Darkness. All you could see was the color black with subtle swirls of purple throughout.
Am I even conscious?
You could recall taking a somber stroll through the local park the night after finishing the Naruto series. Obito was heavy on your mind, not just his fate, but also the entirety of his life in general. You thought profoundly about what could have been; his childhood, how he was always left behind, how his future as a shinobi was stolen from him, and how he was the cause of a majority of negative events throughout the series, including an all-inclusive war. Each thought cut you deeply. You would be lying if you said you weren't genuinely fond of him. It would be an even bigger lie to say if you had the opportunity to go into his universe to prevent these events from happening, you wouldn't go in a heartbeat.
Sighing heavily, you placed yourself on the dew-coated ground overlooking the lake in the center of the park; the grass was still wet and slippery from when it rained hours before. Strolling there late at night when nobody was around was a decent way of coping with stress. However, the tension felt over Obito proved to be too great for this habit to ease your racing and admittedly troubled mind.
Peering over the edge of the lake, you sought any form of distraction and hoped that your reflection could provide just that. The luminescent glow of the moon revealed a dark silhouette upon its surface, but something else in the water caught your eye. In front of you, a distinct spark appeared in the otherwise unlit dullness of the water.
Overwhelming curiosity convinced you to discard your coat to retrieve the object with your hand. Perhaps a sensible person would ponder what exactly that item could be before hastily shoving their hand to it – for all you knew it could have been a spark of electricity and your short life could have ended right there, but fate had other plans for you.
Your eyes widened, taken aback by watching your arm travel deeper into the water, deeper than what should have been possible. Before you could question just how much farther until you reached that coveted shiny object, your shoes scraped against the slippery grass, causing you to fall forward and strike the water headfirst.
As thin, jagged lines of bubbles floated and danced around your body and up toward the surface, you conversely sank deeper, noticing that light significantly growing in size. You could feel how it was slowly, silently moving through your limbs, pushing you downward even faster.
You couldn't take your eyes off the bubbles as they popped just above the water's surface, your hand reaching for the rippling beam of the moonlight above. As you sank deeper, the light enveloped your entire being and everything ironically faded to black...
As time had passed, so had the feeling of being submerged. Though it was difficult to pinpoint how much of it, you thought that it couldn't have been longer than mere minutes, when the blinding light of the midday sun roused you back to consciousness.
What... what the hell just happened...? you pondered groggily, struggling to lift yourself with a push-up, eyes still shut.
You felt weaker than you probably should have, evidenced by the amount of effort it took to get yourself up and finally open your eyes. In front of you was a familiar body of water, but the areas surrounding it was completely foreign to you. Cherry blossom trees lined the walkways and benches, their pink pedals fluttering down to rest with the light green lush of the grass.
Your eyes shifted in confusion before settling your line of sight to the water in front of you. Your face appeared to be that of a seven or eight-year-old, with a small-scale body to confirm it. Immediately your eyes went wide before letting out a petite, child-like scream.
~~~
"That Kakashi...what the heck does he even know?" Obito muttered, trudging slowly with his hands in his pockets in defeat. Having just left from bickering with his talented rival, and losing yet again, Obito needed to go out and get some air.
We'll be starting at the ninja academy soon, so you won't be able to push me around anymore, he thought to himself with a competitive yet pained look on his face.
Suddenly a scream caught his attention, and he immediately whipped his head toward the direction of the noise. What he saw was a girl about his age. She looked to be breathing heavily and ...was she shaking?
Obito quizzically scouted the area around the girl to determine the source of her terror, but found nothing of interest. Curiosity overtaking him, Obito found himself running to the girl who was sitting with her arms holding her up behind her with her legs bending at the knees. If this girl wasn't shaking, anyone would think she was simply relaxing by the water's edge.
"Hey, are you okay?" Obito said cautiously as he began to reach his arm out to the mystery girl. At the same time, she looked over to him and screamed again, this time startling Obito as well.
"AH! What is wrong with you?" Obito shrieked in a mix of fear and annoyance, retracting his hand.
Peering up at the boy standing over you while still breathing heavily, the familiar sound of his voice finally registered in your mind that it was -
No. Is that... Obito... Uchiha?
His navy blue and orange-trimmed outfit along with his signature goggles confirmed your improbable claim. This boy standing in front of you was Obito, the boy whose life you had just attentively watched and became despondent over. The one to cause so much pain to his world, Obito Uchiha.
Something was different about him, though. He seemed... shorter. His eyes encompassed a considerable portion of his face, and his goggles didn't quite fit his head right, as if they were too large. It became apparent that he was about the same age as you, seven or eight at the most. You stared, eyes wide in amazement and disbelief, with your mouth opening to speak but unable to form sound.
Obito stared down at you, this time with more annoyance in his eyes before finally breaking the silence. "You know, you're really weird. Who screams at people when they try to talk to you?" Hearing his harsh words snapped you out of your daze and you raised to your feet to meet his accusing gaze, his height only barely greater than yours.
"I-I'm sorry," was all you could muster as you broke eye contact with the Uchiha. "I... I'm not from around here. I'm really lost. Could you tell me where I am?" Deep down you already knew where you were - somehow you got transported to the Naruto Universe - but you needed confirmation from another individual to truly believe it.
Raising an eyebrow but with his defenses lowered, Obito replied, "You're near the ninja academy, the place where guys like me are going to get trained to be Hidden Leaf Ninja! I've never seen you around. Are you going to attend the academy, too?"
Your thoughts blurred. This is really happening. For some reason I've been transported to the ninja world during Kakashi and Obito's time. But why? What could be my purpose here?
An increasingly tense noise shook you from your thoughts as Obito aggressively waved his small hand in front of your face. When he saw that he'd caught your attention once again, he spoke up in an annoyed yet intrigued tone.
"You really are weird. Who are you?"
"Oh! My name's (y/n)," you said with a bashful smile. "It's so nice to meet you Obit-"
Your expression went blank, quickly trying to cut yourself off from finishing his name, realizing he had no idea that you knew everything about him.
"How the heck do you know my name?" Obito said apprehensively. As you started to panic, sweat began rolling off of you as you tried desperately to come up with an excuse.
"I... have just heard things about you is all! Like how you have a unique style and are from the famous Uchiha clan! That is you, right, Obito?" you remarked, choosing to answer his question with another question to get his accusations off of you.
Obito blinked before straightening out his back with his thumb pointed to his chest. "That's right! I'm the Obito Uchiha! So you've heard about me? So you are from the village then!"
Obito's deduction skills surprised you. He's pretty sharp for an eight year old.
"Well, I'm not really a member of the village, b-but I'd like to be!" you blurted out without even thinking. "Wh-what I mean is... I would like to live in the Hidden Leaf and become a ninja like you, but I don't exactly know how to do that."
What am I saying? Shouldn't I be concerned about getting back to my world?
Obito stared at you confused for a moment before it looked as if a light bulb flashed above his head. He then took your wrist to pull you somewhere.
"Come with me! I know just the person who can help us out!"
~~~
"So that's basically what happened," you lied when explaining your predicament to Obito and the young Rin while they observed you curiously.
You decided against telling them the truth - about how you essentially had a form of seeing the future after watching their life through a television series.
"You woke up in the village one day without any memories of where you came from?" Rin confirmed. If it were anyone else inquiring, the way they'd ask that question would likely have come off as accusing or doubtful, but Rin had an uncanny ability to sound genuinely concerned over someone she had just met. You pursed your lips, not quite sure how to really feel about that. Her large brown eyes traveled upwards in thought for a moment before settling back down to Obito.
"Isn't it the Hokage who decides who gets to stay in the village?"
Obito's eyes lit up as he clapped his hands in front of him in realization. "The Hokage, of course! You're so smart, Rin! Come on, (y/n), let's go talk to the Third about this," he voiced with enthusiasm as he began guiding you by the wrist again; his pace was hard to keep up with due to his excitement. "Bye, Rin, see you at the academy!" He gleefully waved behind him as Rin flashed him a delightful grin, one that sent a sore pang through your heart.
What was that? That feeling just now... you pondered as Obito dragged you off to the Hokage's office.
~~~
"What do you mean you can't let her stay in the village?!" Obito shouted in bewilderment.
"We have no idea who this girl is or where she came from," Hiruzen started. "She could be a spy from an enemy village. Times of war will prompt villages to employ desperate tactics, even if they must resort to using their own youth as spies and weapons. Because of this, I cannot allow her to stay."
Obito stared at Hiruzen fiercely; his face looked serious despite his age. "Look, I may not know much about her, but you can't just kick her out - that just isn't right!"
Hiruzen returned Obito's irritated expression. The two were in a silent standoff while you stayed back and thought about your situation quietly. In that moment, you caught a precarious look in the Hokage's eyes, that of empathy, of understanding. As if he secretly wanted to agree and let you live within the village.
"Um, Lord Hokage..." you voiced softly, raising your hand. "If I could chime in. I get that you think I'm a spy, but that's far from the truth. I don't even have any knowledge on ninjas."
That's at least partially true, right? Since I know all about them and how they work but have no ninja skills myself. Maybe this could actually work.
"You said we're at war, right? Well, I want to be trained as a ninja of the Hidden Leaf so I can protect you guys. I... I want to help!" you declared with a determined face as Obito looked at you with his own face full of inspiration.
Hiruzen pondered for a moment, reflecting on how the village was indeed at a disadvantage in numbers. There is an overwhelming demand for ninjas at this time; it might be wise to accept any help the village could get. Even so, you had seen the show enough times to know that Lord Third had a soft spot for children. Deep down you knew he could never abandon a child to the elements. This wouldn't be the last time exceptions would be made either, as Hiruzen would eventually accept the orphaned Kabuto Yakushi into the village in the future.
"Alright, if that is how it must be, then I will make urgent arrangements to enroll you in this year's training program at the ninja academy."
Thrilled with his change of heart, you and Obito glanced at each other with excitement - mission accomplished, you praised.
~~~
"You really didn't need to walk me to my house, you know," Obito stated, the annoyance in his voice succeeded in hiding the unfamiliar emotions of being on the receiving end of attention for once.
"Well, I wouldn't doubt that you could make it on your own, being the famous Obito Uchiha after all, but I wanted to help out, just in case," you lied. The real reason behind following him home was because you considered him as your only friend and felt comfort in his presence. Plus, you had nowhere else to go.
"Actually, I wanted to thank you for all your help today."
Obito peered over at you walking beside him in genuine surprise.
"If it weren't for you, I'd probably be fending for myself at the land's borders right about now."
"O-oh, I guess that was because of me!" Obito stated as a lone finger went to scratch at his cheek nervously, a faint blush forming on his cheeks. He didn't really know what to do with the attention, but before he knew it, you two were standing at the entrance to his home.
"Well here it is, I'll see you at the academy?"
"Um, about that, Obito... you would say we're friends... right?" you asked, the hesitance in your voice clearly indicated your nerves.
He blinked at you before laughing in your face. "Well of course we are! After all that happened today it'd be weird if we weren't!"
Reassured, you smiled and muttered while avoiding eye contact, "Well... since this arrangement was such short notice, there are no apartments available for me, yet. Do you, um, happen to have a spare room for the night...?"
Obito blinked twice at you, appearing to be weirded out by the suggestion. There was an awkward silence to follow, and tears began pricking at your eyes as regret immediately sank in.
"There's gotta be another place you can stay," he said almost defensively. "Besides, what would my grandmother say if I brought a stranger in our house?"
"R-right, sorry about that," you mumbled while backing away, playing it cool by waving off the suggestion. "I know you don't know me, and we just met and everything. I-I didn't mean to demand that I stay with you. I'll see you at the academy."
Obito took notice of the shakiness in your tone before watching with intrigue as you trudged in the opposite direction. It felt as though an imposing feeling was gnawing at his thoughts, one that told him, he messed up. Those distracting thoughts persisted as he turned back around and reached for his door, the entrance to his home, only to have his hand pause and hover over the handle in hesitance.
"What am I doing?" Obito interrogated himself spitefully. "She's new here. She wouldn't know where to go yet. She asked for my help, and I practically spat in her face."
He then sighed as his hand dropped back to his side.
"I'm supposed to be her friend."
Without any more prompting, Obito's fist clenched with resolve before sprinting in the direction you left sulking in mere moments before.
~~~
Why... why am I here? Why was I sent to this world if even my only friend here doesn't want to see me? What was I even thinking, asking to stay with him... I must have sounded so stupid!
The clouded mumbles of the busy crowd filled the air as you plodded wearily through the villages shopping district. It would take anyone a quick second to discern that you were clearly lost, and perhaps even a little crushed. Obito's blunt rejection pervaded all other thoughts, until -
"Yeah, you should've seen him 'spar' with Kakashi at the training grounds today," a young boy maybe a year or two older than you proclaimed to his presumed teammate. "It took maybe 10 seconds for him to sweep that kid to the ground!"
"Are you serious?" The other boy responded in amusement. "Are you sure that kid's an Uchiha?"
Your feet immediately ceased mid walk at the mention of his clan.
They can't possibly be talking about...
In the same moment, the young Uchiha appeared from around the corner, clearly worn out, as he rested one arm on a nearby beam to catch his breath – where he then spotted you frozen in place.
"Finally. Hey –"
Obito's breath caught in his throat as he observed your uneasy posture from afar. It looked tense. Almost infuriated. It was then the voices of the two boys drew his attention.
"Yeah, word is he lost his temper and it messed with his concentration. I'm telling you it made him look so ungraceful. I hear that Obito kid is so weak – he can't even throw a shuriken at a target! Seriously, if the academy enrolls this kid, they must be desperate."
Your body became increasingly tense with each passing moment. With your heartbeat rising, your head hung low, teeth clenched.
Just forget it, (y/n). Why should I even care about what they say about him? I make him feel uncomfortable now, anyway. Then why do I feel so... angry?
Both fists curled painfully into your palms, trying every way possible to calm yourself down from these nobodies speaking so poorly about your friend, the one whose future held nothing but pain and misery, all while Obito looked on.
Just... just let it go, (y/n)...
Just keep... moving...
"Wow. That's got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard! I'd be embarrassed to call him an Uchiha-"
Obito's eyes narrowed in hostility at their words. Each one cut him deeply. To think there were fellow ninja-in-training who'd look down at a comrade so poorly. The thought bore through Obito to his core. He prepared to waltz up and give them each a piece of his mind, but before he could-
"You shut up about Obito!" you snapped, with tears pooling in your eyes in a mix of hurt and frustration. "You guys should be supporting him, not tearing him down behind his back!"
At that, Obito's eyes widened at the sight of his new friend, the one he just turned away at his house, wholeheartedly defend him without reservation or restraint.
"Obito's nothing like what you say. He's sweet and actually cares about others! Spout one more bad thing about him, and I'll-"
"You'll what? Cry some more?" one of the boys teased. "Tell your boyfriend to get halfway decent and then come talk to us so he doesn't have to send his little girlfriend to fight his battles for him!"
Obito's shocked expression grew even more surprised as you lunged for one of the boys in a vain attempt to push them to assert what little dominance you could have, all while demanding, "I told you not to talk about him like that!"
The kid's face was full of disbelief with a demented smirk as he watched such a small girl charge at him, your inexperience signified in each step. His smile soon faded as your arm wound back and swung with force, striking his nose, causing him to stumble back and cover his face with both hands. With labored breath, your attention shot over to the other kid, who had fallen silent, and realized that the aggressive look on your face matched theirs.
"Now you messed up." The boy uncovered his face, two thick lines of blood seeping from his nostrils. He took one step forward and exerted one hefty push onto you, one that sent you skidding to the ground. It was at that moment Obito's expression shifted to that of urgency as he charged toward you.
Before you knew it, a young, spiky-haired boy not much taller than you stood upright in front of you, both of his arms raised horizontally in a protective gesture, all while you clumsily wiped the dirt from around your eyes and looked on in shock.
"Hold it," Obito challenged the two as they took a step back, clearly taken aback by the vexed Uchiha's unexpected appearance. "It's one thing to think bad about people like me, but if you touch my friend again, I'll have no trouble going all out on you – I don't care how ungraceful it is."
"...Whatever, loser. You aren't worth the time," one of them mumbled and smeared the blood off his face with his sleeve before leaving in the opposite direction. Their sudden resignation seemed strange, as if they were embarrassed or ashamed of getting caught. It was a clear display of weakness on their end - gossiping about a younger soon-to-be student. One with so much potential.
"Hey," Obito spoke first, his rambunctious and childish voice was replaced with slight meekness. He peered over his shoulder at you; his usual sharp eyes noticeably softened upon meeting with yours. He unknowingly passed you a look that was full of care and respect for his new friend.
"H-hi," you replied timidly.
Turning around, Obito extended his hand and helped you to your feet.
"What... are you doing here?" You felt hesitant to ask. "I thought you... went home."
The young Uchiha panicked internally. After what just happened, after you went great lengths to defend a lousy friend like him after he left you alone and scared in an unfamiliar village – what could he say after that? Thanks for defending your no-good friend? No. Obito was far too proud for a move like that. But he had to express his undeserved gratitude toward his new friend somehow, he knew.
"I have a spare room upstairs," he blurted out hastily. "You... can stay there for the night."
Your entire posture perked up at his unexpected proposition. "R-really? But you said-"
"It's the least I can do for you... you are new here, after all," Obito mumbled while eyeing the scratches on your arm, and the bloodied spots on your knuckles. It was clear he was trying to hide the true reason for his sudden sheepishness. He was acting sort of like how you were when at his doorstep asking to stay with him. It was a welcome surprise.
Maybe... there is a reason for coming here after all.
You couldn't find sleep that night. How could anyone sleep after everything that happened today? You were transported to a world run by shinobi, chakra, jutsu and war. A normal person would immediately and truthfully explain their situation to the first person they saw, but you were never conventional or ordinary, you thought. At the time, all you thought about when you saw Obito was his fate on this world. Not only that, but you also saw a way of preventing those events from ever occurring!
You remembered everything. You could recall that fateful mission that started his downfall – Rin getting kidnapped, Kakashi losing his eye, Obito activating his Sharingan, his apparent "death." Your heart raced, thinking of various ways from preventing these from ever happening at all – but every solution required you to be a kunoichi. You saw the opportunity and you took it.
You were going to start at the academy soon – for the next few years, you will be with Kakashi, Obito, and her. Rin, you thought in disgust. Shaking your head, you mentally chastised yourself for thinking about her so negatively. After all, she did help you stay in the village, but still. There was this feeling about her that you couldn't shake. Perhaps she's a potential rival?
Disregarding these thoughts, you let your mind wander to issues that were more important. You had been blessed with the knowledge of what was to happen, good and bad. You had decided long ago that you were going to use this knowledge to your advantage.
No matter what it takes Obito, you began saying to yourself; I will protect you. Even if it means not going home. I don't know what type of ninja I should be, or if I can even use chakra, but I will change your fate, Obito. I will not let you go down that path of darkness - that darkness that plagues all Uchihas. I will rewrite your story.