On extremely rare occasions, Obito enjoyed embracing his title as the idiot and dead-last of the class.
He didn't often do it, moreover around the elders of his clan, because such title would usually be followed with the extremely annoying speech of how that was the reason he should quit being a shinobi and just focused on being a good mother to his future pups.
It was irritating.
Sure, they kinda have a few valid points in their argument. Obito has always been a bit slow in picking up the shinobi skills. He struggled with the most basic of shuriken jutsu, despite the constant offers of training help from his clansmen. He couldn't produce a proper clone during his first graduation test, leaving him as the only one among his batch who has to repeat the test multiple times. He was hopeless in kenjutsu, despite that being the specialised skill set of literally every Uchiha ever.
The only time he was terrifying was when he worked in a team with Rin.
The only thing that he was extremely good at on his own was negotiating and diplomacy.
(He was a surprisingly good middle man between multiple violently opposing parties, but he credited that skill to the fact that it has always been him that has to break a fight within the clan, especially whenever Mikoto and Fugaku weren't around.)
In short, Obito knew that he was the worst shinobi ever existed in the Uchiha's history.
It didn't make it any less irritating though, to be forced to listen to the exact same speech every time he had the misfortune of being stuck with any of the elders.
Despite that, he tried his best regardless of his weaknesses, not letting their words become a hindrance for him.
As their words fell to his deaf ears, the elders switched tactics and started pushing him into entering the diplomat branch.
The branch itself wasn't bad despite the minimum action, as it provided him with a clear path to become a part of the administrative councillors that deal with the Daimyou—something that would surely boost the clan's standing among the paying nobles and the village's social hierarchy in general.
To be honest, Obito wouldn't mind going into that career path at all.
However, these old coots reasoned this decision because it meant Obito would have more time spent at home since he won't be sent to missions often. It was safer, they said. You wouldn't die young and childless, they said. Add that to their argument that it wouldn't be much of a loss to the village's military power if he chose to not be an active shinobi...
Well, that had Obito to nope the idea right off the bat.
It was super irritating, especially when he realised that he was the only one having been at the receiving end of such speech.
The girls of the clan didn't receive it despite being mostly omegas. He has never heard beta girls of his class received the same speech, and neither did other omega males from the smaller clans. Even civilian girls did not receive such speech from their family. He was the only one, just because he was one of a kind in his whole clan.
Why? Is he that special of a snowflake? The elders have always treated him like he was a prince and a prisoner—protected and cared for, but also being restricted in so many ways—that Obito didn't realise the sheer oddness of the treatment until Rin became a permanent part of his life. He has asked Fugaku and Mikoto about it—on why he was treated this way when he wasn't anyone special, considering that his grandmother was only half-Uchiha and his father hardly ever used his sharingan—but neither of them knew the reasoning. It has always been that way since his grandmother re-joined the clan, and Fugaku himself was clueless. The Clan Head only followed what the elders have dictated without knowing the reasoning behind it.
So yeah, Obito didn't really enjoy embracing his title as the idiot of the class.
But, on rare occasion like this, he would make an exception.
Thus, he waited until Sakuto turned around.
Obito reached out right at that exact moment—pointedly ignoring the way Fuwa was banging his fluffy head to the back of Sakuto's cloak as if the pup was lamenting on the idiot Obito has chosen to be—and quickly grabbed a hold on the low silver ponytail moments before Sakuto activated Kamui.
Fuwa slapped his cheek with a soft paw the moment they both fell tumbling onto Sakuto's back.
What a brat of a puppy.
Though, there was no time to engage in a glaring match with the puppy now.
There was a roar thundering across the landscape—a loud unholy roar that rocked the Earth—and Obito was scrambling off Sakuto's back right the next second.
It was a bad idea.
He winced, being painfully reminded of the current predicament of his injuries the moment he stepped onto the ground. Pain seared up his right leg like wildfire, barely easing up even as he shifted his weight onto the crutch—
Then, Rin roared again.
The pain was no longer a hindrance.
The broken noise in his head was distorted—like the statics of the newly-developed radio that R&D department has tried to push into the shinobi's standard supplies—and Obito couldn't reach Rin despite all the yelling and screaming from his part.
The distortion was far far worse than when she was trapped in the genjutsu back in the Kannabi mission.
Obito couldn't hear Rin's thoughts at all.
He tried to reach out for her, tried to break through the static that distorted their link, but everything seemed to be futile.
She couldn't hear him just as he couldn't hear her.
But Obito could feel her anguish. The waves of sorrow and grief rippled across their distorted link before it was quickly overwhelmed with inhuman anger and hatred.
Rin was fading.
That was all that it took to spur Obito into pure reckless action. He screamed for her—voice, mind, soul; he used them all to reach for her—pushing himself past the pain as he completely ditched his crutches and ran to comfort his grieving sister—
He barely saw the shock-waves of hot water blasting straight to his face before the world swirled and he ended up cradled in a bridal carry, tucked in Sakuto's arms as they reappeared a good distance away from the rampaging Rin.
Naturally, after such recklessness, Sakuto would keep him at the sidelines.
But not for long.
"He asked you to stay put."
Obito pursed his lips and lowered his gaze, emitting the hopeless scent of distress that he knew would typically bend even Fugaku into submitting to his whims. He kinda felt bad for using this on Nagato, but desperate time calls for desperate measure. He slackened his posture when Nagato seemed to be resistant, changing his intention from comforting to persuading.
The impact was instantaneous.
Nagato stiffened almost instantly, his body turning rigid while ringed purple orbs stared at Obito with the slightest dazed look. The dazed look then slowly morphed to a scowl, a frown grew on Nagato's face, replacing the comforted blissed expression to that of a disbelieving expression.
Obito quirked a tiny smirk.
No one ever understood how the hell he was so good at negotiating and manipulating people to listen to him.
No one.
He then tentatively looked up, curling his lips into a hesitant hopeful pout.
He internally cheered the moment Nagato's body went lax—a tattle-tale sign that the red-haired finally caved into his natural instinct.
"Please?" he added, just for a good measure.
Nagato openly whimpered.
"O-okay," the red-haired agreed, voice weak even as he produced a shadow clone to replace his duty holding onto Konan's trembling hands and Yahiko's limp ones. "But you're going to take responsibility if he asked."
"Take me closer to them," Obito assured. "That's all that I ask."
Nagato let out another soft helpless whimper.
"You're evil and suicidal," the red-head murmured then, voice still weak and helpless even as he tentatively reached out to Obito. "This is stupid."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Obito grinned, allowing himself to be carried by Nagato. "And you don't have to do this if you don't want to."
Nagato's face twisted to a torn expression, looking like Obito just gave him the ultimatum that he could not fulfil.
Obito cracked a tiny smile when Nagato started running.
It was relieving to know that he could still do this.
Sakuto showed no signs that he even noticed Obito's attempt of persuading him using this tactic earlier, so Obito wasn't sure if his injuries had an effect on whatever parts of his biology that allowed him to easily persuade any alpha in close proximity with him to pause and consider his request. Heck, he was surprised when he was able to comfort Nagato's spiking anxiety the moment Fuwa collapsed out of chakra exhaustion, despite being fully convinced that he has lost this little ability when Sakuto didn't react to him earlier.
Not that he would complain.
After all the annoying things he had to deal with, being able to influence the mood of nearby alphas is an ability that he enjoyed. Their nature made this all too easy, especially during the monthly blood fall.
Alphas tend to be so easily submissive to his whims during that particular week after all.
But of course, Sakuto wasn't affected.
Which was kinda irritating in a weirdly exciting way. It was almost like a challenge.
Obito loves challenges.
Though, that needed to wait until he had both of his packmates in his arms and hugged their life out of their traitorous missing-nin asses.
Which beg the next question.
Where is Bakashi?
"Um, Nagato-san?" Obito asked as Nagato landed on a rock halfway towards the battle.
"Hmm?"
"Is there anyone else with Rin when she first arrived here?"
"No," the answer came in a heartbeat. "Why?"
"Nothing," Obito said, lowering his gaze as he tried to drown the fear that has reared its ugly head in his subconscious. "They must have split ways then."
Probably sensing his spiralling mood, Nagato wisely remained in silence.
Obito tried not to think of the reasons that Kakashi wasn't with Rin.
It wasn't like Kakashi at all—at least, wasn't like the Kakashi that Obito has to yell at back at the cave when the brat wanted to turn around and retrieve Obito instead of escaping—and it was definitely so unlike Rin to let Kakashi out of her sight when she was convinced that she has lost Obito.
Rin has always cherished their bond—more than Kakashi and Obito, in fact—and has been overprotective over them both ever seen their team become a pack. She wouldn't let her last brother out of her sight, moreover now that they were both missing-nin that would be vulnerable to bounty hunters.
It was worryingly odd that Kakashi wasn't here.
Thankfully, Obito didn't have the chance to drown in that worry.
It started with a flash of lightning.
The dark night turned impossibly bright. Pure lightning crackled from the ground rather than the sky as a piercing howl speared through the night, equally vicious and thundering as the roaring beast that Rin has become. The misty dome that the Sanbi has created burst to non-existence, dispersing like fading cloud to make way for the glowing silver mass that stood regal against the rampaging Sanbi.
Nagato halted, hands trembling, and eyes widened in horror.
Obito stared, hands curled to tight fist, eyes widened in awe.
Without him realising it, his sharingan slowly spun to life, capturing the regal beast into his eternal memory.
The rippling muscles of four strong limbs coated with shimmering silver fur. The massive tails—nine of them—crackled with pure lightning as they snapped in the air, sending statics so far across the battlefield that they made the hair on his arms stood.
Dark eyes gleamed, pitch black against the shimmering silver of the fur, intelligent and feral, yet so very human too, that it made Obito's heart unknowingly stuttered a beat.
He has never seen something so dangerously beautiful.
The wolf lunged towards the Sanbi, clawed hands reaching out to pin the now completely transformed turtle onto the wet ground, massive jaw snapped dangerously close to the short stout neck of the Sanbi. Its appearance seemed to take the Sanbi off guard for a brief minute, before the turtle snapped out of it and quickly rolled into a spinning spiked ball, escaping the clawed clutch of the wolf in an instant.
The Sanbi unrolled itself once it was a good distance away from the wolf, pink glowing eyes stared intently at the shimmering silver wolf.
"Who are you?" the beast spoke in a deep gravelly voice that echoed throughout the whole barren wetland.
There was no verbal response, but some form of communication must have happened between the beasts because the Sanbi growled the very next minute, his form solidifying to the silhouette of a spiked turtle rather than the flickering shape of a beast earlier.
"There are only nine bijuu."
Nothing else was spoken after that declaration.
It was a full-on monster brawl.
......................
Nagato has heard the rumours that Konoha's shinobi were extremely eccentric when compared to the rest of the major villages.
Jiraiya-sensei kinda confirmed that rumour, because despite how much Orochimaru creeped Nagato out, the Snake Sannin had a point when he offered quick instant death to Nagato and his little pack.
It was the peak of the Second Shinobi War back then when they first encountered the trio of Sannin. The number of manpower were crucial to the warring nations and killing off war orphans like them would be a merciful thing to do as opposed to letting them struggle to survive in the aftermath of this war. Despite everything, Orochimaru has a point. He was the critical thinker of the team, thinking as a cold strategist rather than an emphatic human.
Because for all the goodness in the world, Nagato knew that Jiraiya was low-key betraying Konoha when he decided to stay and train some orphaned Ame's children right at the peak of the Second Shinobi War.
Ame wasn't a trusted ally of Konoha. Tentative ally, yes, but both parties would be all too willing to stab each other on the back at moment's notice. Danzou turning tails and abandoning Hanzou was the immediate proof.
Jiraiya's compassion to train the children of Ame has the potentials to backfire, especially if Nagato decided to turn against Konoha. It was the stupidest decision among the most stupid decisions in history. One did not simply train a potential enemy.
Plus, Jiraiya-sensei was one of the Sannin. He was one of the strong shinobi of Konoha and for him to abandon his duties to train a trio of orphans (without so much of care given to the sheer absurdity of that decision) has shown how much of an eccentric a Konoha's shinobi could be.
This Uchiha boy was no different.
Eccentric. Suicidal. Stupid. Insane.
"You're insane."
That's it. That was the only thing Nagato could comment on this eccentric insanity.
Obito hummed, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, grimacing when the burden was on his right side though the determined gleam in his red eyes didn't fade.
Nagato winced upon seeing that Obito was clearly favouring his left side rather than his right.
"I think this is close enough," Obito said with a cheerful grin, very pointedly dismissing Nagato's comment. He reached out a hand to squeeze Nagato's shoulder, emitting waves of comforting gratitude. "Thank you," he smiled, softer now as he shifted his gaze towards the far end of the field where Konan and Yahiko were. "Sorry for being so selfish and making you do this."
Nagato's eyes softened, gentle and understanding.
"She's yours, isn't she?" he murmured, eyeing the brawling monsters.
Obito's responding smile was soft and gentle.
"Yeah," he said. "That's why I need to bring her back."
Nagato no longer has the heart to stop Obito.
He understood it all too well—the needs to protect that gleamed in those spinning sharingan, he understood it far too well. He didn't need to be told of the history behind the Konoha's pack. That determined gleam alone has told him more than enough about Rin and Obito—of their bond, of the obvious fact that Obito was the initiator, of the fact that the Uchiha boy was the nucleus that tied the pack together.
He may have been raised in ignorance to the ancient rules, but he knew the weigh of the bond to the initiator—the one who started it all, the one who tied the different individuals to one unit of linked family.
The deep sense of understanding he had was enough to convince him that despite the sheer suicidal stupidity of wanting to butt in between a literal monster brawl, Obito had a chance to calm the rampaging beast.
So, Nagato put his trust in the Uchiha, taking Obito by surprise as he swooped the smaller male in his arms and sunshin closer to the brawling beasts.
After all, Konoha's shinobi were infamous for gaining their victory through unpredictable recklessness.
If his hair wasn't already silver since birth, Kakashi was positive he would turn grey right at this instance.
"Rin!!!"
On second thought, even if his hair wasn't showing the age that his soul just went through, he was sure as hell that his heart was on its way to a cardiac failure right now. Not even the amusing commentaries in his head could save him from this death.
"That is straight up Naruto-level reckless stupidity over there." Sakura started.
"Sakura-chaaannn!!!"
"Wait, why are we even surprised?"
"Not you too, Sasuke—"
"I agree."
"Kurama!"
Kakashi resisted the urge to detach himself from this glowing silver chakra so that he could bury himself in the muddy crater that he just tossed Isobu into. The urge was getting stronger as seconds ticked by, but he resisted it, despite how appealing the muddy crater looked like as his permanent burial ground. It would be highly impractical to do so.
But dear Rikudou-Sennin, he really wanted to.
This was it. He's going to die of cardiac arrest right here.
God damn it, Obito.
Oh, wait. Maybe his heart has already stopped functioning. This can't be real. Nagato shouldn't be that carelessly reckless to aid with this suicidal stupidity, right? He was the leader of Akatsuki after all. That was the boy that grew to be the man that earned Uchiha Itachi's respect. Uzumaki Nagato was a formidable opponent that surely wouldn't be this reckless, right? Maybe the Sanbi's mist has actually killed him. Or trapped him in a weird hallucination. This can't be real—
"RIN!"
Kakashi's heart made a figurative backflip when Obito twisted out of Nagato's hold and landed so ungracefully right at the centre of Sanbi's forehead.
"Holy shit Obito, you reckless motherfucker."
Kakashi was way too panicked to even pause and agree with Sakura's commentaries.
Isobu trashed upon Obito's ungraceful landing, looking like he wanted to bat the tiny human away from his forehead, thus causing Kakashi to spur into action right that instance.
Near-death hallucination or not, he did not want to watch Obito went splat at the hands of the Sanbi.
Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
He recalled the way Naruto manipulated Kyuubi's chakra back during the Fourth War, deeply grateful that he had the front-row seat to a bijuu's prowess back then. Mimicking Naruto's movements from those memories, Kakashi formed four Rasenshuriken, enhancing the spinning futon blade with Amaterasu's flame that he directed towards the Sanbi's limbs.
Isobu growled and halted for a brief second.
Kakashi took that opportunity to pin Isobu's limbs down with all nine-tails of Kyuubi's henge-ed form, sending pulses of weak raiton to electrocute and incapacitate the Sanbi.
It hardly worked, considering that Kakashi has to use minimum voltage to avoid accidentally injuring Rin and Obito.
Amaterasu was out of the equation too, now that Obito was standing on Isobu's head.
Isobu tried to retract his limbs into his shell once again, but the Kyuubi has quickly stopped that attempt by trapping the turtle's stout neck between his massive jaws. There was a violent struggle to break free from the Sanbi's part—creating even more muddy craters and completely altering the landscape as Isobu tried to break free—but Kyuubi kept his jaw clamped tight around the turtle's neck, all nine silver crackling tails not budging from pinning Isobu down.
Isobu's effort grew even more futile when glowing red chains emerged from the ground to shackle his limbs firm to the Earth.
Kakashi peered down to give Nagato a thankful nod.
He tried hard to not think about the awed star-struck look that was on the young Uzumaki's face.
Shifting his attention away from his star-struck future ally, Kakashi redirected his gaze towards Obito, fully determined to strangle that idiot once they got Rin out of this bijuu transformation. It took a pure effort of his part to not detach himself from the glowing chakra-wolf that the Kyuubi has shrouded him in and yelled at his old friend.
His anxiety and worries have spiked up beyond the normal level he usually experienced that it was a wonder his heart hasn't stopped functioning yet.
Not that Obito would know that.
Though, as if to pressure his old fragile heart more, Obito met his gaze and sent him a coy grin.
Then, the suicidal idiot turned around to stare into Isobu's massive eyes—red sharingan meeting inhuman pink—and Kakashi almost screamed in pure horror when spinning tomoe emerged in the beast's eyes.
What. The. Actual. Fuck. Is. He. DOING??!!
Isobu's pink eyes turned to pure sharingan red.
Kakashi started hyperventilating.
How? Why? Is this even possible? How? How? You're injured. You're not yet trained with that sharingan. How the hell did you put a literal motherfucking bijuu in a genjutsu—
God damn it, Obito.
Kakashi moved one crackling tail to retrieve Obito from the bijuu.
"Kakashi, wait."
"Kaka-sensei, stop!"
It was the combined voices of Naruto and Sasuke that stopped him from reaching out to pull Obito away from the Sanbi. This would end up badly to their future hopeful alliance with the bijuu. This wasn't how one would gain the bijuu's trusts, considering the bad history the bijuu had with a sharingan-user.
Kakashi has been restraining himself from manipulating the bijuu using his sharingan, and now Obito so easily used his sharingan on the bijuu.
God damn it, Obito.
"The sharingan is just a tool," Naruto murmured, sounding oddly pleased for some unknown reason. "Look carefully, Kaka-sensei."
Kakashi stared and squinted at Obito and saw nothing that would make sense of Naruto's pleased tone.
"Damn that Uchiha brat," Kurama huffed, sounding like he was amused out of all things.
Kakashi wondered if the voices in his head have gone insane too—Kyuubi included.
But the amused tone of Kyuubi no Kitsune has halted his intention to stop Obito's manipulation on the Sanbi. He obliged to Naruto's words, focusing more of his attention on his friend and the Sanbi, fully trusting Nagato and the Kyuubi to keep Isobu restrained.
Obito looked so small now that he stood on the bijuu. His extended arms barely reached the corner of Isobu's eyes as he embraced the bijuu's snout. His head was smaller than Isobu's irises—a tiny puny human as compared to the beast—but his posture was completely relaxed and calm.
At ease. That was Obito now. Calm and at ease, like he was around an ally rather than around a rampaging bijuu.
Obito rested his forehead against Isobu's rough skin, nuzzling his nose like one would do to a harmless animal rather than a literal rampaging tailed-beast before his eyes slowly fluttered shut.
Kakashi's anxiety and worries spiked up when the tomoe faded from Isobu's eyes and the massive pink irises slowly darted to stare at Obito.
Though, oddly enough, the look in Isobu's eyes was soft and filled with curious wonder.
Kakashi could sense the shift in Isobu's chakra too—the shift from anger and hatred to curiousity and wonder—but he refused to let his guard down.
And as if his life goal was to kill Kakashi with horror-induced heart failure, Obito stretched on his tip-toes and planted a kiss on Isobu's forehead.
The cardiac failure almost seemed too possible now as Isobu returned Obito's gesture with a deep purr—that almost seemed adorable in the most horrifying way—and those massive pink eyes fluttered shut in peace.
Obito's lips moved then, murmuring only one word to the beast.
"Please."
That was what Kakashi's sharingan could read from the movement of Obito's lips.
And surprisingly, the beast listened. The silhouette of the giant turtle flickered from looking like actual flesh and blood turtle beast to a glowing form of magenta chakra-turtle with an unconscious Rin floating right on its forehead. It was a strange sight to behold, to see the Sanbi being at peace, especially after the battle that they had to stop the beast's rampage.
Obito reached his hands past through the glowing chakra, pulling Rin out and straight into his arms.
Isobu's chakra vanished.
Obito and Rin fell, still tangled in a tight embrace.
Kakashi threw himself into the air as Kyuubi's chakra faded into the thin air, reaching out to grab both of his old friends into the cradle of his arms.
He pulled them close to his chest, refusing to let go.
.............................
Konan tried really hard to not eavesdrop.
"So...."
"Shush. I need to concentrate."
She resisted the reflex to arch her back when the brush stabbed a little too harsh at her spine, all the while pretending to be deaf to the conversation that was happening right behind her.
"You're sulking."
"I'm trying to remove a cursed seal here."
Well, she tried.
"Geez, Sakuto."
"What is it, Obito?"
Obito groaned.
"I'm in trouble, am I?" The words were said in an exasperated sigh.
There was a rustling sound, the brush against her skin was retracted away for a brief moment, hovering millimetres from her bare back.
"You think?"
Konan truly has tried her best to not eavesdrop.
Which was kinda hard to do, considering that the Ghost was practically breathing down her neck while the Uchiha boy was breathing down his neck.
It really felt like she was third-wheeling between these two.
But she couldn't exactly remove herself from this awkward tensed atmosphere. She needed help, and the only person capable of the skills to help her was currently breathing down her neck, painting her exposed skin with intricate ink of seals that looked even more difficult than the ones that Jiraiya-sensei often use. The pain has subsided when she woke from her brief unconsciousness, and she was strong enough now to move on her own without relying on Nagato for support.
On normal occasions, she would have shrugged this off and get on with her life.
However, the cursed seal is still there on her neck, pulsing with foreign invasive chakra.
She has no choice. She needed this seal to be completely removed. She was desperate to have it removed.
Didn't make being between these two any less suffocating though.
Excluding her subordinates outside, she was the only one who was awake to listen to these lovebirds arguing. Nagato was slumped unconscious against the wall, curled up at the corner of the room—exhausted and drained—looking so small and young under the thick blanket. Nestled on his lap was a small limp fluff of fur that looked so dead if it didn't occasionally twitch and whimper.
They have been in that state long before she woke up.
The Ghost—Hatake Sakuto—has informed her regarding Nagato's absurd stubbornness of refusing to let her out of his sight. The reckless idiot has determinedly produced one clone to stay with Yahiko at the room next door while he followed them here to watch over her as she got this cursed seal removed. The small ball of fluff—Fuwa, damn, she really needed to remember these names—has long knocked out unconscious, previously nestled against her heart as she woke to the soft green glow and the sight of the infamous Ghost hunched over Yahiko's pale body.
Nagato refused to let the puppy away from his grasp too, clinging with pure gratefulness to the small ball of fluff that has collapsed out of chakra exhaustion to help ease up her pain.
Konan blinked in surprise when her view of sleeping Nagato was suddenly blocked by Sakuto.
Damn. The hope of the world sure is looking good.
"It isn't that dangerous...," Obito started, crutches thudding against the marble floor as he hobbled around the painted circle on the ground to hover behind Sakuto. "You're overreacting—"
"Oh, sure. Shoving your way between a literal monster brawl is so D-rank kind of mission," Sakuto returned, voice low like a growl, though Konan could hear the hint of sulkiness mixed in his voice. "What next? You're gonna give free hugs and kisses to the warring troupe?"
Behind him, Obito rolled his eyes, leant his weight onto his crutches as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"You're so passive-aggressive, do you know that?"
Sakuto shot him a dirty glare before turning his mismatched gaze at Konan, looking like he was fully determined to ignore Obito. He reached out his hands, the right one to hold Konan's shoulder while the left hand gripped on the brush with a tight death grip.
Konan pitied the poor guy.
The worries and anxieties that were plaguing his mind were so obvious from the deadly grip he had on the brush. Hell, she could feel the trembles of his palm and the dampness of his skin against her own.
Despite this strong façade and their apparent victory, Sakuto was still shaken.
The sun has already risen so bright in the sky, taking away the darkness yesterday away. The rain has stopped—something that was rare in Ame—and the laughter of celebrating civilians could be heard from outside. They were currently in Hanzou's palace—Nagato having taken over the whole nation with the help of the Ghost before the dawn broke—with the rest of Akatsuki being summoned from their hideout to help in the revolution to take over Ame. They even had the mass with them, because the survivors from Hanzou's troops have returned with the news of what had happened just outside the gate of Ame, igniting the hope of the oppressed half of Amegakure to fight.
Konan was unconscious as it happened, but apparently, they have sent what little able-bodied people they had to venture outside the unguarded gates to greet the Ghost—having seen his prowess from afar last night—and proposed a hopeful wish for aid.
Hanzou was gone, yet his loyal tyranny council was still around.
These oppressed citizens have witnessed the battle last night. These people knew that symbol of peace and hope was literally outside their gates.
They didn't waste any time to act.
The citizens of Ame seized the chance of the Ghost's presence, giving information to allow Akatsuki's invasion into their village in order to gain their own freedom from the remnants of Hanzou's tyranny.
By daybreak, a new chapter in Ame has started.
Yet in all the hope this victory has brought, the infamous Ghost—the vital person who sparked the hope and strength inside these people—was still brimming with anxiety and paranoia.
It almost made Konan considered to discard her reservations of not hurting an injured person to slap some senses into Uchiha Obito's face.
Sakuto was clearly still shaken with whatever reckless action that Obito has taken last night and this idiot of a brat was still trying to play it off like he just misplaced his kunai at the most stupid place instead of pulling who-knows-how-reckless-stunt.
"Are you seriously pretending that I did not exist?!"
Silence. The brush moved across Konan's skin, painting intricate runes down her bare arms.
"Sakuto!"
Sakuto's blue eye twitched, but he determinedly remained in silence, hesitating for a brief moment before he pushed the fabric covering Konan's front up to her ribs.
"Oh, is this how you're going to play it?"
Konan gave Sakuto an assuring smile, nodding her permission when his gaze sought her permission to push the cloth slightly higher.
Not one muscle of the silver-haired teen twitched to show that he was actually paying attention to Obito.
"Okay, fine."
Konan's internal sigh was echoed by Sakuto's not-so-subtle groan.
Sakuto stared blankly off Konan's shoulder, though his eyes were oddly wide and expressive. The shifts and twitches of his mismatched eyes gave the impression that he was having an intense dialogue in his own head. Then, his shoulders hunched in resignation, a pained grimace made its way onto his face as he turned his head to look over his shoulder, sending an annoyed glare in Obito's direction.
"Obito—"
He was silenced right the next second.
Konan poorly hid a humorous snort, hiding her twitching lips behind the cloth that was covering her breasts.
"I'm sorry, okay?" Obito murmured, hands curving around Sakuto's jaw, keeping the infamous Ghost in place as he planted a kiss on top of the silver spikes. "I did it to save Rin."
Sakuto gaped, cheeks growing pinker for each second that ticked by.
Konan had to bite the cloth to hide her laughter when Sakuto flushed to a deep red when Obito pulled him into a hug.
This alliance seemed like it would be amusingly entertaining.
.............................
Kakashi's cheeks were still flushed pink when he finally got to excuse himself from his adoring allies and fans.
There were still lots to do to secure Akatsuki's rule in Ame—weeding out the corrupts politicians, freeing the wrongly imprisoned citizens, removing the slavery seals from the servants, and gathering trustworthy allies among the politicians—but Kakashi felt so drained. He was tired—both physically and emotionally—just like how it used to be back when he had the average chakra reserve that was constantly being drained by his sharingan.
After the events of last night, it felt justified to sleep for an hour or two once he got some moments for himself.
Yahiko was healed and would be up and running after a day or two of bedrest. Konan's curse was removed, and she was already out there directing the rest of Akatsuki to deep clean the political hierarchy of Amegakure. Nagato would be fine once he got sufficient sleep. Rin would be probably joining Konan managing the new ruling system of Ame soon, considering that Isobu promised Obito that he would help her heal from the inside.
Fuwa would be fine too (and hopefully returned to him) once Nagato was coherent and awake enough to let go of the pup.
The citizens of Ame was doing their best to pretend not witnessing the events last night—their cheery voices could be heard even from this private room that Hanzou's maids have prepared for Kakashi—and it seemed like they were working with Akatsuki for the betterment of their village.
All in all, things should be calm enough for Kakashi to flop onto the futon and get a short nap.
But his cheeks were still warm from the blood rush, he could still feel Obito's calloused warm hands cupping his jaw and the light weight of his old friend's lips on top of his head.
It almost made him bury his face to the pillow and screamed.
"Are you going to scream like how Sakura screamed whenever Sasuke so much acknowledge her?" Naruto randomly commented. "Because that is not cool at all, sensei."
Oh no. He was too tired to notice that his thoughts weren't private like it used to be.
"Oh, wow, Naruto," Sakura shot back, though there was no bite in her voice. "Don't be so sassy."
"I'm stating the truth, sis."
"Ah, back in the olden days when I used to be so childish."
Kakashi winced when Sasuke joined the conversation with a mock howl.
The sadistic brat has been doing that ever since Kyuubi henge-ed into a wolf form. He howled and barked, giving his input in doggy-talk as if Kakashi has somehow transformed into a dog because of his bijuu mode with the Kyuubi. He didn't even know how this happened—didn't even want to know from where Sasuke learned this irritating playfulness—because Kakashi was honestly preferring the old bloodthirsty Sasuke now rather than this one, and that was not an okay thought.
"Woof," Sasuke teased again. "Awwh, our poor doggy has a crush."
"God damn it, Sasuke." Naruto groaned, sounding fondly exasperated. "Do we need to leash you?"
"Nah," Sasuke said, and for some odd reasons, Kakashi could totally imagine the brat's evil grin. "Kakashi is the one needing a leash. You know, before he jumped the unsuspecting ass of my still-innocent cousin."
Kakashi remembered the incredibly sweet and pleasant scent he was drowned in when Obito hugged him and he quickly tried to derail his subconscious thought before his imaginary students got a wind of it—
"Whoa, Kaka-sensei!" Naruto shouted. "I do not need to know that!"
"TMI," Sakura crooned. "But that was cute. You're really tuned to his scent. So adorable."
Kakashi groaned to the pillow.
"You're not even being subtle now, Sakura," Sasuke mused.
"Sensei has a crush," Sakura countered. "What kind of a student I will be if I didn't support him?"
A REASONABLE ONE. Kakashi mentally yelled at them.
Obito was currently fourteen. Kakashi was doubled that age prior to this time-travel bullshit. He was twenty-eight to Obito's fourteen.
This was not okay.
"You're in a teen body right now, though."
Sakura, NO.
Kakashi countered weakly.
"Awooooooooo!"
Fuck you too, Sasuke.
Thankfully, before this unholy combo of embarrassing kids could proceed to humiliate him to death, Kyuubi finally decided to butt in and save the day.
"If you don't want to sleep kit, go and meditate."
Kakashi was up and obliging that suggestion in a heartbeat. He was tired and exhausted, his muscles were aching from the battle last night and his attention was non-existent due to his thoughts going in all direction possible, yet he found it oddly easy to sit in a lotus position, close his eyes and isolated his senses from the surroundings.
He timed his breathing with his own heartbeats, keeping it slow and evenly paced as his body went lax. His sight went first of course, as he closed his eyes first. Then, his hearing went away, fading the bustling noise of changing Ame to pleasant white noise. His sense of touch went away next, before it was finally followed by his sense of smell. His muscles relaxed from its tensed knots, his breathing evened out as he fell into a state of serenity.
The world faded around him, pulling him into a state of silent calmness.
It was when he heard the hushed huff of a now familiar fox that Kakashi finally opened his eyes.
Kyuubi grinned down at him, and Kakashi took a brief moment to admire his surroundings.
It was brighter than the previous plane, something that he wasn't expecting despite having predicted that this will happen when Kyuubi asked him to meditate on his own. He has no idea how the bijuu plane worked—only having his knowledge of it from Naruto's disconnected conversations with the bijuu back in the Fourth War—though, he had a hunch that Kyuubi would bring him to a more private plane once he meditated.
He needed to get used to this after all. He has to warn all nine of the bijuu of the potentials threat, and Kyuubi wanted him there when all ten of them convene a gathering. Entering the private bijuu plane at will seemed to be a reasonable skill to have.
It didn't explain the smug, shit-eating grin that Kyuubi was directing at him, though.
"Kurama-sa—"
Kakashi caught himself when Kyuubi narrowed those demonic red eyes at him.
"Get used to me, kit," the beast said, slowly lowering his body to curl to a relaxed curl. "And you're welcome."
"Wha—?"
Kakashi didn't get to finish his question.
"SENSEI!"
A blur of bright yellow, before his ribs were lovingly crushed in a huge hug.
He fell backwards onto the rippling ground with a familiar weight nuzzling to his chest. The smirking faces that were peering down at him were painfully familiar.
It took a moment for him to register that this wasn't a hallucination.
Kakashi then chortled a laugh, hands coming up to ruffle the blonde spikes nuzzling to his chest, his eyes crinkled as he stared up to meet the smug smirks of his students.
"Miss you too, kids."