen this training ground before."
"The nine-tails attack destroyed almost half of the training grounds," Rin said quietly. Obito's attack on Konoha.
"Right." Swallowing, Naruto scanned the field with new eyes.
"Nine tails attack?" Ashura asked, eyes wide. "Why would Kurama attack a village?"
"He was being controlled," Rin said. Even quieter, "Controlled by Obito."
What Rin couldn't understand was why. Even with the Eye of the Moon plan, that was Kushina. Kushina, who always made time for them, despite her own missions. Kushina, who made extra zosui for Obito when he was sick. Kushina, who cried when Obito called her Kushina-nee for the first time. He would kill her, as she was giving birth, for a dream world?
Ashura's brown eyes were pained. "I see."
She heard a throat clear. She turned to Mikazuki, settled in the center of the clearing. The woman shook out her limbs, before resting in a fighting stance. "We'll start with taijutsu." Her grin took on a serrated edge. "Give me everything you've got, Rin."
Rin bounced on the balls of her feet, before settling into a stance of her own. She had never been the best at taijutsu—her strength had been Mystical Palm and elemental ninjutsu. But she'd need far more to stop Obito.
"Ready?" Mikazuki asked.
"Ready."
Rin closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in the mirage of the village. It was difficult, only being able to return to her village in a dream. For now, at least. But she would return with Obito. Team Minato would be whole again, but she had to be strong enough to wrangle them all back together.
She opened her eyes.
In a blazing storm of red, Mikazuki charged at her.
