It's been four weeks now since Obito and I slept together the first time. He generally avoided me, and I generally avoided him... But occasionally, we would be in the same room together for just a little too long, and we would fight.

And then we would have hot, angry sex, and then he would disappear for a few hours the next morning, and I would eat breakfast alone, wherever we were staying, whether it was a hideout, or an inn. 

He was so frustrating. He was the sexiest, most mysterious man I'd ever met, and he was addictive... But he was an asshole. An unapologetic, inconsiderate asshole who cared nothing about me, or my life.

I felt like my sanity was slowly slipping away. Or maybe I never had it to begin with. Between sleeping with him, and my evermore frequent hallucinations, I certainly felt that way. 

My attention shifted to him, stealing my train of thought once more as I watched him stare blankly out of the window, into the snowy abyss that was almost as cold as I knew his soul was. Assuming that he had one. 

His dark eyes shifted to mine, an unimpressed expression plastered across that pretty face of his. As I thought about it, I realized that we were too deep to get out now. This relationship, if you could call it that, would end with one of us dead. One of us means me.

Funny, I've always felt that one day, I would make a stupid decision that would lead me to my grave.

But was I in love with him? Of course not. I felt about him as he felt about me. At least that's what I believed.

But if that was the case... Why had I been so loyal to him all of these years? Seven years of my life, I have let him dictate from afar. I have worked for him. Killed, spied, and fabricated evidence for him. I had real friends in Kumo. And I gave them up for what?

To be fair, I wasn't supposed to make friends. I was sent there to betray them all and I knew it from the beginning. I wasn't supposed to get engaged to Rai. Or married, even if it didn't happen. I certainly wasn't supposed to get caught. That was careless on my part.

But life doesn't always go as planned. Which was my lousy excuse to keep falling into bed with him. 

But for today, I was fully avoiding Obito. And I was drinking. All-day long.

All the do-da-day long.

Third Person's P.O.V.

"(Y/n)?"

"Wisssup?"

"...Are you drunk?"

"Nope, totally sober."

"Then why are there five empty bottles of Saki lying around you."

"It was sarcasm, dumbass..." She yawned, "Oh, and I don't want to ride you tonight. I have plenty of- 'icup -alcohol to keep me company."

He had to admit, seeing her drunk was pretty amusing. "Can I ask why?"

She squinted, gesturing for him to step closer, which he did, kneeling down beside the couch she was sprawled out on. "I have a secret... This day, exactly, four years ago... Is the day that Rai died."

"You're drinking because you're in pain."

"Not in pain now. And don't tell anyone." She exaggeratedly winked.

He nodded. 

*****

It'd been over a month since Rai's death date, and (Y/n) hadn't really looked back on the day much. It was the same as any day that reminded her of him. You could even say she was doing pretty well since then.

"What are you smiling about?" Obito asked. 

Funny, she hadn't realized she was happy until he pointed it out. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was smiling."

"Why are you apologizing for smiling?" 

"I, um... Good question. Never mind, I'm not sorry, feel free to stare at my happiness."

He was silent for a moment, but the silence made him uncomfortable as it left him to wonder why she was so happy. "...So, who is he?"

Her head turned toward him, "What?"

"The guy that made you so happy. Is it that one guy?"

"That one guy...?"

"Average citizen, you went on a date with him, you claimed it wasn't a date..."

"Kazuya...?"

"Yeah, that's the one..."

"No, I haven't seen him in a few months now. And he's engaged."

"I see... Then what has you so happy?"

"Oh, uh... It's almost Rai's birthday. On his last birthday alive, we took off work, and went on a short vacation."

"So you're thinking about Rai."

"Yes, I am."

"Don't lie! Stop lying. And really, at least stop involving your dead fiance in your lies, it's rude and disrespectful." She glared. She wasn't entirely lying. It really was just a few days before Rai's birthday. But that wasn't what she was thinking about.

"He, um... He took me to see Yuki no Kuni. He knew I liked the snow, even though he preferred warmer weather. He's the only man that I've ever known to make his own birthday all about someone else."

"...No, he's not."

She was confused, "What..?"

"If a man is in love, he's going to find a way to make any celebration about the woman he's in love with. You may not have gotten to see it, because you were raised by Madara, and not around other kids, but most guys do it at some point, usually when they're teenagers."

"...Did you do that too?"

"...I did. Every birthday from the time I was six, to the time I was thirteen." He stood up, "But I don't want to talk about it. Excuse me."

He disappeared without another word, or so much as eye contact. (Y/n) could tell that Obito was still in pain, it was too obvious not to notice. He loved so deeply, that his pain had already lasted him eight years, almost nine. She was sure there was more to the story than what Zetsu had told her, and more to Obito's feelings than what he had told her.

She knew that some part of him probably blamed himself. He was also disappointed in and hated Kakashi and Minato for not protecting the girl he loved. He hated because he had loved. And he could no longer love because he hated.

He was a broken man, and in anyone else's eyes, he wasn't worth what it would take to fix him- if it was even possible at all. She was sure he felt nothing but despair now. And he channeled it into hatred and made sure to never love anyone again.

He, on the other hand, knew she could see through him, and understand his emotions. It's the reason he left. He didn't want her in his head, and he didn't care to share any more about it or even think about it for that matter. 

Obito sighed as he sat on a low branch, looking down at the ground as the sun sank behind him. He was barefoot but wore his mask and gloves. As he sat there, it seemed that the rest of the world disappeared to him. Beside him, but on the ground, was a bush, filled with wild roses, and as beautiful as they may seem to anyone else, to him they were dreary and ugly.

He couldn't see the world the same, and it was almost as if it got worse with each passing minute. Rin, and Rai, and Kushina, even Minato, didn't deserve to die. He never felt guilt for the death of his Sensei, per se, but later in life, he occasionally wished it hadn't come to that. Though he knew it was necessary to Tsuki no Me.

But Rin was completely innocent. The world swallowed her. For a time, Obito abandoned his pain, he was able to escape it, and look forward to a better future- Tsuki no Me. But (Y/n) kept reminding him of her. It's not because she was really like Rin much at all.

But, in his eyes, she was innocent in all of this. That's why she was like Rin to him. That's why she caused him pain. He didn't feel love for her, but he felt pain with her. The agony he knew she faced. And he wasn't innocent. He had a major role in doing this to her. He has guided her and forced her to relinquish her innocence for his benefit. Madara may have been the one who raised her, but for most of her time as a Shinobi, Obito has led her. Used her as a weapon for his own gain.

"I hate that I can't just hate her like I hate everyone else."

"It would be easier, wouldn't it?" Obito flinched, turning to see (Y/n) standing on the ground. "...I hated everyone in Kumo. I had more than one reason. Everyone there suspected that I killed Rai and those other Shinobi. It couldn't be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and I was released. But they were supposed to be my friends, and none of them believed me until after I was cleared, and even after that..."

"...That must've hurt you." He said, turning his head back to the rose bush. 

"It did. And I hated them for it. All of them, for not standing by me. Part of me still hates them for that, and although it may not have been ideal that I got caught, I'm glad that I don't have to live there any longer. But... I could never hate Rai for leaving me young. I can't resent him, even a little for his death."

"Isn't that the rational conclusion? It's not his fault that he died."

"...Yes. But it would be so much easier if I hated him. I could stop feeling all of this pain on his birthday, his death date, and the date that he proposed. If only he had been at fault, even a little, maybe I could hate him enough to stop loving him."

"It sounds like you loved him more than you let on before."

"...No. I really didn't love him in the way he loved me. If I had, I wouldn't be here talking to you. You would've killed me because I would've betrayed you...if my feelings were as strong as his."

Obito was silent for a moment. The thought of her crossing him pissed him off beyond a reasonable degree. But if Rin was an option, Obito would've done the same thing to Madara and Zetsu.

"Hating them... It really would be easier, wouldn't it..." He muttered. Still, if he couldn't bring himself to hate (Y/n), who he didn't even love, there was no way he could hate Rin.

"Yeah. I just, um... I came to tell you that I was going to go out to eat, in case you wanted to join me."

"No."

"Right. See you later..." She turned to leave.

"Thank you."

She stopped,

"...for asking."

She smiled slightly, still facing away from him, "Yeah, no problem."

******

"You're in L-O-V-E." Rai drew a heart in the air with his fingers.

"No, I'm not. Why would I fall in love? Give me a good, solid reason."

"Okay, you're... lonely, a little depressed, he's attractive, you're a sexual being-"

"Stop, that's too many, and none are valid enough to pay attention to."

He laughed, "Why not? What is valid? What could make you fall in love again?"

"A man who wouldn't leave me for a plan that may or may not work. Someone who wanted me, and loved me, and wanted a real life, with no hiding, and no regrets."

"Ohhh... You mean what you had with me."

She deadpanned. "Shut up." Rai laughed again as she rolled over, away from him. They were in a field, on the side of a slight hill, mid-day, and Rai appeared in front of her, "I hate when you do that."

"Look, all I'm saying is that you had literally everything you described. But you didn't love me fully. It's him, it was always him. It's nothing to do with all of the nice things you say you want, or me, or his goals... It's him. It is, and always has been."

"Can you just go away..." She turned again, curling in on herself.

He sighed, "You're hopeless," She then sighed, relieved, thinking he was gone, then he whispered, "-ly in love."

She turned around to smack the hallucination away, but he was already gone.

******

(Y/n) watched Obito pull his shirt on, but before he could pick his black cloak up, she reached for his wrist, "Hey... Can we talk for a second?" She let go of his wrist, and he sat down on the bed, facing away from her.

"What is it?"

"I wanted to know... What all is involved in Tsuki no Me?"

His eyes turned to her, but he was silent for a moment, "...Why do you ask?"

"I just... You've kind of left me in the dark. A plan that I've worked toward all of my life... But know nothing about."

"You know... If you had asked me that same question, seven years ago... I probably would've killed you for it. I'm not saying that I trust you now... But I believe that you want to see Rai and that perfect world where he never died... Am I right about that?"

"...You are."

"It requires the capture of all nine Bijuu... To create...the Juubi." Her eyes widened,

"Does that... really exist?"

"Yes. It requires the merging of all tailed beasts, into one Chakra mass...  Which means they have to be extracted from their hosts. There will be a war... I don't necessarily want a war, but it's inevitable. And, if all goes according to plan... It will be the last war this world sees."

She was silent for a moment, turning her eyes from the ceiling, and back to him, "...For the greater good, then."

His eyes stayed on her for a second, "...For the greater good." 

He slid his cloak on, and (Y/n) asked, "Where are you going today?"

"To talk to Pein and Konan... You..." Their eyes met as he debated on bringing her... "You should stay here. I'll be back in a couple of hours." He turned away as he put his mask on.

"Right. See you later." 

He disappeared without another word.

******

(Y/n)'s mind was clear about Tsuki no Me. She knew it would cause a lot of people unimaginable amounts of pain. There's bound to be too much death and destruction for any village to bear. Terror and hatred will be created from this plan of Obito's. 

But she was going to follow him. She wanted to see it through. She wanted to see Rai again, and she hoped to see a world where he was never killed. And Obito... She wanted him to have his happiness, and have Rin, and the peace that he wanted, and the title he used to strive for before Rin died. 

She wanted him to be happy, above all else. She didn't wonder why she felt that way. Why she placed his happiness above her own. She was used to that, so used to it that she did it subconsciously.

"(Y/n)." Her head moved toward Obito, who just appeared to her left. 

"Yeah?"

"You're going on a mission." She stood from the couch.

"Where?"

"Tomorrow, you're going back to Kumogakure. I want you to find something for me. There are some documents I need, about a few of Kumo's Daimyo, the ones that betrayed us."

"Why? I already know so much about them. What else do we need to know?"

"I want to know what else has been recorded since you left. Specifically, I want to know which one betrayed us, and what his relations are to the village. Then, I would like you to come back, and we can assess what you find before we take care of it."

"Honestly, I assumed you had already found and taken care of all of them. I guess Zetsu couldn't get his hands on this information you needed?"

"No, he couldn't. Their information is so heavily guarded that even he can't get to it. I don't want him to get caught right now, not even a clone. I want to keep Zetsu a secret. But you're no secret. So I'm sending you. You have ANBU experience and you know the layout of the building like the back of your hand. But you won't be able to get into the village without hurting anyone."

"I know. I'll find that information."

"Good. Get some rest. I'll take you to the edge of Gaikotsu Bay tomorrow afternoon, but I can't take you any further. You'll have about a quarter of a day's travel from where I drop you off. Which will get you to Kumo after nightfall, so the dark will give you some cover."

"Okay."

(Y/n)'s P.O.V.

I wasn't looking forward to my mission. But I didn't dread it either. I was trying to just stay indifferent. For a time, I did consider the citizens of Kumogakure my friends. And yet, for a time, they thought I killed Rai. They didn't take my side, non of them. Not even Darui or Killer B. It's not surprising, I suppose, whoever framed me did it well. Prints, hair, blood, all found at the scene of the crime that matched my DNA.

The odds were stacked against me, but I had an alibi. One so-called friend and I spent the evening together because she had just lost her brother and needed emotional support. She eventually told the truth, after her neighbor testified that they saw us walking into her apartment earlier that evening.

I knew the truth. She was threatened by whoever killed Rai and those other Shinobi that night. I couldn't blame her for not sticking up for me. She had a son to look after. And yet, I did still see her as a coward. 

I do, though, often wonder if I had been home, with Rai, would he still have been killed? No one ever found a connection between the three Shinobi that were killed, and I didn't personally know the other two. Three, in total, died that night, including Rai, but when Kumo suspected that I killed them, they began to expect that I had been the one who killed two other Shinobi, at different times in that past year.

I had thought of Kumo as a home when Rai was alive, and yet...

Returning home?

No. That's not how I saw this. I couldn't see it that way. I don't have a home. I haven't had a home, ever. Even if I used to think I had one, I didn't. I lied to everyone there. I was undeserving of forgiveness, and should I ever be caught, I would absolutely deserve death, and whatever else the Raikage decided. 

Of course, I had no intention of being caught. Obito would probably kill me if he had to bail me out of a bad situation. Or maybe he'd just let them kill me.

Either way, this mission had to be a success. Undoubtedly, I would return with whatever Obito wanted. That was my mission.

So I prepared myself. I tied my hair back in a loose ponytail, and I wore contacts to cover my eye color. I cut a slit in one eyebrow and tried as best I could to groom them to be a different shape, on top of trying to cover their natural color. I gathered my gear, and I got dressed. I wore all black. A long-sleeved t-shirt, sweatpants, and black gloves. A hard mask covered the lower half of my face, and I wore a hooded cloak to top it off. I had a Kunai in a holster on each leg, deciding that those were the only weapons I needed for this. 

My way in? Well, I was going rock climbing. I used to climb Kumo's mountains to train, so I knew where I was going, but it had been years. I knew this would prove to be more difficult than I remember it.

There was a knock on my bedroom door, and Obito asked through it, "Are you ready? It's almost one."

"Yes, I'm ready." 

I opened the door to the masked man, "You completely changed your appearance."

"Yes. I'd like to avoid being seen at all, let alone caught, but if I am, I'd rather no one guess who I am. They all know (L/n) (Y/n)'s abilities. But if I look like a stranger..."

"I see. Good idea... Did you eat?"

"No. I'll take a food pill if I need to later." 

"Alright." He placed a hand on my shoulder, and everything spun before I was overlooking the bay. 

"I haven't been to Gaikotsu in almost two years..."

"...Are you sure you can handle this mission?"

"Of course, I can. Where am I meeting you?"

"Here, so long as you're not caught. If you can't get back here, I'll find you and pick you up wherever I can. We're about eight hours northeast of Kumo, though I'm sure you can tell that already. After you're there, I suspect it will only take you a few hours to find what we need. So you should be back here around dawn."

"That's the plan."

"That's the mission. Plans can easily be reiterated. If things don't go according to your mission, you fail." 

I glared at him, "Thanks for the pep-talk."

"Anytime." He disappeared in a swirl.

My eyebrow twitched as I turned around, "I don't want to talk to you, either."

"Oh, come on. You can't tell me that something isn't bothering you."

I feined a sad sigh, "You're right... It's you. Here. Now." I walked through the fake ghost.

"Liar." He whispered. "I think you're sad to come back on bad terms. Well, actually, I know it, considering that all of my thoughts are also yours, so... Come on, let's talk about your feelings. You can't bottle everything up forever, (Y/n)."

"You say 'come on' too much."

"And you say 'no' too much."

"Sue me." I turned toward him, "Oh, right, you can't because you're-" I cut myself off when my eyes met his.

"Ooh. That was almost very harsh."

My brows furrowed, "Shut up." I swatted my hand through the air where he was, and he disappeared.

*****

Climbing a mountain? Difficult, but apparently doable. Just a few more feet up, and I would be there.

Relief washed over me as my hand gripped the ledge of the platform.

Yes, I could've walked up the side of the mountain, but it was still daylight when I got here, and I had time to kill, plus I didn't want to use that much of my Chakra, considering that I only brought two Kunai, and should I need to fight or run, I would need Chakra.

Besides, part of me wondered if I could still do it.

Finding Kumogakure would be hard for anyone who hadn't lived there. From the ground, you couldn't see the tops of the mountains, and the base of each looked very much the same. There was a reason it was called the Village Hidden by Clouds.

I peeked over the edge of the platform, to find no one there. It was about eight at night, and the one I climbed was a private residence, so it's no surprise that no one was outside.

I soundlessly pulled myself up onto the railing, balancing on top of it as I peered around. It all still looked the same. Not that I had expected it to change, it had been this way for my entire life, for the most part.

Part of me wanted to see it again, and part of me wanted to destroy it. I pushed all of my thoughts away, focussing on the mission. The building I was looking for was a few buildings over. It was on one of the larger mountains- or, in it, rather.

It was known as the archives. Any information that Kumo had, was there. It was heavily guarded. And, since I was caught, evidently, it was guarded even heavier. And it had no windows, so there was only one way in. Zetsu told Obito that it's guarded by a passcode now, which activated at eight in the evening and lasted until six in the morning.

On top of which, there was a guard outside, and there would be multiple inside. It wouldn't be too much trouble to get in. I knock the guard out, and then I can fry the keypad's circuit. The trick will be staying hidden once I am in there.

I Chakra jumped from mountain to mountain, paying attention to my surroundings to be sure I wasn't watched. I landed above the doors to the archives, and immediately C knew I was there. 'Of course, it would be a sensor that was guarding the door. So much for being easy to get in.' He tried to distance himself, but I was faster than he expected, and my lightning ran through his entire body.

I could see the surprise in his eyes, but I was sure he was more surprised that I caught him when he fell, "I'm not here to hurt you, C..."

"That voice..." I sent another shock through his body, which knocked him unconscious.

'Well, so much for not knowing it was me...' I pulled his body toward the door, watching my surroundings again while my hand touched the keypad, frying the circuit, and making the door unlock by default. 'I'm surprised that the Raikage put a keypad on this, considering that most Shinobi here have lightning-natured Chakra.'

I wrapped C's arm around my shoulders and carried his unconscious body through the door. 'Of course, most of them can't use Jutsu without hand signs, and they don't have the precision to do what I just did. Most of them would put a gaping crater in the wall.'

I hid C in a supply closet, quickly tied him up, and taped his mouth. Someone would find him come morning, so I wasn't particularly worried.

"I really am sorry about all of this..." I whispered. C was only about seventeen or so, but he was a skilled Chunin, and a sensory type. But he was out of his league to think he could protect this building from me. Of course, I'm sure he knew that.

I quietly shut the door to the supply closet as I walked down the hall. The guards will likely be on the level below this one, and each level below that. But the top seemed untouched. Of course, this level is basically no more than a huge foyer, it didn't have anything valuable on it.

The next level down is just filled with scrolls and displayed 'trophies' and such from past wars and peace treaties, valuable, but not information-valuable. It's basically for the Raikage to gloat and show off in front of Daimyo's, or anyone important that he would want to impress.

Not that the Yondaime Raikage does much of that. He's not exactly friendly.

I listened as I walked down the stairwell, but I found no guard on this floor, or the next, or the next. I had a bad feeling, but when I got to the sixth floor down, I immediately packed every piece of information regarding the various Daimyo. Just for good measure.

I was in a hurry, so I didn't read any of them. But before I left, a thought came to mind... My curiosity got the better of me. The next floor down would be all documents on the exiled, imprisoned, and rogue Ninja from Kumogakure.

I was now rogue. I had never looked through any of my own files before. I always wondered, but never wanted to know... Until now. I wondered about my parents. And who they were. I flipped through files until I found what I was looking for. Me.

In my file, were a bunch of things I already knew. My age, height, weight, rank promotion ages, and known Jutsu. And, of course, my betrayal, and that I was suspected of Rai's death. But what I didn't know... My parents' names, including a stepfather I didn't know I had. I found and stole their file names along with my own. To my surprise, my biological father's file was on the same floor as mine, meaning he was a criminal, like me.

I quickly made my way up the stairs, but when I got to the exit, I heard voices outside, and then I heard, "COME OUT! We know you're in there!" I completely froze. That was the voice of the Raikage. "If you aren't coming out, we're going in!"

I stood back as the Raikage busted the door down. The room filled with lightning as I looked into the eyes of the Raikage.

"Who are you!?" He demanded.

'I have no choice... Only one way out...'
"It was..." I started, "...Nice to see you again." I ran past him, somehow fast enough that he couldn't catch me. This was surprising, given that no one alive was faster than the Fourth Raikage.

I jumped off of the ledge, and down into the clouds below, pooling my chakra to my feet, beginning my run as soon as I landed. They weren't far behind, and I knew that, eventually, the Raikage would catch me.

Even if I could run, I couldn't hide, and the Raikage could probably run for days on end without tiring.

I sped up, looking for a place to hide the documents when I saw a crack in the side of a mountain. I left my own document on myself and continued running, hoping no one noticed the ones in the mountainside, so Zetsu and Obito could find them.

"Zetsu, if you're listening, I hid the documents in a mountainside." I decided it would be better to slow down. If I let them catch me, that may satisfy them enough that they won't find the files.

"OVER HERE!!" Came Darui's voice from behind.

The Raikage cut me off at the next turn I made, and I came to a halt. Darui stopped behind me, and another Jonin stopped at my right side. With a rock wall to my left, I had nowhere to go.

"I'll ask you again! Who are you!?" Raikage demanded.

"Check her backpack." The one to my right held his sword against my throat.

Darui pulled the only file from my backpack. There was a pause, and I was certain he was surprised to see the file I had appeared to have taken. "It's a file on... (L/n) (Y/n)."

I removed my mask, "It's a file on me."