Hope Flies on Wind-bent Wings

quiet on the home front

A/N: Sorry for the late update! Things got busy for me around the holidays, so while I kept updating this story on AO3, I fell behind on updating it here. I'll work on updating here until we're caught up with the AO3 version.

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With Tobi sharing the same space and each stubbornly refusing to budge, Obito thought it would be impossible to fall asleep that night. There was still a lingering sense of doubt over their truce, a question mark with no answer.

Making matters worse was uncertainty over the next step. Rin and Kakashi had taken over his plans without hesitation, without asking—which wasn't a bad thing, considering how well charging in had served him so far.

But having to wait an undetermined amount of time him feeling nervous. What if it took days to find a medic that would help him? What if they found out his eye couldn't be healed? It might take weeks or even months to have full use over his kamui again.

"My medical skills are limited, but I do know a great deal about the Sharingan. Maybe I can take a look at it?" Tobi offered.

Obito nearly agreed, but then he remembered who was offering and stepped back, suspicion creeping in.

"You called me a replacement before," he accused. "You tried to kill Naruto in front of me so I might get the Mangekyou."

Tobi just shrugged. "Your choice."

In the end, Obito settled down to rest after banishing Tobi to the living room. He set rudimentary traps around the window and door just so he could fall asleep.

Not that they would do much good if Tobi seriously wanted to steal his eyes.

It was strange. Tobi rarely brought it up, but it had to be forever in the back of his mind, right? Getting kamui back would be a quick ticket to freedom for him.

Though he thought it would be impossible, Obito was so exhausted he fell asleep quickly, one hand curled around the knife under his pillow.

Very early the next morning, Rin brought him some good news. Apparently, the Sandaime had convinced someone to take a look at him, because the hospital said they could come in that day. Rin doubled down on making that her caveat for cooperation.

So, before it was even lunchtime, Obito found himself shifting awkwardly on the thin paper over an exam table.

Waiting. And waiting.

"This is taking forever. I bet he forgot about us," Obito said. He noticed he was bouncing his leg nervously and stilled it.

"It's still hectic here. I'm just glad they agreed to look at you," Rin said. She and Kakashi sat in chairs against the wall in the small exam room.

The Uchiha medic had given nothing away when examining Obito's eye. He simply looked at it under a light, asked Obito and Rin some questions, then left.

"That scratch on your head is looking a lot better," Rin offered. "I don't think it will leave much of a scar."

"I'm not worried about getting another scar. I just want this over with so we can leave."

"This is a terrible idea," Kakashi muttered.

"It's your idea," Obito countered. He didn't have to ask what Kakashi meant.

"We can look for it... if there's a way to stabilize your power. We won't get very far if you collapse from chakra exhaustion along the way," Rin said very quietly.

Obito dropped his tone of voice to match hers. "I know. I want to get healed if I can. If I have to infiltrate Kiri, that'll pretty much be mandatory. Especially if I'm carrying you guys, too."