INCARNATE OF OBITO UCHIHA

Chapter 26: We Forfeit

Sayuri Haruno closed the door behind her with a sigh, and squeezed her eyes shut. For decades she had kept her dojutsu a secret, fearing the consequences of it's reveal. She took every little precaution to avoid being under suspicion; she ruthlessly made herself more pragmatic just so she could have perfect control over her emotions; she even kept a keen eye on her close family members and subordinates and made sure none of them ever knew the truth. But now, her decades of planning and precautions were thrown out of the window just because of a slithery little snake who coveted the very eyes she hated the most.

She had known that the truth would come out one day, but never in her wildest imaginations had she thought that it would come out in this way. While the best case scenario would've been for the truth to be exposed after her death, she had still prepared countermeasures in case something went wrong —as it always does. Her plan had counted on a fail-safe Tobirama-sensei had left for her (as a way out in case her situation got exposed in the future), as well as a favour the Head of the Uchiha Clan owed her when she had taken in Obito after his paternal Grandmother's death. However, after the massacre the second factor was rendered useless since Fugaku was dead now, and she was the interim Uchiha Clan Head now—well, until Sasuke Uchiha comes of age (or becomes Jonin, whichever comes first) and officially inherits the title from her. She didn't think she could get out of this mess with only her former Sensei's fail-safe as her only backing—especially when no one on the Konoha Council would take her side. Gods, this was so unfair.

The worst thing was, she couldn't even push the blame on anyone else—let alone Sakura—for landing her in this mess. Her granddaughter was already going through enough mental anguish for her to add her own —what with the trauma of having her sharingan ripped out, and the disruption to her mental connection with Obito. That means that this fuck up was all on her own head.

"Shit." She cursed under her breath as she pressed her fingers against her temple. She took a few deep breaths to calm her wavering emotions.

No, there's no point in drowning in regrets. What's done is done. The only thing she could do at present was to make sure that her past decisions don't become stumbling blocks in Sakura's path as a ninja. She cannot let her granddaughter be burdened by her mistakes.

So, when she opened her eyes a few minutes later, her jade green eyes flashed with a hint of cool determination and her lips pressed into a line.

-And that was the scene one Kakashi Hatake —the Jonin-Sensei of Team Seven—walked right into when he ended up at the medic bay of the Central Tower. Somehow, his plans of barging into the medic bay and demanding answers from his cute little genin got derailed because of one terrifying Head of the Konoha Hospital.

"Ah, just in time." The older woman honest to god purred the moment she saw him, and Kakashi felt a shiver of terror run down his spine. He stomped down his fight-or-flight instincts -which was silly, because why would he feel the urge to flee from a fellow shinobi of the leaf?!- and opened his mouth to ask something, only to be cut off by her sudden action.

"Wha-?" Kakashi stared in bewilderment as the older woman beckoned him to follow her, and started walking away. Confused, he asked cautiously, "Sayuri-sama?"

"Kakashi Hatake, we need to have a talk." The grave tone in her voice made his shoulders tense, and with a final, desperate glance at the closed doors of the medic bay, he followed the older woman with a sigh.

After all, there must be a reason why the Head of Konoha's Hospital —who happens to be Sakura's grandmother—wanted to have a chat with him, especially at such a time. He had a feeling that it might be about his cute, little genins.

He sighed. Seriously, what new trouble had his brats got themselves into this time?!

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*