The rain fell heavily on her, pinning her hair to her skin as she stood there in a defeated type of sadness. The Hokage said to keep her for a few months longer, due to dangers within the Hyuuga clan and anyone resembling them. She hadn't heard anything of Obito, Rin or Kakashi in a few months. The last time being when Rin sent out a courier bird to tell her how they have been doing. She sighed and looked back over to Tsunade, who had been watching her with a raised brow for some time now.

Hinata fell into an offensive stance as Tsunade spun a boulder in the palm of her hand. "You ready to continue training?" she asked with a grin, Shizune stood a few feet away underneath an umbrella. Tsunade threw the boulder and Hinata sliced the boulder into small fragments using her chakra to make a thin but sharp chakra blade around each of her hands. The enchanting blue glow vanished from around her hands and she smiled. "Great, you're getting good at improvising with the pinpoint chakra you can use." Tsunade said and Hinata smiled. "I didn't think I would be able to use my pinpoint chakra anymore, but you work miracles lady Tsunade." Hinata said softly and Tsunade grinned.

"Always have." She said with a smirk. Shizune rolled her eyes, but the smile didn't leave her lips. "Hinata, you seem to be working extremely hard for something: and not just to get stronger either." Shizune pointed out and Hinata blushed darkly and lost her stance and tripped as she had swiped at the training dummy Tsunade had set up for her. Tsunade barely hid her snort of amusement at her disciple's awkwardness. "Um about that..." Hinata began with a deepening blush.

"Come on future girl, I'm kinda curious about this mystery kid you want to protect." Tsunade said and Hinata pouted. "S-shishou..." she whined and Tsunade gave her a look. "Listen here brat, you might not be as annoying as the supposed future disciple you've told me about, but listen here... if this kid is gonna be any trouble for me in the future I would prefer to know about it now." She said and Hinata frowned. "If I can stop Madara... he won't be any trouble what so ever." Hinata said softly, her eyes downcast.

"I understand that in your time Madara is a... reanimation as you called it, but do you think he would be alive in this time?" Tsunade asked in a considerate manner, unlike the usual sarcastic tone she would have taken about a matter that bothered her. "Um... I was told by the masked man that he was trained under Madara, after being taken on a mission during the war. There's a lot he never told me, but... I'm not sure how I can help him." Hinata said softly. "I'm still curious as to who that masked man is, but I understand you have found a close friend in the Uchiha boy as well... So maybe the time for protecting whoever that masked man is over and you should worry over the Uchiha kid instead." Tsunade said and Hinata's eyes drooped in sadness.

She gathered her things and made her way over to the blonde and her future assistant. "Is it time to go yet?" she asked softly and Tsunade frowned, understanding that there was no more information that she was going to get out of the young Kunoichi. Tsunade pursed her lips, thinking maybe she had crossed the line speaking to the younger woman in that manner. She probably not ready to speak of what she knew, especially to someone of Tsunade's stature. She could also tell she hadn't spoken more of this with the Hokage.

Shizune followed after the blonde woman with the umbrella over the blonde's head. Hinata had dealt with the pounding rain that plastered her hair and clothes onto her body like a second skin. "Hinata, come here, I have your umbrella still. Please don't make yourself sick!" Shizune called out and Hinata offered a small smile. "I will be perfectly fine, Shizune-chan. Please, do not worry about me." she said and Shizune stopped running after her with a frown. She looked over at Tsunade, who shrugged with a look that said leave her be.

Hinata opened the front door of the inn she and Tsunade were currently staying in. Tsunade and Shizune shared a room, as to be sure Tsunade didn't sneak out to gamble without her chaperone. Hinata removed her training outfit, which consisted of a pair of black pants and a dark grey baggy t-shirt. She tossed the soaked clothing over into the hamper in the corner. She pulled on a pair of shorts as well as a tank top and pulled her hair up into a sloppy wet bun atop her head holding the soaked hair off of her until she reached the bathroom and began to ring her hair out once she reached the sink.

She towel dried her hair for the most part, then she let the slightly damp locks cascade around her. She crawled into her bed and stared at the ceiling. She found it hard to sleep anymore. She felt so guilty. She crammed her face into the pillow as her tears surfaced. There was no more Neji, no more Naruto, and despite popular belief, she was upset that there was no more Sasuke. She bit her lip and stifled her sobs with her hands. She missed them, their voices, their faces, everything about them.

'You have a chance to stop all of this! Stop being a baby and get on with it already. Don't show them that you're useless, you know you aren't! Get over your pathetic crying! Last you saw, that pink haired girl was fighting! That blonde girl lost her father, but she was still fighting! The dark haired strategist kid lost his father, but he was still fighting! Everyone lost someone. Stop being pathetic! Get a grip!' a voice in her mind yelled at her and her eyes welled up with even more tears. She dropped her hands from her mouth and her shoulders shook. 'Don't make me be wrong about you, I know who you truly are. Don't let me down.' His mismatched eyes flashed in her mind and she shoved her face into her pillow. She knew he was right... she wasn't useless or weak... and she really needed to get a grip of herself.

'Save me... I'm begging you... if you save me... I can help save your friends...'

:-:-:-:-:-:

His glare never left the silver haired preteen next to him. It had been over a year since Hinata left and Obito still blamed Kakashi for her departure. A grin always tugged at his lips when she had thought to tell someone goodbye to him, and not Kakashi. But right now he couldn't stand the sight of Kakashi, for one reason or another the silver haired shinobi disgusted him at the moment. He crossed his arms over his chest and tossed his leg up on the tree stump beside him. For once he had been early for a training session, and his sensei was late; which was extremely unusual. Rin walked over to him and sat down beside him, making his chest swell in pride and excitement.

"Hey Obito." She said and he grinned. "Hey Rin-chan." He greeted and she smiled softly. "How are you doing? I understand you're really torn up about Hinata being gone..." she said and he blinked in surprise. "I'm fine, really." He said, and smiled at her. She was worried about him. He rubbed the back of his head with a goofy grin. "Hey, Rin... would you uh..." he began and his face turned pink as he watched her from the corner of his eyes. "Want to um... hang out some time? Just you and me?" he asked and she blinked but smiled lightly. "Sure, I'd like that. Just as friends though." She said and instantly his mood deflated.

Kakashi rolled his eyes as he watched the two. Their sensei showed up not much later with a grin plastered on his face. "Guess what everyone!" he yelled and before he could even say anything more; Obito's brow furrowed before he took off away from the training grounds, leaving a shell shocked Minato in his wake, the last of what he was going to say falling through the air unheard by two of his students. Rin frowned and took off after Obito. She wanted to see what got him so worked up so swiftly.

Obito thought he had felt a similar chakra spark through konoha. He ran as fast as his feet would carry him. He took to rooftops and even fences, just so he could get to the entrance faster. His heart raced and he almost lost his footing a few times when he saw a girl with long bluish black hair standing near the gates. He rushed over and was about to call out her name but she turned around and irate green eyes met his vision instead of calm, adoring lavender. He ran over to the guards at the gate with a hopeful look. "Um... has a girl with white eyes come through here? A tall blonde woman with her?" he asked and the dark haired man blinked and smiled at him.

"Oh, you mean princess Tsunade, Shizune, and the young Hyuuga girl?" the man asked and Obito looked hopeful, his grin felt contagious to the two on duty guards. "We received word from them, but they haven't returned yet, sorry to say. Last they contacted, they were doing well. Who knows when they will be back though, sorry kid." The blonde man said with a sympathetic smile and Obito's exuberance toned down significantly. "Oh... alright... thanks anyways..." he said with a sigh.

He trudged along the streets with his hands in his pockets. Rin caught up with him and he tried to force a smile at her, but he couldn't even manage that. "It's ok Obito, I miss her too. I was hoping that she was on her way back, or even here for that matter... but... we have received a mission." She said and he nodded. "Lets go see what it is, shall we?" she asked and he nodded once more. He followed her with a small smile, she seemed to make him feel better, without realizing it... but his chest still held a sadness that didn't seem to want to go away.

When they reached their meeting place Minato held a small saddened frown and Kakashi looked as if he couldn't care less. "Now, on to what I was saying before. We have a new mission, we are going to be doing a high class espionage mission." Minato said with a humored smile and Kakashi's eyes widened. Obito's face broke out in a grin and Rin looked surprised as well. "We will have to be very careful, being as we do not have Hinata's eyes for this one." Minato said, his smile not leaving his face once, but Obito's grin became a frown once more.

"Why us?" Kakashi asked and Minato blinked then looked over at the silver haired nin with a frown, he had been trying to keep a positive mood, but obviously Kakashi wouldn't allow it. "This is about Hinata, you know." Is all he had to say before both of the younger males stood up straight and made a break for each of their homes. Rin had a downcast look and Minato frowned. "How did she ever get into the academy, Minato sensei?" she asked and he looked at her sharply. "What are you implying?" he asked a stern tone to his voice, shocking her quite a bit, but she still looked over at him.

"I harbor no ill will towards her, she is my friend after all... It's just that... When she arrived, it was sudden; there had been no talk what so ever of a new student in the days prior. She just appeared and suddenly there was paperwork for her." Rin said and Minato couldn't hold back the prideful smile at how observant the twelve year old was. "You're right, but... Hinata had been here for a total of four days before she had wandered into the village from the surrounding woods. An anbu had spotted her, but also noticed that there were no Hyuuga missing from the clan what so ever. So Hiashi and his father put in paperwork at the academy so they could keep an eye on the strange girl with their eyes. Smart really..." Minato said and Rin furrowed her brows.

"So they didn't even know who she was, but they put her in the academy to keep an eye on her? So you're telling me that they have been watching her for the entirety of the two years she has been in konoha?" Rin asked and Minato nodded. "But not only have they been watching over her, but they figured out that the Hokage and the Uchiha have been watching over her as well, so they see her as an asset and do not question the fact she has their eyes, for the first time in... um... ever, Actually." Minato chuckled and Rin nodded.

"I see... so they have her in their sights as an asset to the village... or is there something else?" she asked and Minato chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck with a smile. "Well uh... you see... it's more of a conjoining Hyuuga and Uchiha thing they are after..." he chuckled and Rin's face became deep red. "You mean they want Obito and Hinata-chan to...?" she questioned and a soft giggle found its way from her and slowly started to get a little louder. Minato blinked at his remaining female student and a slow smile crossed his lips.

"I think Obito would die of embarrassment if he ever found that out. He seems to have a bit of a crush on her I don't really think he knows it though." Rin said and Minato smiled. "And quite the crush on you as well." He chuckled and she nodded. "But I don't really feel the same way. He's like a brother to me, but that's it. I don't love Obito like that. I wish I could tell him, but I can't..." she said softly and Minato nodded, but only then did they notice the dark haired male standing there with a hurt look on his face...

"Obito... how much did you hear?" she asked and he bit his lip and turned away from her. "I heard enough to know you think so little of me that you can't tell me things to my face, but lead me on..." he said softly and grabbed his back pack and made his way to the front gate. Minato rushed to catch up with him and the young Uchiha just looked up at him sadly. "She could have just told me..." he whispered and Minato patted him on the back. "You know... she's actually tried so many times to tell you she didn't feel the same, but she didn't want to hurt you... you were always looking at her with that smile and it hurt her to even think about telling you that she didn't feel the same." Minato said and Obito nodded, understanding what his teacher was telling him.

"You know... now that I think about it... there was someone who seemed to have an interest in you like you had in Rin." Minato said smoothly and Obito raised a brow at him. "You know, I always thought Hinata-chan had a severe liking for you." Minato chuckled and Obito rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows she likes Kakashi, just like Rin..." he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. Minato smiled at how resilient the Uchiha was, even though he had realized he was being rejected. "What is so special about stupid Kakashi anyways... everyone seems to like him." Obito spat disgusted with the idea of his silver haired teammate.

Minato chuckled and shook his head good humoredly at his odd student. "Not sure, but you have your quirks as well Obito." Minato said with a chuckle then raised a single brow and looked at his dark haired student with an amused look. "Well how about we go on with our mission and go spy on Tsunade and Hinata huh?" he asked with a wink and Obito shrugged. "Sure, I'm up for it." he said with a grin and Minato chuckled as Rin walked up and fiddled with her fingers. Obito grabbed her up in a hug and her eyes went wide. "It's all good, Rin-chan! You're still my best friend." He said and deep down, he was sad; but the feeling that being this close to her gave him, was indescribable.

So he figured, as long as he could have this feeling, he was going to stay right here; right by her side. He slung his bag over his shoulder and he ran over to the gates, waiting on his team expectantly. Minato smiled and strode to catch up with his excited student. Kakashi and Rin caught up not too long after. "Alright guys, so the basics of this mission is to check up on Tsunade, Shizune, and Hinata. We are to report back to the Hokage on any findings out of the ordinary. We are being sent to check up on them, but to also make sure there's no one following them but us, pretty much. This is the mission we were granted upon Kakashi's promotion to jonin." Minato said, then he sent a pointed glance at his two male students.

"You two.... Absolutely no fighting or even the slightest bit of bickering or else I will have Rin bring out the silencing tags once more. Kakashi, you might be up on my ranking now, but there is no excuse for such immaturity, you hear?" He said and they both nodded, although the nod he received from Kakashi was a curt one, and Obito gave him a rapid and exuberant one. He nodded with a smile on his face and turned to Rin. Who watched him with a frown on her lips. "This is a two part mission isn't it?" she asked and Minato nodded at her. "Sadly enough, we are in a time of war... and... no missions are really given without proper explanation as to why. The Hokage wants us to be sure the three Kunoichi are alright, but he wants me to inform them of urgent matters that they are needed for. Then... I have another assignment and so do you." Minato said and a frown crossed his lips.

"You three are to destroy the Kannabi bridge. I would have preferred not to have had to inform you yet... but... as I see it. I now have no choice." Minato said and Rin looked saddened. "We leave for Kannabi Bridge in two weeks, we are to destroy it. So, while we are on route to Tsunade and Hinata, enjoy your time because it might be the last time we have any internal peace until this war is over with." Minato said then turned on his heel and walked out of the gates. Obito, Rin, and Kakashi followed him without another word; understanding that Minato didn't feel like having any further conversation at the moment.

:-:-:-:

Hinata deflected a hit from the odd creature before her; he looked oddly familiar but his chakra was stronger than she had thought it would be if it were who she thought It was. He had appeared from nowhere and attacked her. She didn't very much like the idea of being jumped in the middle of the woods. She was only gathering herbs for goodness sake. Her eyes darted around and she couldn't catch sight of Tsunade of Shizune, so she was on her own at the moment. "What are you?" she asked as she smacked another pure white hand away from her. "Guru is Guru." It said and she jumped out of its reach. "Guru, huh?" she asked and made a move to take a few more steps backwards, but she bumped into something.

She turned and looked up at the pale white male behind her. "A Zetsu." She managed then ducked and rolled away from his grasp as well. "What do you want from me?" she asked, a slight tremor to her voice; she knew that the actual Zetsu was far stronger than the clones they had fought in the war. "Ah, so you know about me... hm. No wonder Madara wanted me to rid himself of you." The white Zetsu said thoughtfully. He sent us to check it out, seeing as it hung around the boy quite a bit. Oddly, you're just a young one. Not much of a detriment to the plan... yet, but he still wants you gone." Zetsu said watching her intently.

He circled her like a predator eyeing its prey. The one called Guru stood in the same place it had been in once she had jumped away from him. "Ne, ne, Zetsu... do we have to kill the bunny?" he asked and Hinata's eyes widened. She bit her lip and stepped backwards away from the Zetsu that was closing in on her. The one called Guru walked up behind her and trapped her in his arms. "Do we have to kill her? She has the ability to poop... I want to ask her about it." Guru said and Hinata's brow twitched. She was amused just the slightest bit about the weird one called Guru, but the Zetsu before her was intent on doing what he had to.

Hinata slipped out from Guru's grasp and took a few steps backwards to get her distance back. "I'm quite interested in how the girl knows what I am." He said and once more reached for her, but she jumped away. "I see you are not going to be easy to take..." Zetsu sighed and vanished underground. Her Byakugan activated as if on instinct and she found where he was and her lip trembled, he had summoned clones to assist in his attempt at her capture. Hinata slid back on one foot, then launched herself into a run towards the inn she, Tsunade, and Shizune had been staying in.

"Guru catch her before she can return to the village!" one of the Zetsu clones yelled and Hinata's eyes widened as she dodged Guru and quickened her pace by use of chakra. She jumped and dodged each of the Zetsu's grabbing hands. She felt more presences of chakra ahead and they felt somewhat familiar. A relieved sigh escaped her lips as a Zetsu appeared behind her and an enraged woman sent it flying with a swift chakra enhanced fist. Hinata landed on a branch and Tsunade was cracking her knuckles once more. She never thought she would be so happy to see an angry Tsunade. "Anyone else going to try and lay a hand on my prized pupil?" she snapped and Hinata watched as Guru's chakra signature faded away as well as the Zetsu's chakra.

Hinata sighed in relief once more and leaned over and grabbed her knees, trying to catch her breath and steady her heartbeat. Hinata stood to her full height and looked over at her sensei. "What was that all about?" she asked and Hinata shook her head. "Not sure but I think they thought I knew something about their plans or something." Hinata said softly but a frown tugged at her lips, she knew exactly what they were after. Obito. Shizune place her hand on Hinata's shoulder, eyeing the wound there, it was like a puncture wound. Shizune pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and before Hinata could stop her she dug a single finger down in the wound and began feeling around in it.

"Shizune what are you doing?" Tsunade asked upon hearing Hinata's sharp intake of breath. Shizune removed her finger from Hinata's shoulder and furrowed her brows. "I was checking to make sure nothing was lodged inside or broken off, lady Tsunade. Forgive me for surprising you Hinata-chan." Shizune said and offered Hinata a smile. Hinata nodded in understanding but held her hand over her shoulder and a green glow cast over her injury healing it.

"So, what made you two come out here anyways?" Hinata asked softly, embarrassed that she still had to be saved by her teacher. Tsunade offered a small smile to the blunette. "Well we thought we sensed a familiar group of shinobi coming our way, so we thought we would check it out but we were going to find you first." Shizune said and Hinata smiled and nodded. Hinata stretched a bit and hopped down from the tree branch they had been standing on.

Tsunade and Shizune followed suit and walked beside her. "So, Hinata... what is the future like?" Shizune asked suddenly, it wasn't the first time she had asked but Hinata couldn't keep giving her the same answer; could she? Shizune was looking at the younger girl expectantly, when Hinata sighed. "It's... different. Everything is different. The ones you wouldn't expect to be the saviors, are... and the ones you would have thought to be the saviors end up falling short of the cause and end up hurting more people. The underdogs are what keep us safe, and the overachievers are the ones we have to watch carefully..." Hinata started off softly, her mind circling around Sasuke and Naruto. The over achiever and the underdog. And... Obito... the one that was supposed to be... not the one that is... he only wanted to help and be noticed... but he became the reason for the pain...

"Its all so different. It is amazing. And saddening all the same..." Hinata said softly and Shizune offered a smile, this was the most she had gotten out of Hinata, although vague it was still something. The sadness didn't leave the bluenettes eyes and Shizune felt a bit bad about bringing it up. The Hokage had told her there had been war and Hinata had lost a lot of people close to her, and that unless Hinata was willing to speak about the future not to speak of it. Tsunade watched the younger girl with a curious glance; she knew not to press the young Hyuuga, having heard what happened when the Hokage had done so.

A light sparked in Hinata's eyes and she shot forwards. She jumped up and lunged into a tree, four shinobi dropping from said tree. Two of the shinobi looked sheepishly at Tsunade, while one looked unfazed and the last one had a smile on her lips. "Hinata-chan." The brown haired girl called out when the bluenette hit the ground in front of Tsunade once more. Hinata smiled at the group as Minato stepped forwards and smiled proudly at Hinata. "I see your training has gone well." He said and she smiled and tried to peer around him but he was in the way no matter which way she leaned.

He saw what she was trying to do and he chuckled and stepped out of her way. Rin ran forwards and captured her in a hug while Obito and Kakashi stayed behind. Rin stepped away from her and smiled. "Kakashi, Obito." She said with a smile and walked towards them. Kakashi stepped out in front of her and she blinked in confusion. He grabbed her arms and looked them over, seeing the wrappings that trailed all the way up her arms. He knew she was no longer injured, but instead hiding them.

Starting at her fingers he began unwrapping the bindings on her arms, revealing scars mimicking the flames all the way down her arm. It wasn't a solid scar from fingertip to elbow, it more so resembled the flame that had licked its way up her arms. On her left hand the skin was smooth, no longer were there rivets in the skin representing a palm print, but instead there were creases and parts where the remnants of a palm print still resided. On her right hand she no longer had fingerprints, the scarring was more noticeable on her right arm being as that arm was the one she had more so shielded herself with. He frowned beneath his mask and released her hands, only to reach up and brush her bangs away from her face, revealing a small scar leading up from the side of her nose up the bridge and a small scar on her forehead as well.

She pulled her hands away and began wrapping her arms back up the moment he released his grasp on them. She tried to contain her blush of embarrassment when his fingers traced over the scars on her face. She stepped away from him and walked around him and over to Obito. She knew Kakashi was still watching her, she felt his eyes burning into her back. She was uncomfortable with the way he was staring at her, saying absolutely nothing. She smiled at Obito and a smile tugged at his lips as he engulfed her in a hug. Her face flushed dark red and she nibbled her lip when he stepped away from her.

"We missed you Hinata-chan!" he said and she tried her hardest not to twiddle her fingers. "I m-missed all of you too, Obito-kun." She said softly and Hinata saw Tsunade laugh lightly from the corner of her eyes. Obito grinned and gave her a thumbs up while he adjusted his goggles. She smiled softly and turned to Minato-sensei. "You were sent here?" she asked and he nodded. "We were sent to tell you three that the Hokage requires your assistance being that the war is getting up to speed and we need our best medic nin at the village to help with the shinobi returning from their missions." Minato said and Hinata nodded. Tsunade and Shizune exchanged looks then nodded, understanding that they needed to return.

Hinata watched them for a moment before she pursed her lips and rubbed her upper arm nervously. "You're not coming back to the village with us... are you?" she asked softly, dreading the answer she knew was coming. Minato smiled, but being as observant as she was; she saw right through it. "No, but we have our own job to do, and so do you." Obito said before Minato could say anything. "They need you there to fix everyone up, just as they need Shizune and Tsunade-sama as well. You can do it. We believe in you." He said and a light blush covered her cheeks. She nodded and smiled. "You be safe too, Obito-kun." She said and smiled over at Rin and Kakashi.

Team Minato's youngest all walked up to form a group, meeting the fist that Obito had held out. Hinata and Rin were first to connect their fists with Obito's, then they looked at Kakashi for him to do so as well but he didn't, that was until Hinata frowned at him. Then he reluctantly placed his fist against Hinata's wrapped one. "Be safe." They all echoed each other and then laughed at the fact they were pretty much unanimous, except for Kakashi that is.

"Hinata, let's get a head start." Tsunade said and Hinata nodded, sending one last glance at her friends then following her shishou. "Alright, team Minato, let's get to it." he said and they nodded, taking to the trees after him. Obito took a single glance back behind him and saw Hinata was still watching them, or more so him; as she vanished from sight as well. He couldn't help the heat that rushed to his face. "She likes you, you know." Rin stated with a small smile and he laughed and brushed it off.

"It's obvious she likes someone else, it is most definitely not me." he said with a laugh but Rin saw through him brushing it off. She saw the jealousy that crept into his eyes upon saying she liked someone else. "You like her too." She said with a sly look in her eyes. He blushed darkly and shook his head. "I do not... she makes me nervous is all..." he retorted and she laughed lightly. "Obito... it's written all over your face, it has been since she took the hit for you in the chunnin exams." Minato butted in and Rin tossed a grateful smile his way.

Obito blushed but glared at the ground as his feet made a thunking noise as they connected with the branches beneath his feet as he jumped from one branch to another. "I don't understand why you are all making such a big deal over it. She doesn't like me. That much is obvious, because why would she be interested in me when the perfectionist over there is always around. She could have given up her career as a shinobi for him, sure she got hurt for me, but she could have sacrificed herself for him if the burns had been bad... he doesn't care that she got hurt... she does almost everything she does for him. He doesn't care." Obito spat and Kakashi snorted in annoyance.

"Are you honestly that stupid?" Kakashi asked and Obito glared at him sharply. "Why you!" he ground out and Kakashi rolled his eyes. "She has had eyes for you since day one, Obito." Rin said softly. And Obito brushed off her words swiftly. "You know, idiot... she's right. Not once before the day she took the flames for me had she actually treated me like she treats you." Kakashi said, still monotonously but Minato could tell it was the truth coming from the silver haired nin.

"From the first mention of you she turned red in the face." Rin said with a giggle, trying to lighten the mood within the group, since attitudes had flared up between Kakashi and Obito. "If you also haven't noticed idiot, almost every word you said to her either made her blush or cry." Kakashi said suddenly and Obito blinked, but said nothing. He was dwelling on what the silver haired shinobi had said. Obito had spent his time fawning over Rin and causing trouble with the silver haired nin that he had pushed a lot of what happened between him and Hinata to the back of his mind.

He felt slightly guilty for delegating her feelings to the recesses of his mind like he had. He had gotten jealous of her the night she was pronounced chunnin, he had upset her with his angered jealousy and hadn't even realized it. That same night, Mikoto had asked them both to dinner and he had thrown a fit like a child; making her upset and declining said invitation. He had later gone to her home and saw that she had been crying... he felt really guilty now, the most he had ever seen her cry was when it concerned him...

He grit his teeth as he remembered how cute he'd thought she had been dressed in her pajamas, he'd also quite often related her to bunnies. He tried to squash the soft smile that attempted to cross his lips but it planted itself there anyways. Now that he thought about it, Hinata was pretty cute. He sighed as his feet touched down on another branch. He repressed a confused look as he noticed that awkward feeling was back in his chest. He was pulled from his thoughts when he almost ran into Kakashi's back.

He looked up and saw that Minato had stopped and had a messenger hawk on his wrist while he read the slip of paper that had been attached to the bird's leg. A grim line replaced the determined look that had been on his lips. "I'm afraid that I must leave you under the leadership of Kakashi from here on out. I am needed, things have gone south on the front lines of the fight... something has gone wrong..." he said and the three watched their teacher carefully, before Kakashi nodded.

"Lets go then. Obito, Rin..." Kakashi said and Minato nodded at his students then vanished in a yellow blur.

:-:-:-:-:

Hinata followed her teacher and fellow apprentice as they made their way back to the village. It was a three day travel and they were nearly two and a half days into the travel back to the village. She watched the sky intently, hoping that the worst didn't come. She didn't want that bird to come to her. That was the absolute last thing she wanted. She pursed her lips and caught up with Tsunade, who had been watching her from the corner of her eyes. "You know him in the future don't you?" she asked and Hinata nodded with a saddened smile. "I know him very well in the future." She said and Tsunade smiled. "You care deeply for him then, don't you?" she asked and Hinata didn't even blush at this.

"I hold him very dear to my heart... and all I want to do is save him from what is to come..." Hinata said and Tsunade furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?" Tsunade asked and Hinata frowned. "He... he does something and a lot of people get hurt... I only want to keep him from doing this." She said and Tsunade nodded. "If you ever need to go somewhere, just tell me it's personal and I will let you go without question." Tsunade said and Hinata nodded with a small smile. "I must warn you though..." Hinata said and Tsunade looked over at her.

"If Jiraiya ever says he has to go get intel on something called the akatsuki, or its leader. Do not let him go, not for any reason." Hinata said and sped ahead of the trio. Tsunade stared wide eyed at Hinata's back and a chill ran down her spine when Hinata's words flowed back to her. 'He will die...' Tsunade fisted her hands tightly. "I promise you Hinata, I will never let him go after anything that resembles that phrase. I promise you..." Tsunade said and Hinata flashed her a smile. "I know you won't. That's why I told you so far in advance." She said and a sadness entered her eyes. "Also..." she began and Tsunade's head snapped up at her once more. "Orochimaru?" Tsunade asked and Hinata nodded.

"Whatever you do... don't let him continue down the path he is going down... pull him in. Show him you care. Start now... because later on... there will be nothing left for you to do if you allow him to continue to disconnect." Hinata said and Tsunade nodded rapidly. "I promise you! I promise!" Tsunade exclaimed, catching Hinata and Shizune off guard. "I will save my friends... I won't let them go... they are all I have." She said and Hinata could hear the sadness and determination in her voice. Hinata's eyes softened and she smiled at Tsunade once more.

"I know you will." She said and Shizune smiled. "Is there anything you can tell me to watch out for?" Shizune asked and Hinata smiled. "Not really, although... I would advise you not to leave Tsunade-sama's side." Hinata said and Shizune snorted. "You think I would leave Tsunade's side? You must be kidding." She laughed and Hinata smiled. "Tsunade-sama will take you great places." Hinata said and Shizune nodded. Hinata turned to look ahead of her once more and the village gates peeked over the tops of the trees, causing a smile to cross Hinata's lips. "Home." She whispered as she dropped down onto the path leading to the gates.

Tsunade and Shizune dropped from the trees as well and continued at the same pace all the way to the village gates. They trotted right past the gate guards and right to the hospital they were stationed at. Tsunade and Shizune immediately set to work on healing everyone in sight, but Hinata had a deep painful feeling in her gut, it was screaming at her that something was wrong, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She slowly walked towards the hospital doors but just as she reached to pull open the doors, a bird smacked into the window of the door.

Her fingers began to shake as she turned to glance at the bird, which was now dead from the impact against the glass. The small bird was awfully familiar and she knew why the gut feeling was making her feel ill. She reached and pulled the tiny paper off of the bird's leg, in Kakashi's very familiar scribbles, it read. 'They have Rin... we need your help. Please come to the kannabi bridge.' Hinata fisted her hands and shoved open the hospital doors, causing Tsunade to look at her in surprise.

"Go, they need you more." Was all she said the moment her eyes caught sight of the scrap of paper sticking out of Hinata's clenched fist. Hinata nodded and she spun on her heel and took off running. The Kannabi bridge wasn't that far from konoha, so she could get there within hours... she just hoped Kakashi, Rin, and Obito had the time to wait on her.

:-:_:-:

"What are you waiting on Kakashi... we know where she is." Obito snapped and Kakashi watched him with his only good eye. "We just need to wait a little longer, please." Kakashi said and Obito furrowed his brows. "But what if Rin doesn't have 'just a little longer'?" Obito snapped and Kakashi glared at him. "They are waiting on us, and the more you yell, the more likely they are to find us before back up arrives." He snapped in a hushed tone from his place in the tree.

"Back up? Kakashi this is war, we will have no back up here. It's just us..." he said and Kakashi sighed. "You don't understand do you. Did you not listen when Hinata said she would come if we needed help?" Kakashi asked and Obito glared at him with a vicious sneer. "You would risk her life as well! What kind of fool are you!?" he snapped and Kakashi blinked in surprise. "I don't want Hinata here! What if she gets hurt again!?" he snapped and Kakashi frowned. "We will just have to believe in her." Kakashi said and Obito shook his head.

Obito jumped from his place in the tree and ran right into where they were holding Rin, giving Kakashi no choice but to follow. They ran in and fought off all the enemy nin. Rin sat at the back of the cave, tied up and unconscious. Obito ran right to her and cut her free, waking her from the genjutsu as he did so. She peered up at him and her eyes went wide as he grinned at her and offered her a hand. "Come on, let's go home!" he said and she nodded and grabbed his hand.

She made it ahead of the three of them just as the rumbling overhead caught their attention. Kakashi and Obito looked up to see the roof caving in. Obito took off running, but noticed that Kakashi was lagging behind the group. Obito grabbed Kakashi's arm and threw him ahead of him. The sound of the boulders crashing against the ground and the cloud of dust were all they could see and hear. Rin and kakashir ran right back into what was left of the cave, only to see that Obito was sitting on his rump facing the inside of the cave with a frightened look on his face.

The dust began to clear and they saw Hinata standing in the cave the boulder that would have hit Obito falling into pebbles around him, it didn't however mean that he was fine, there was a boulder that had landed on his entire left leg. He couldn't move it, or even feel it. He looked up at Hinata with fear filled eyes. "You seem to be causing trouble, my young one." A deep fear inducing voice echoed around the cave. This voice froze Hinata in her place. "Obito... the only gift you can give Kakashi is one of your eyes... it will make the bond between you stronger and you both can protect Rin together. I promise you this." She said and he watched her in awe, then he looked over at Kakashi and nodded.

"Its only right, seeing as I'm the one who caused you to lose that eye." Obito said and pulled his Sharingan eye right from the socket and placing it into Kakashi's hand. "It's over for me either way... look at my leg... I'm done for... now, you, Hinata, and Rin... you have a life to live, so go." Obito said a saddened tone to his voice, but a brilliant smile resided on his lips. "Very honorable young Uchiha... but I'm afraid the only two leaving this cave today, are those two over there. the Hyuuga is coming with me, back to where she belongs." The deep voice echoed through the cave as yet another avalanche of boulders fell, causing Rin and Kakashi to run out of the cave for risk of their lives.

Obito flinched as the second avalanche began to fall upon them. He looked to see Hinata locked in combat with an elderly man with a plant wrapped around him. He was not hit by any of the falling debris as he was pulled from it by a bi-colored white creature. "Hinata!" he screamed as the creature grabbed him and drug him out of the cave, leaving her to fight with the man alone. She looked his direction and then she realized her mistake. The portal opened up behind her and she was shoved through.

When she hit the ground, she looked up and saw that things were still the same. Except for certain things... when she looked over to Obito, his face was no longer scarred. She attempted to make her way over to him as he reached out to her, but a swift kick from Madara sent her right back through the portal. "I told you to stay gone." Was all he said as it closed behind her once more. She wanted nothing more than to talk to Obito once more, but Madara had gotten in the way of that once more.

:-:-:-:-:

Hinata stood from her place crouched at the village gates where she had landed. "H... Hinata?" a familiar voice rang out. "Hinata... is that you?" the voice called again and she stood and faced the person calling her. Silver hair and a familiar dark eye caught her sight. "Kakashi." She greeted as she stood fully and walked over to him. "Where have you been?" he asked and she blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked and he furrowed his brows. "It's been two years since Obito passed... and one since Rin had the tailed beast sealed within her..." he said and her eyes widened in shock.

"Rin? How?" she asked and he frowned. "The Iwa nin sealed it within her and it tried to escape her." He said and Hinata's eyes began to water. "I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry Kakashi..." she whimpered and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves. He blinked a few times and grabbed her arms. "Don't apologize, she's fine. She just has to learn to control the power now." he said and she gasped as her eyes went wide. Rin wasn't dead? Had she changed the course of history? A smile broke out over her lips at this, but it vanished as soon as it had appeared seeing as Obito was still missing.

"Oh! Kakashi!" someone called out to the silver haired shinobi and he turned to face said person, but they froze when their eyes locked onto her. "Hinata... you're back." His voice crackled and he rushed at her. "What happened to you?" he asked and Hinata's eyes softened as the older male embraced her. "I was sent back to my time. When I got there i was immediately sent back here..." she said and he nodded. "Minato sensei." Kakashi called and the blonde jumped up and grinned at Kakashi.

"Kushina wanted you to come over for dinner tonight!" Minato said and then turned to Hinata. "I want you to come over as well, alright?" he asked and she nodded. "I will, because I have something very important to tell you." She said and they looked at her oddly. "What would that be." He asked and she smiled. "I know where you can find Obito Uchiha, alive and well." She said and their eyes shot wide. "What do you mean?!" Minato said and Hinata smiled sadly this time.

"The man who took me... he also took Obito. He's attempting to turn Obito into a weapon. He's attempting to brainwash Obito." She said and they watched her for a minute. "Are you absolutely sure about this?" Minato asked and Hinata nodded. "The man that I loved in the future... it was Obito... but he went by Tobi, he is the masked man who resurrected an evil greater than any you have ever faced. If we don't get to Obito soon, this will happen and your children will be forced to fight in a war that was never meant to happen." Hinata said and Minato nodded.

"Alright. Kakashi, you tell no one of this. Hinata wasn't supposed to let you know she isn't from our time. But as soon as dinner with my wife is finished, we are going to the Hokage, and we will get Obito back." Minato said sternly and they both nodded.