Obito had decided to stop by the memorial stone.
Where else could he go? And considering the situation, he found it oddly fitting that he make his first visit to the place now, while he had unanswered questions. It stood as the centerpiece of the graveyard, proudly holding the names of the fallen. The names of heroes who had died in action, for Konoha, and their loved ones. It was a place where his name once rested, misplaced and undeserved with his betrayal and outright murder of so many dedicated Shinobi.
“… Hmm, I’m not really sure how to do this,” he finally began, humming slightly, his hands shoved casually in his pockets as he rocked back and forth on his heels. “Well… It’s been nearly a month, now, since I ended up in this situation.”
A month. A month in the past was all it took for him to finally face his inner demons and confront the people he had killed. It was something he most likely would have spent years trying to overcome had he not been brought to the past and instead continued living in the future where he came from. It was funny, actually, how easy it was to dismiss one’s past sins when sent to a time where they never happened. Where the people he had killed still lived, and were none the wiser about their blood on his hands.
He scratched the back of his head. “It’s… Actually really annoying, honestly, trying to recondition this body.” He scowled as he lifted his arm and shook it slightly. “My limbs are shorter, too, and muscles don’t quite develop… Right.” His hand slid back into his pocket. “My progress on chakra is going well, at least. I have about a quarter as much chakra as I had as an adult—minus the whole Jūbi thing, of course—and my control is great!” He beamed at the last statement, only to deflate slightly. “And, well, yeah, my physical strength is dismal. I’m steadily making it up there, however.”
The Uchiha gave a small, wry smile. “I’m… I’m a lot stronger than Kakashi. A lot faster, and I have tons more chakra, too. He’s… He’s not the same, and I realize that.” He paused. “Rin is alive. Not much to really say about that, I guess, but I’m… happy.”
He lifted his hand to trace an empty spot on the stone, where his sensei’s name once rested in the future-past. “… I’m worried about Minato and Kushina. They’re hiding something, and while I want to trust sensei, I feel like it’s… It’s something important. Something happened involving the Kyūbi, and…” Obito gulped as his mouth suddenly felt very dry. “… And I’m worried it has to do with me.”
His hand slowly slid down the cold, smooth stone, and he looked up at the sky, a sad smile in place.
“… I wonder, what would you have done in this situation, Naruto?”
Chapter 9: Chasing Blindly
Chapter Text
‘… Strange.’
That was what Obito thought as he looked on at the scene before him.
He had moved into Minato and Kushina’s apartment ever since he was released from the hospital, but had essentially been living on his own for the first month. Kushina had inexplicably ended up in the hospital (well, he assumed that the reason had to do with the Kyūbi, but he had yet to make certain of that fact) while Minato had started spending more and more time out of the house. Obito was still unsure of where the man went as his sudden absence had not happened last time, but the raven attributed that to his brief hysteria from a month ago. It was very well possible that Minato was trying to make sure that Obito could remain a Shinobi, as the mentally unstable were usually denied the right of becoming part of the force—it presented far too many complications and risks for the council to take that risk, especially for the black sheep of the Uchiha clan. It was also likely that Minato was doing something else, but Obito had no other idea on the matter so he had eventually shrugged it off and went on with his usual habits.
