Chapter Two - The Demon Star
Rin made for the village proper. With each moment, more and more lights dotted into being until soon, the village became a sea of stars unto itself. She leapt the Hokage monument, sparing a short apology for landing on the Sandaime's nose, and took the rest of the way in leaps and bounds. On the rooftop garden of Konoha's banking administration, she allowed herself a huff of breath.
The distant star had faded completely. If not for the noise rousing the village below, it would almost seem that the star — the blast and its shockwave was a momentary blip. A handful of hanging plants still swayed in the aftermath, yet nothing seemed to have suffered lasting damage. Rin worried her lip. That a blast that large could make the earth shudder was worrying enough, but that chakra that came with it. Few times she had felt something similar in essence. Kyūbi no Kitsune. The thought twisted her belly. No, it wasn't. Couldn't be. Too many, and she included, knew the feel of that demon's chakra almost as well as their own. The star's chakra had none of the bloody malevolence, nor the searing burn and choking ash smell. Rather, the sweep of it seemed to lack any unique trait other than the simple fact that it felt like it did not belong. Rin shook her head. Theories could come later. A dozen of the finest minds in Konoha would have explanations better than her own.
She continued apace, leaping across gaps and dancing across railings, her steps light. She took care in the veritable jungle that was the sprawling outer park and its surrounds, passing up the trees to the higher branches — leverage for the leap to the next building. Closing in on Konoha's administrative centre, a shout caught her attention.
"Rin!" Rin's head shot up at the call of her name. She flung her hand out to grip the building's drainpipe and steadied herself on the stucco of the adjacent wall. High on the rooftop of the apartment block across the way stood a dark figure. It moved, easily leaping from roof to railing to tile, crouching on the balcony of an empty apartment. The glancing light of the surrounds revealed her to be an ANBU agent, dressed ready for combat, a blade strapped to her back. A painted porcelain cat mask was fitted over her face, framed by long sweeps of purple hair.
"Seika," Rin greeted, steadying her breathing. "I assume you felt that too? Any word on what it was?" A small part of her hoped it was some kind of training; some kind of monstrous test, even if the concept of experimenting with some of that nature alone was nauseating.
Her old friend shook her head. "None yet—" 'Seika' answered with Yūgao's voice, "—none said to me, at least. I'm on my way to report now. You should get to the hospital. It's Obito."
Rin's heart jumped. "What's wrong?"
"Something with his Sharingan. He began bleeding when—" she paused, touching the tattoo on her shoulder. Under her shirt, Rin thought she could feel the lightest breath of pressure on her own faded mark. Yūgao looked south and rose to her feet. "He started bleeding from his eyes before that shockwave rolled in. I have to go, but it's best if you see him. Something's not right. Asuma is with him."
"Thank you," Rin replied. The other woman nodded and disappeared in a flicker of displaced air.
Her heart a steady drum, Rin changed directions, leaping up to the rooftop Yūgao had just vacated, setting off at a sprint assuaged by as many shushins as she could manage. In the alleyways below, common folk bustled through the streets, sharing words, shouts, and questions. Although she could not well see them in the dark, Rin could sense the rooftops equally as alive. Shinobi raced past each other like shadows, some pausing before quickly moving on, not unlike her exchange with Yūgao. With a wary eye, Rin looked to the large, squat building in the distance with its steepled golden roofs and shining slate tiles. It seemed quieter than the other lights blazing around the village. In contrast, the Hokage's Tower was lit up like a beacon. Pushing from the complex's roof, Rin made for Konoha's hospital.
The antiseptic smell of the building greeted her like an estranged friend. Despite her relief at the relative quiet of the hospital building, the staff inside were unusually aflutter, moving between their patients. Directed by a frazzled receptionist, she passed several open electrical boxes studied by maintenance workers, each using gentle lightning jutsu to run sparks through the system. She found Obito in a quiet room, a tag on the door to remind the busy medical nin to check on him sooner rather than later.
Asuma raised his head at Rin's entrance, halting whatever he was saying to the man sat on the low cot. "Hey," he greeted. He tapped Obito's shoulder and gestured. "Your mother's here to see you."
Obito was by no means a small man but like this he looked... frail; waxy and pale under the artificial light. His broad shoulders slumped, his body nearly bent in two. Every so often a tremor wracked his frame. She kept in her hiss at the state of his face. His left cheek was saturated in a mess of coagulated blood, kept wet by more fluid slipping out of his eye. The folded square of cloth he had been given to press the area had long since soaked through and his fingers beaded with blood. In contrast, Obito's visible eye was his normal, natural black. Yet as she looked, every so often Rin caught how it flickered to an almost red before fading. She wouldn't insult him by asking how he was feeling. The rough look of him was evidence enough.
"Hey." She gave a quick brush through the thick crop of his dark hair, and received a soft, animal grunt in return. His mouth was set into a hard grimace. As another tremor shook him, Obito curled his lip, showing teeth, the jagged scars on his right cheek pulling taut. "What happened?"
Leant against the wall, Asuma gave a half-hearted shrug, but Rin could see he was as much bothered by it as she was. "We were drinking when he suddenly became... out of it. None of us were that drunk but he suddenly started acting like he'd downed a whole bottle of sake in one go. Then his Mangekyō activated and he just began pissing blood out of his eye. Not long after that, the whole of Konoha shook. Only just got here ourselves." He looked to Obito, lines becoming visible on his brow before he turned back to Rin to ask, "you felt it didn't you? Any idea what that shaking was?"
"A blast of some kind. I was at the Stone and saw the light of it before the shockwave rolled through. Distant, from the north west. Kusa, maybe." The lines on Asuma's brow deepened further still.
Rin crouched, getting level with Obito where he near hung off the cot. "Kamui?" She asked in a whisper. It came out more a demand.
Obito let out a groan that deepened into a rumbling growl. He blinked, and narrowed his eye at her. "Don't know. Don't ask me right now."
Rin watched as he let out careful, timed breaths. If he had fallen back on his training then what he was experiencing wasn't simple pain, but something wholly more pressing. She set her mouth. The timing of the blast and Obito losing control of his Mangekyō was undoubtedly suspicious, but how it was connected, she could not immediately discern. Kusa. Konoha had no conflict with Kusa. At least, not on Konoha's part. It was no secret that Kusa itself disliked and even actively despised Fire Country and its natives. Yet skirmishes, though ever present, had become fewer and fewer over the years, in large part thanks to Iwa. Until recently, that was. As far as she knew — distasteful as it was — Iwa's control of the small nation had been somewhat of a boon to Fire as trade passing through Grass had some amount of protection, however tense. No, whatever had caused the blast had nothing to do with Konoha, surely. Rin's belly roiled. But what was that chakra? And Kamui... why would Obito's Sharingan activate? He was the only one with access to that dimension and its power.
Wasn't he?
"Do you always have to think so loudly?" He huffed, blowing out the breath as he eyed her warily. Obito swallowed thickly, his throat bobbing. Even his collar was pasty with sweat.
"Have they told you they'll see you soon?"
He smiled bitterly. "Not dying. Not priority." Rin swore under her breath.
As loathe as she was to do so, she had to go. Too many questions and not enough clues, and she was likely one of the few who had gotten a good look at the blast before the shockwave came thundering in. She needed to speak to the Hokage. Even if someone else had already reported seeing the blast, at the very least she could let their sensei know of Obito's state.
Some quick hand signs set her hand aglow. She cupped Obito's bloodied cheek, releasing chakra into the nerves to momentarily dull their connection to the brain. "Need to teach me that," he grumbled, but his relieved sigh was audible.
She squeezed his shoulder. "Doesn't work on yourself, idiot. I'm sure someone will see you soon. I'm going to the Tower." She raised herself, watching his uninjured eye flutter close and his breathing steady. Eased of some of the pain seizing his whole body, she could see the hint of anxiety that stiffened his features. "Hang tight."
"Yes, dear."
She nodded at Asuma. "Watch him," she ordered, and left through the window in a swirl of leaves.
The Tower's main office was in chaos with Shinobi and civilians alike. Rin marched through, at times having to push at backs and elbows to simply pass beyond administration. It was only with each subsequent rung of the Tower that things somewhat calmed. Still, she did not miss the flit of ANBU passing to and fro in the rafters above, nor the words heard from corners and from behind doors. Turning a corner, Rin pushed into the Hokage's office longue, dodging by the weasel-faced ANBU emerging from within.
"Haruka," she greeted, quickly looking over the mess of notes packed to the side of the assistance desk, another under his fist, ink brush in hand. Appointment ledgers and a worryingly large to-do list. "I need to see Sensei."
The tanned man gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Miss Nohara, but Lord Hokage is currently in an important meeting." He gestured to his sorry looking ledger. "But, I can put you on the list?"
"How long is the wait?"
"Ah." He gave a nervous glance at the clock hanging above the Hokage's sliding door. "Perhaps... Perhaps tomorrow morning would be better?" His eyes widened at her blank look. "But — ah — well, if it's urgent..."
"It rather is."
"I could maybe move you up the list?"
She smiled, tilting her head just so when his face flushed. "That would be very appreciated, Haruka."
"Yes, well." He cleared his throat. "I'm afraid it may still take some time."
She waved him away and found herself a place on the cushioned bench, the view of the darkening village vast behind her. "I can wait."
She had waited days in place during missions before, frozen in a crouch in anticipation of a target, but sitting on the bench with only a scribbling man and twinkling lights for company quickly came to grate at her sensibilities. For hours she watched the flow of people drifting in and out of the office in the reflection of the window glass. A few times Haruka attempted conversation for him to receive her curtly polite half answers. Soon enough the man realised that her mind was elsewhere. Every so often her eyes flickered to the clock, and every time she was reminded of Obito sitting on a hospital cot amongst the sanitised white.
"Oh, fuck this. Student privilege," she muttered under her breath and marched over to the office's sliding door, headless of Haruka's cry.
Rude as it was, Rin slipped into the Hokage's office. With soft footsteps, she placed herself in the half-shadow provided by one of the many tall bookcases. Lamplight lit the office in a soft glow. From behind his desk, Minato's eyes flickered to her, a small frown tugging at his lips before he refocused on the trio standing before him. That he was willing to let her stay without a word told Rin he had acknowledged the unspoken message in the irregularity of her entrance. She folded her arms, making herself comfortable.
Minato looked tired. He regularly did these days. It was not as bad as when the War was still in full swing, but she could still see how the position taxed him. The lines around his eyes had grown deeper, the grey in his hair more visible and not simply because of age. She was sure that watching what Minato had been through, and was still going through, is what had ultimately deterred Obito from the position of Hokage entirely.
Her sudden presence in the office did not go unnoticed by the other occupants. Uchiha Etsuko, one of Obito's closer related cousins and Konoha's current Police Chief, eyed her, not bothering to hide her disgust at Rin's impropriety. The woman rolled her shoulders as she turned away, her spine ramrod straight, hands tucked at the small of her back. The other two — Both ANBU — only paused, looking at the Hokage in askance. They eased when Minato gestured for the report to continue. "Please, Satori, you were speaking of the initial findings." The hawk-masked ANBU caught on quickly that she was expected to repeat herself.
"Yes, Lord Hokage. We ventured close enough for the Byakugan to allow us some optics on the situation. As reported, it is clear that the flare of light and subsequent shockwave was an ejection of a profound amount of chakra. More specifically, the spiritual configuration of the chakra appears to match that which has been recorded as 'demonic'."
Rin settled back against the wall, keeping her expression neutral. So the similar feeling she had sensed at the monument stone had not been a coincidence.
"And the source?"
Satori shook her head. "Currently unknown. However, by our estimation, the blast was centred in Kusa, just north west of the border."
So, she had been correct on that front too.
"How close?"
"Unknown, Lord Hokage. Initial calculations suggest perhaps anywhere between ten to thirty miles from the border. The range of the blast appears to have been quite significant. However, the light emitted was quick to extinguish. There does not appear to be any kind of smoke or thrown debris as typical of a fuel-based explosion."
Rin rummaged through her mind to think of what lay within that range. Not much in the way of significant settlements, thankfully, although if the blast was large enough any villages in the surrounds would have certainly been decimated nonetheless. A terrible thought. The only location of interest that came to mind was... Kannabi bridge? It had long since been rebuilt from when their team destroyed it all those years ago. It was possible that was the target. But a blast of that magnitude simply to take out a single bridge?
Satori, quick with her words, gave the rest of her report with model efficiency. When she and her bear-masked partner had left the rest of their team, Kushina had taken command to continue toward the border. There they planned to take readings and observe the extent of the destruction, as well as monitor any movement in the area — friendly or otherwise. Rin fought down a smile. If Kushina had left, it must have meant the woman noticed the type of chakra immediately and made it her own problem. And, knowing Kushina, she likely only said two words to Minato before she was out the door.
Minato turned to the silent Satori's silent partner. A lieutenant, by the look, though Rin did not recognise his codename. "Hadaka, organise at least two cells for immediate departure. Support the team currently investigating and ensure the security of any who come after until further orders are given. Dismissed." Hadaka tipped his head in acknowledgement and then both he and Satori were gone.
"Your Excellency, the people shall have questions," Etsuko's heavy lilt cut in sharp and firm. The irritation present suggested that this was not the first time she had stated as much.
Patient, Minato inclined his head and braced his elbows on the desk. The warm light of the lamps caught the deepening lines around his mouth. "Madam, of that I have no doubt. However, this situation is both delicate and developing. As I'm sure you can understand."
"Assuredly," the Police Chief replied, unimpressed. "Delicate or not, however, calls for patience is a cold comfort for those rattled by this event. I surely need not remind that many are still recovering emotionally — much less physically — from the tragedy of the Year. Even all this time later. And you must surely recognise that it is to the Year that minds will no doubt wander. It does not take a Hyuuga to ascertain the nature of the chakra expelled with this blast. Many bear enough trauma to do so without help."
Minato regarded her with a level stare that Rin did not have to see to know that she returned. After a moment's pause, he clasped his hands. "And what do you suggest, Madam?"
Etsuko lifted her chin. "A show of the Military Police out on the streets. Patrols, daily and nightly for at least a week. The people of the Leaf need to know that the situation, whatever it amounts to, is firmly in hand. That they have support, should they need it." She settled her thumbs in her belt. "The people need a show of strength."
Minato's eyes tightened and Rin pursed her lips. A petty blow. And a hearty reminder of the Uchiha's tenuous opinion of the current administration.
"I'm sure you have arrangements for these patrols well in hand?"
"That we do."
"Very well," Minato acquiesced.
Etusko bowed her head, the slightest dip of her brow, before she said, "I shall leave you." To Rin, she did not even spare a glance before she left the office, slamming the door with a heavy thump.
"Difficult night?"
Minato tipped his head back and sighed. "Is it midnight already?" He said, glancing at the clock on the wall.
"Just about." Rin stepped from the shadows to seat herself on the lonely chair set before the desk, rarely used, despite its plush, inviting cushions.
"'Difficult' doesn't encapsulate it nearly enough."
"I can only imagine," she chuckled. "At least it's a nice evening for it." Minato sent her a look that would look neutral on anyone else, but one she could recognise by now as sour. "I suppose I don't need to tell you about the state of the ground floor?"
He rubbed his face. "Forgive the indolence, but I'd rather you not."
"I've never seen it so quiet. It's almost like everyone decided they just had to be elsewhere."
"Ah, Haruka made you wait."
She didn't deign to satisfy him with an answer to that. The Hokage's desk was pockmarked with folders and trim piles of neatly stacked papers. Nothing pressing, from what she could spy: a report on the current progress of this year's academy graduates, a compiled list of activity duty Jōnin. She caught Obito's name, her own was covered by a thick text on Chakra Conversion and Elemental Release, thoroughly loved by the crinkled pages and hints of dog-ears. It created a milieu of an organised sort of mess.
"You invited Uchiha Etsuko to listen in on the report?" She asked, her curiosity overwhelming the need to get to the point of her own being here.
Minato harr'ed. "She refused to leave. I expect as much from her. She is rather stubborn. And tactless, while married to her duty." And extremely rude, Rin wanted to add. "Fugaku knew exactly who he chose to succeed him. I can hardly do much. It's only a matter of time before word reaches him in some form. I would rather it be the correct information and at least save us all a headache." He straightened in his seat. "But that wasn't like you... what's the matter?"
"It's Obito." Another Uchiha. Rin did not miss the quick glance the Hokage sent to the liquor stash hidden in the back of his file cabinet.
"His Mangekyō," Minato nodded.
"You know?"
"Genma informed me when he arrived, but was not explicit on the details." He gestured at the room and toward the door. "Not much of a chance. And your time is limited too, Rin. I expect to have an office full of council members any minute."
Rin told him what she knew. The view from the memorial stone. Yūgao coming to her. How Obito looked in the hospital with his flashing Sharingan and bleeding eye — but only the left. How the timing was reflexively suspicious. It was connected to Kamui, in some extraordinary way. Yet even as Rin tried to press the pieces together in her mind, it felt an awkward fit. Lacking and convoluted, despite the essence of it feeling right.
Minato rubbed his chin. "Only Obito has access to Kamui."
"That's what we assumed. The truth might be otherwise. The Sharingan and its intricacies are hardly well understood by those not of the Uchiha," she said pointedly.
Minato's gaze sharpened, catching her insinuation. He pressed his lips into a thin line. "Rin, as... as vocal as they are, I can hardly believe even they would do something like this. The consequences alone..."
She couldn't argue with that. Nevertheless, it was no secret that the Uchiha had been one of the more outspoken clans regarding this clumsy truce the nations found themselves in. A truce which had not only been the result of horror, and tragedy, and loss, but worse — had made Konoha look weak. The other nations were happy to place the blame for the Year squarely on the shoulders of the Leaf, Rin knew. And something every Uchiha carried — even Obito — was the strong distaste of being accused of weakness. Strength was a show of power; evidence that Konoha still had teeth. There was more than enough retribution to be sought for war crimes committed over the past eighteen years for Konoha to claim its casus belli. The Uchiha themselves were hardly lacking in choices, particularly when it came to Kiri and their penchant for kekkei genkai theft.
Still, Minato was right. There would be too much risk, and the consequences far too dire. If the Uchiha wished for war, there were many more subtle ways to reignite the conflict without sealing their own fates as villains to rally against. The clan, as hawkish as they were, were still fervent defenders of Konoha. More so of the clan's position within it. Besides, such a feat was hardly within their means. But then again, Rin mused, it was hard to believe that creating a blast like that was within anyone's means. Where would one get that kind of concentrated demonic power?
She shook her head. "Not the clan as a whole, perhaps. But it doesn't take a clan to incite a war." Sometimes it only takes a single man with a white chakra blade. "Perhaps some malcontent. Someone with a power like Obito's. We do know that Mangekyō can have virtually similar abilities. Look at Itachi and Shisui."
"An assumption. We have no idea if this hypothetical Uchiha even used Kamui nor the context of what this space-time ninjutsu has in common with an explosion of demonic chakra."
"But it could be possible."
"Could, is a very dangerous word, Rin. Especially now. You know what they're already saying in Keishi about the clans being responsible for these skirmishes of late. I'd rather not have more rumours taint Konoha, especially not one as dangerous as this. But— " he turned up a palm as she straightened, "— it is possible, yes. Look, I'll make some inquiries," he added quietly. "ROOT might know something." He leaned back in his chair, considering his own scribbled notes on the wad of paper set before him. "A team of theirs has also been sent to the border," he said, his change of topic pointedly speaking that any conjecture on the Uchiha was a foregone endeavour. For now.
Rin pursued her lips. "Kushina won't appreciate the company."
Minato's face softened. "No, she won't," he agreed. "But though she likes to pretend otherwise, Kushina doesn't have the skills necessary to do everything by herself. It's getting the entire report from Danzō that will provide the most difficulty." On that, she couldn't comment. Even if she wanted to.
Rin quirked her mouth. "Naruto?"
"Ordered to stay home and terribly irritable about it."
They fell into a shared, meditative silence. There was the obvious, yet daunting question that neither of them had wanted to ask: the origin of the chakra itself. Had someone tried summoning a new, powerful yōkai into the world? It was difficult to imagine beings beyond the nine grand spirits but there is so much about the supernatural that was unknown — beyond them, even. What was more powerful than them but the gods themselves? And yet, that blast didn't feel like a being. It felt like otherworldly chakra in its most pure form.
"Demonic... you think?" Rin asked.
Minato shook his head though concern was plain on his face. "All we can do is wait. Go home, Rin. Or better, return to Obito. What he's going through hardly sounds pleasant."
There was little more to do than to do as ordered. That did not mean that Rin did not leap out into the night feeling any less distracted. Conflicted, with a mind full of heavy thoughts.