006- Video; Action for Blackthorn

[used_friendship]

[Action]

[It is early in the evening when he finally begins to stir. A hand slowly reaches up to rub at tired eyes as they blink into focus, Naruto staring up at the ceiling above him. Immediately he frowns as memories of new and old jumble together. It had felt like a dream, though it couldn't have been. Why didn't he have chakra? Oh yeah- Johto.

Feeling the presence of someone else in the room distracts him as he turns his head to the side, immediately greeted with the sight of long, flowing red hair.]

....So when are we going to Violet? [You hit hard enough to knock him out Mom, he'll concede this time.]

[Video]

[A little time later the Pokegear shows Naruto sat on a bed as an excitable Carnivine is wrapped around his shoulders, happily chewing on his head once again. Some things never change!]

So--yeah. I guess that thing happened to me, y'know, when people fall asleep and have the dreams? But they're not real dreams? [Descriptive as always. On that subject though, there are some people he wants to talk to. He should probably send them some private messages.]

Oi Neji. Sasuke. I wanna talk to you guys.

[...Or just do it that way instead. He has a pretty serious look about him for once, so they should probably get in contact with him.]

[With a huff he moves around and attempts to unwrap the Carnivine from around him. Since he has it on, he may as well ask that question he had before the coma stuff happened.]

I'm still gonna go check out that dragon place up here, the one Tenten told me about. What's the best dragon type out there? I have Ryūka-chan already, she's a Charizard now and she's grown really strong.

Comments

cry... who even knows.......

[ghostpepper]

[Oh no she broke him. It hit every single maternal instinct in her as she gathered him completely into her arms.

But... why was he apologizing? It wasn't his fault Rin was dead. He had been dead for a year before she died too. So maybe, she assumed(a dangerous habit, at this rate), he was so confused in his grief at learning this news. Maybe he blamed himself for not being there to protect her. But that hadn't been his fault.]

Obito, no... it's not your fault. I shouldn't have guessed why you were so upset. It's not you fault... I'm sorry.

[itsjustdust]

[He shook his head and leaned into her for just a second before he set about untangling herself from her hug, or at least trying, even though he was practically shaking, he was crying so hard. He wanted that hug so much but he couldn't-

Why did it have to be easier and easier to believe? Why couldn't it just be denial all the way and- And he for a moment almost understood why Sasuke had wanted nothing and everything to do with him briefly because wasn't it happier to not know?

But people needed to know. Even if they didn't want to, couldn't want to, they still needed to and he was- everything was no.

Just no and bad and so much of it he had done.]

Even if it's not- I hope it's not- It better be not- [He was babbling and made himself stop, giving another wretched sob before drawing an uneven breath and forcing himself to speak clearly.]

Everything else is.

[ghostpepper]

[She was so used to him just sticking with her hugs for a while longer but... he was struggling to get away. Something wasn't right and it was only making her squeeze tighter... until she remembered that breathing is a thing. So she let him go, albeit very reluctantly. But still determined to keep him in arm's reach, she put her hands on his shoulders.]

Obito. It wasn't... it couldn't have been. It definitely wasn't you. You were already... y'know... gone.

[But now she's dead set that she won't be the one to provide anymore details beyond that. Like the how.]

[itsjustdust]

[He looked into her face, then just... crumpled, curling his hands into fists and pressing his palms against his eyes.

There was... no two ways to do this. There was no easy way so he just... sucked it up and spoke, desperate to just be done with it.]

I- I found out that's not true. And from what else I learned I wish it was.

[ghostpepper]

[Okay now she's really confused and is just gonna... follow the path of conversation that makes the most sense. sob]

What are you talking about? Don't be stupid! You didn't kill Rin or anything like that.

[itsjustdust]

[He was making little keening noises, barely audible with his inhales, and he- did she know what happened? Briefly torn. No no he-

No. Okay, he'll get back to this topic in a minute since it's related.]

You... know what happened to her?

[ghostpepper]

A little... a lot of the details were sealed after... everything happened.

[Which... was technically true. Plus, not sure if Kushina would know Rin had been forced to become the Sanbi's jinchuuriki. Maybe the part about her getting in the way of Kakashi's Raikiri. BUT NOW SHE WON'T SAY ANYMORE. God she hates herself so much right now for opening her mouth. TIME TO PUT THE TRAIN OF CONVERSATION BACK ON THE OTHER SET OF TRACKS...]

But what were you going to say?

[itsjustdust]

No... I... I think it makes a really big difference what I know about that. What happened? [He spoke in a slightly halting way, but no seriously, he needed to understand. Even if he didn't agree, this- this was really important.]

[ghostpepper]

[The thought of telling him is literally painful and it showed in the expression that crossed her face. She was seriously considering not telling him, but... she felt she had already said too much as it was. Conflict... Time to go back to vague truths.]

I still remember the day I came back from my mission. Minato had gotten back a day ahead of me, but it was still a few days after Rin had died. She had been on a mission in the Water Country and... [She paused to swipe her fingers over her eyes, obliterating any trace of tears welling up.] She sacrificed herself to keep her team and the village safe. She was given a proper burial and grave in the village, and that was that.

[itsjustdust]

[The urge to demand if she was sure that's how it happened was intense... but he didn't. She wouldn't tell him anyway, would she?

Instead, he took a wavering breath and forced himself to press forward, back to what he'd been talking about with her before. Sort of.]

I... guess I'll just have to accept that.

Makes sense. Ha.

With- with everything.

[He shook his head a little, taking a quavering breath, a little calmer, for the moment. Sort of. Outwardly.]

[ghostpepper]

[A wave of relief swept through her that he hadn't tried pressing for more details. But it was short-lived.]

"With everything"? Obito, you aren't making any sense.

[Yes an echo to start, but he hadn't even explained what he apparently had to tell her, even if he didn't want to.]

[itsjustdust]

I told you. When I said- When I-

[And... and he was choking on sobs again, struggling just to speak through the thickness of his throat.]

I didn't die. That's what wasn't true.

[ghostpepper]

What do you mean you didn't die? O-of course you died. You told me you remembered dying... Minato told me you died. If... if you had survived, you would've come back to the village, injured or not. Right?

[Apparently her denial comes in the form of an accidental unspoken accusation that Obito was lying to her. Or that he had gone nuts. Is that what happened when people were here for too long? Did everyone slowly lose their minds?]

[itsjustdust]

[He made a weird little noise at that, something that tried to be a laugh but turned into a hiccup that fell into a sob. He shook his head hard.]

I thought I died! I did. [He scrubbed at his eyes with his sleeve.]

But I didn't die, I didn't and I think- Do you know how Rin died Kushina-nee? Because I think future me did.

[ghostpepper]

Obito, please...

[It broke her heart so much to see him like this. But there was no way in hell she would ever tell him she died by Kakashi's hand. She knew how he had felt about Rin. She remembered all the times he came to her ranting about Kakashi and calling him an idiot. If he knew... nothing good would ever come of it. It was bad enough he knew Rin died.]

Word would've spread like wildfire if it was you. But... it's like I said, a lot of the details were sealed. Only the highest ranking officials of the village knew. The council elders, the Ho...kage... [And she cuts off for a split second, realizing she basically just tossed Minato under the bus. Oops. Time to continue on quickly to cover up.] But whatever future you was like, I know you would never in a million years hurt Rin. Ever.

[itsjustdust]

But if I knew, I think- Oh no no no no.

[Hey, remember that palms to eyes thing? He's curling back over his knees doing that thing again, doing a little laugh sob that sounded absolutely terrible.]

Do you know who told me I was alive? Neji. Because I killed him.

[ghostpepper]

Wh--

[That is literally the only sound to make it past her lips before she's struck completely dumb. Her hands jerk off his shoulders as if she were suddenly electrocuted. But after a few seconds, they come back down attempting to pull him in for a hug.

The silence stays as she shakes her head, long red hair swaying with each movement. It's a few minutes before her voice sees fit to return.]

But... no, you wouldn't. Not another Konoha shinobi. He must've been mistaken.

[itsjustdust]

[He's totally tense in the hug, but not trying to escape this time, more of those unpleasant laugh sobs as he rocked a little.]

I started a war Kushina-nee. A war.

[ghostpepper]

[Her hold on him is loose, wondering if he was coming unhinged. But there's still a heaping pile of concern even as she grasps at straws. How she knew him back home and how she knows him here were what held more weight in her mind. She remembered the kid who dreamed of being Hokage, who would put his comrades first. Who did put his comrades first.]

But... that's impossible. You wouldn't do something like that. I know you wouldn't. Maybe I should ask Tsunade to check on you, make sure you're not ill. Or that Rin's disappearance hasn't been too stressful on you. Maybe you should go lie down.

[itsjustdust]

Neji knows. Sakura knew this whole time. The fist time she heard my name she was struck mute with horror.

[He scrubbed at his eyes, attempting to draw deep breaths and failing because they quavered.]

And now Naruto too. He said I insulted sensei. [Because none of the rest had been news but that hadn't been fair.]

[ghostpepper]

But you and Minato are so close... You would never...

[Do you see the look on her face? All sorts of disbelief and pain as her heart breaks. Maybe he can feel her arms sliding away too. See her pull back a few inches.]

Obito, are you trying to make me hate you or something? Are you even listening to what you're saying? Maybe... Maybe someone stole your name in the future and they're confusing you with someone else. It's not like they would've met you before this place. I don't think a lot of them were born yet or more than a year or two when you... when we thought you died.

[One by one she digs around, trying to find a reason that makes sense. Something that would pardon Obito without calling the kids liars. But even though the theories felt flimsy, she held onto hope that he would say "just kidding Kushina-nee!" and laugh until she punched him for worrying her sick. It was a better alternative than the solidifying stories Obito was placing before her. Killing the shinobi of the village he had once sworn to protect. Insulting his sensei. Starting a war even. No, it was too insane. But the more he backed up his ludicrous statements, the harder it was getting to refute.]

[itsjustdust]

[He moved his arms, hugging his knees to his chest.]

I- there was a day, a couple months before you got here. And... people don't remember most of it. I... I remember seeing Kakashi grown up, which was... was weird. And I remember part of a conversation.

I think- I think I get why I said the one line of dialogue I even remember.

I didn't... want to think about what it could mean, but then I was stuck in a cave for weeks and there were just... hours and hours of pitch black or being attacked or or, all kinds of things, and it was something distracting.

But I think- I think that friend might have met him, because he- he left me a message. It was confusing-more I mean, before Neji told me. [He moved his hands up, tangling them in his hair as he pressed his face against his knees, practically shaking with how hard he was holding back tears.]

So I- I couldn't just deny it right off, and that- then he- and what he described- and I didn't understand- but with Rin- it's still! Still so stupid and horrible and he-

I would have had to have hurt you to do what he said and I couldn't do that!

[ghostpepper]

...You're not making any sense. What would've hurt me? What's stupid and horrible? Obito, just tell me!

[She's trying to piece together everything he's said already with what he's babbling about now. But the picture's still broken, pieces scattered everywhere. She can't see it entirely. Only small parts here and there, but not enough to get a firm grasp.]

[itsjustdust]

Okay. Okay fine. [He took a shaky breath and lifted his head, staring down at his knees, quivering as he fisted his hands in the cloth of his pants.]

He said- He said I'd turned into someone who- who was after all the jinchuuriki for this- this stupid plan and had killed over fifty thousand people to do it. Only reason people didn't find out sooner was a mask that- that horror was wearing.

I guess it came off or something, he didn't say, but apparently everyone is supposed to know it was me by name or something now.

[ghostpepper]

[At the mention of a mask, a look of horror falls over Kushina's face. The events of the night Naruto was born flashed through her head. It was hard to believe three weeks had passed in Johto since that night. Her hands form fists in her lap, shaking slightly. Maybe this was some cruel coincidence. A part of her really wanted to believe that hadn't been Obito who had pulled the Kyuubi from her. Maybe that had been a different masked man. But there was only one way to find out: ask questions she probably wouldn't like the answers to.]

This masked man... does he know how to extract a bijuu on his own? But more importantly... [deeeeep breath] did anyone ever tell you about the night me and Minato died?