Third person pov

By the next morning, everyone knew what had happened. The father of the girl who'd joined the notorious Team Minato was dead by suicide. Minato's blood had run cold the second news reached him. The look on Rin's face was something that would be burned into his mind's eye for the rest of his life, but Kakashi's was far, far worse. The way his expression twisted beneath his mask when he learned that Ethelia had seen her father hanging there. He was no doubt seeing the parallels between what she was going through and what he experienced as a child.

However, it was still odd. The village was... well, just fine. Obito wasn't at the training grounds, but he was usually late so it was nothing to bat an eye at. Ethelia also wasn't here though, which obviously made sense. She'd just lost her father in one of the worst ways possible. Nobody was expecting her to show up. They were, however, expecting her to blow up. No offense to her of course. She wasn't the most pleasant person, but she was their teammate and they all cared to their respective extents. It was just...

Her immense chakra was heavily controlled by her emotions. That much they knew, and had always known. There was no getting around that fact. It was something they'd known since day one. If she got too emotional, she'd blow up. That was that. If her temper rose to new and terrifying heights, she'd kill everyone in the village. If she panicked too much, she'd simply combust! The same went for grief, and for joy. Were her emotions not muted, they'd destroy Konoha. Simple as that.

That's how things would be until she got better control over her power. That's why it was so odd that the village was still standing. She'd found out yesterday, so why weren't they dead yet? It had been displayed several times that she loved her father. He was all she had left, and they were close. Close enough that he was distraught to learn she was becoming a ninja. Close enough that he... over the fact that she was... 

"D-Do you think she's in a state of shock, still?" Rin asked shakily. Ethelia was still in the village. Her chakra was immense and a constant presence. It was near impossible to notice unless you were aware of it, because it had been there for over twelve years now, coming up fast on the thirteen mark. The signature was fluctuating heavily, though. Minato had noticed it last night, as had Kakashi. They hadn't thought too much of it at the time. Now, it made far more sense. 

"It's possible. If that's the case, we need to find her fast before..." Minato trailed off and left the inevitable unspoken. They needed to contain Ethelia somewhere she couldn't hurt anyone. Of course they didn't want to hurt her or upset her more; that would only serve to further the issue at hand. They just wanted to ensure the safety of her and everyone else, that's all. And that meant finding Ethelia.

"She and Obito are friends. I say we go get him first." Kakashi said smoothly, trying not to let his unease show. Because he knew what Ethelia was going through, and what she was feeling. If anything, it was worse for her. He'd been six when his father... when his father ended his own life. He hadn't truly understood what it meant back then, and hadn't known how to process it. All he'd known was that he was upset and angry. Angry at his father and the villagers who shunned him, and angry at himself for not being there.

Ethelia was in a world of hurt. She was close to her father, and anyone with half a brain and the bare minimum of no eyes could see that. They were important to one another. A family. While Kakashi had long since forgotten what having that felt like, that didn't mean he didn't understand it any less. To know someone you loved and cared for would take the easy way out, and to known that you weren't able to stop it... she was breaking. He just knew she was.

He wasn't really friends with Ethelia. She was a slob, and lazy. She complained about everything and ate more than he ever thought possible. He found himself silently theorizing that a small black hole had taken root in her stomach due to the chakra she had, and she had to feed that as well as herself everyday. There was no way she'd be able to stuff herself and still stay thin as a twig otherwise. Not with how little she'd worked out prior to joining Team Minato.

Despite that, she was determined. She obviously didn't want to kill everyone. She cared, and that technically made her a good person morally speaking. That, and her reasons for doing it... she was doing it for her dad, because she loved him. It had taken Kakashi a good long while to see that. She loved him, and didn't want him to work himself to the bone anymore. She was thankful for all he'd done for her, and she wanted to give back to him. Ethelia was oddly endearing in that way. She didn't seem to care too much for herself. It was unhealthy, but at least she felt the need to look out for other people.

He'd seen several sides to her. As they rushed towards Obito's apartment, he couldn't help but feel a little afraid of what he'd find. The girl he'd grown to know wasn't someone he particularly thought about. His teammates were an annoyance and least, and an inconvenience at most. He put up with them because he had to. That included Ethelia. It didn't matter how much he'd gotten to know her or how many sides of her he'd seen. It didn't change the fact that he held her in the same regard as Rin and Obito. They were simply mandatory, and that was all.

And yet here he was, worried and afraid that the whiny teenage girl he'd seen grow and flourish somewhat ungracefully over the past weeks would be someone different. A stranger. 

They moved quickly and efficiently. If Kakashi and Minato saw Rin blinking back tears every so often, they didn't dare to comment on it. They were all afraid. Not the kind of fear that made you cower. It was the kind that made your face go pale with dread, and your heart rate increase with a drastic panic. It was the type that made everything feel out of control and unbearably erratic.

Rin didn't have the best relationship with Ethelia. They'd started to become friends, and it wasn't that they were on bad terms now. But she'd said some horrible things about someone she'd been friends with since she was a little girl, and it had disgusted Ethelia. It was another peek into her personality that was intriguing to Rin, yet also made the brunette wince. She'd been awful, and though Ethelia was over it, her opinion of Rin had clearly been swayed by it.

Minato knocked on Obito's apartment door with a surprising amount of patience. The doorknob was shiny and new, and not like the only one which you could just jiggle for a minute to get it to turn and unlock. Rin shifted her weight from foot to foot. Seeing it from the corner of his eye, Kakashi was annoyed by it. But he didn't mention it. He was doing almost the same thing, though it wasn't nearly as noticeable. As unpleasant as he was, he made a real effort not to be too hypocritical if he could help it.

It took a moment, but the door eventually creaked open to reveal Obito. He wasn't groggy from sleep like they thought he might be. He also wasn't cheerful. No, he looked ragged. He had bruises covering his arms and peeking out from the collar of his shirt. The bags under his eyes were just as dark as the marks, and his hair was a tangled mess even with how short it was. He looked beaten down, but he hadn't given up. His eyes were steely with a strength that hadn't been here before.

"She's in here." His voice was hoarse. It made Minato flinch. "She uh... came here after. She didn't want to blow up and..."

Their eyes went to his bruises. Had he taken the brunt of her chakra fluctuations?

"She's awake. Don't bring up her dad unless she does first. Also don't be too loud and put no pressure on her. Also watch out for glass. I think I got it all, but I don't know." His voice wasn't cheerful as it usually was. It held a relieved undertone, but was dry and flat as well. Like Kakashi's, but with more exhaustion. There was no venom behind his words. No animosity or impatience. He was simply giving them information.

"S...So she won't... blow up?" Rin asked in a hushed tone. Obito frowned, but his expression didn't change otherwise. He looked ten years older than he actually was, running a hand through his messy hair and sighing.

"I...I don't know. No, I don't think so." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Minato frowned, and so did Kakashi. The Uchiha boy turned around, shoulders and back tense with stress as he re-entered his apartment.

Ethelia looked horrible. She sat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. She was horribly pale, and if they thought the bags under Obito's eyes were bad... hers were at least three time as bad. It wasn't a pretty sight. Her hair was in a better state than Obito's, somewhat. Based on the brush sitting next to her, she'd either brushed it herself or allowed the Uchiha himself to do it. All the photos Obito had were lying flat, presumably to keep anymore from falling over. There were a some vases and dishes sitting in the corner on the floor, also presumably to keep them from falling should Ethelia's chakra fluctuate.

Her eyes went to them as they nervously entered. Obito trudged over and batted the brush off the couch, plopping down next to her tiredly. She blinked at Team Minato as they filed in. They were very clearly perturbed by the situation, and Ethelia couldn't much blame them. She was a ticking time bomb. One wrong move and she'd go over the edge. At least she was aware of that, and she was trying. She felt calmer now, but even she knew a single false step could break the wrong twig on her forest floor. 

"Hey." Her voice came out quieter than she thought it might. "I...I'm alright. I won't..."

"Can we do anything?" Minato asked instead. Her chakra was still waving uneasily, but it wasn't booming like it had been the day before. She was doing okay. When she said she wasn't going to blow up, she meant it. She really had gotten a firm hold on her chakra, even if it was more overwhelming than usual. It hadn't even been a full day. They couldn't discount her for being upset.

"Give me a second." Ethelia cleared her throat, shaking out her hands and taking a few deep breaths. Kakashi watched her analytically. She seemed... well, to be handling it better than he thought. It occurred to him that maybe she had a stronger handle on her emotions than he'd originally given her credit for. While he didn't often like to admit being wrong, simply because he was usually right, this wasn't about him and it wasn't the time to be petty. It seemed Ethelia was a bit stronger then he'd assumed.

The girl cleared her throat. "Right I... I can't go back to that house. It's not a risk I'm willing to take. I-I don't know how I'd react." She admitted. Minato blinked, surprised, as did Rin and even Kakashi. "But I have clothes there. Toothbrush, deodorant. Underwear. Stuff like that. Maybe my pillow and some blankets if you can manage. I really don't want to blow anyone up, so..." She trailed off awkwardly. 

"Ethelia... you're allowed to be upset. It's not... It's not all about your chakra..." Rin frowned, sounding pained even as she said it. As appreciative and impressed as Kakashi was with Ethelia, he had to agree. Grieving was healthy. Even he'd mourned his father.

"Oh trust me," She laughed weakly. "I'm definitely upset. But I... I'm different. I'm dangerous, and I have to consider that too, you know?"

Her voice wavered dangerously. Obito's hand shot out and gripped her shoulder as her chakra reared back. All of them braced for it to slam forward, but Ethelia stopped and tensed, eyes flickering to the Uchiha beside her. He offered a weak smile to her, dropping his hand. She sighed back and closed her eyes for a moment, letting herself sink into the couch. It was something practiced. They'd done it before.

"That's very... That's very mature of you, Ethelia. Just make sure you don't prioritize this over your own feelings. You're important." Minato said softly. He was worried. Ethelia forced a small smile.

"I'm not saying I'm worthless, Minato-sensei." She assured. "But I'm not the only person in the village. It's... It's not always about me, you know? People die all the time. I'll deal, and I'll do it without hurting anyone."

That hit Kakashi hard, and he felt the breath get knocked out of him as he gazed at Ethelia. Obito looked grim, but nodded as well.

"I'm sure Minato-sensei and Kakashi can go get your stuff. I...If you're okay with that." Rin said softly. "Then maybe I can look at Obito's..."

Ethelia winced. "Yeah, I'm... I'm really sorry about that. I just... I didn't know wh-"

"Hey, it's fine. I've had worse. They're just bruises, so don't worry about it." He stood up quickly, cutting her off. She looked mildly annoyed but didn't say anything further, closing her eyes and seeming to take a few more moments to just breathe. Kakashi couldn't help but stare and wonder how she was managing to hold it all together. So much had happened in her life and now she was just... sitting here. Breathing. 

"Yeah, we'll go. Kakashi?" Minato glanced at him. The Hatake nodded, tugging his gaze from her and leaving the girl, Rin, and Obito to sit in silence while the latter was healed. If Ethelia needed clothes and her toothbrush, it was the least he could do, wasn't it?