Disclaimer: Naruto does not in any way belong to me, it's the property of Kishimoto, etc.

resistance

30: unpleasant truths

"Can Kakashi and I go for a walk, sensei?" Rin asks after the meal.

Obito glances from her to Kakashi. Kakashi shrugs minutely, though he does have some idea of what Rin wants. Her behaviour earlier was... telling.

Minato-sensei purses his lips. "I don't know if that's such a good idea, so close to the border," he says.

"There are plenty of patrols," Kakashi points out. "And we'd stay within sight of the fort, sensei."

After a moment's thought, Minato-sensei nods. "But whatever happens, I don't want you to use your... eye, either, Kakashi," he adds, remaining vague. Nevertheless, Kakashi can read between the lines: don't let anyone know that you have a transplanted Sharingan.

"Thanks, sensei." Rin grabs his hand and drags him away with surprising strength.

A couple of the older shinobi that they pass look upon the pair of teenagers with amusement.

Kakashi supposes that they do look like a young couple going off for a few moments of privacy. But he hopes that's not actually the case, for a number of reasons, not least because he isn't the Kakashi that Rin thinks he is.

"What's this about, Rin?" he asks when they exit the main entrance. The sun is little more than a haze of red at the horizon, and the moon has yet to rise. They skirt the fort's walls, both checking to be sure that no one is around to overhear their conversation.

"You're going to tell me what's up between you and Obito," Rin says, less confident than she had been after Kakashi was rescued, but firm all the same.

"You don't want Obito to be here..?"

"Obito lies," Rin says, her gaze darting to Kakashi's still-covered left eye. "He lied to sensei, but it was very well done."

"What? Then why didn't you say something, Rin?" Kakashi asks, trying for casual.

Rin gives him a flat look. "You, on the other hand, are not a very good liar," she says. "Obito can pretend to be... like he used to be, but you're not very good at it. I thought that something had changed about you when this first started months ago, but then you started treating Obito the way you used to. But now, right after I finish the transplant, you're acting weird again. You and Obito obviously know something, and you're the only one that I think would tell me the whole truth."

Kakashi doesn't quite sigh. Obito was the one who said he'd tell Rin the truth, Kakashi hadn't actually agreed to it. He's going to weasel out on a technicality, and he's going to ignore the voice that sounds suspiciously like Obito whispering you're trash in the back of his mind for planning to lie to her. Telling her too much could be disastrous- No, it's better if only Kakashi and Obito know the truth.

The irony is that Obito probably would have told her everything, had she asked him. But he imagines that Rin can't bring herself to trust him right now.

"What do you want me to tell you?" he asks.

"What... changed? Between the two of you? You were never this close before. Obito never killed so easily before. You weren't this... nice isn't the right word. You weren't this soft."

"Soft. Ouch," he says drily.

"You would've gotten angry if I called you soft before," Rin points out, like Kakashi is proving her point. He supposes he is. "So, what is it." She crosses her arms, fixing him with her best don't mess me with me glare. She'd used it to great effect when he was still a chuunin and too stubborn to ask for medical attention. In some ways at least, he hasn't changed.

"This is going to sound crazy," Kakashi says bracingly.

"Crazier than Uchiha Obito trading- you know," she says, glancing around.

"Yes," he agrees. Anything to stall for time and come up with something that won't make Rin run for their teacher.

Rin bites her lip. "Just tell me," she finally says.

Kakashi does sigh this time. "Obito and I are our future selves."

Rin looks at him sharply, disbelief clear on her features. Her mouth opens, then closes. She looks away again. "I wish you weren't wearing that stupid mask," she mutters; Kakashi isn't sure if he's supposed to hear that or not. "Ok, fine. I guess that explains how you've changed. You're not as much of a brat now. And Obito's grown out of his goofiness, I guess... But how did you get here then?"

"The Sharingan has more techniques than most people know," Kakashi says. "It doesn't just copy jutsu and hypnotize people."

"You're telling me all the Uchiha have the ability to go back in time," Rin says scathingly.

"To some extent. Obito's ability is a lot stronger than others. Well, that's not quite true; he was just the only one left in the future who could use that. Maybe there were other Uchiha who could too."

"... What do you mean, he was the only one left?"

"I mean, apart from... hm, two others? Obito was the only Uchiha left alive." He voices the words with deliberate callousness, hoping that the harsh words will dissuade Rin from inquiring any further.

Rin's face pales, stark against the dark forest. "What," she whispers. "How far in the future-? What could possibly happen to the Uchiha clan-? To Konoha-!?"

"Almost twenty years," Kakashi answers. "Certain events transpire that pit the Uchiha clan against Konoha. To avoid a coup or a civil war, a certain genius Uchiha agrees to massacre his clan. Konoha survives; the clan does not. It doesn't matter, though; less than ten years later, the five great villages get dragged into a world war anyway."

He doesn't mention the hand that Obito has in these events, under the guise of Uchiha Madara.

"Who could-?" Rin sounds horrified.

"I won't tell you who it is. Suffice to say that things are already changing."

"So you and Obito came back in time to change what went wrong?" Rin looks up at him hopefully.

"Yes," Kakashi agrees. "One thing that hasn't changed is that Obito gave me... my promotion gift. The time travel technique is only possible with both eyes. That's why both of us were sent back."

"So the, ah, eyes are why you can remember the future and no one else does?" Rin asks. "Or was it just you and Obito at the end..."

"I think so," Kakashi says. "I had it for almost twenty years, but since I no longer had it at this time, my memories started to fade. Gai was there too, and he thought what happened was just a dream; he had no memory of... everything."

"What about that... Zetsu?" Rin asks. "He responded to Madara... But there's no way that was Uchiha Madara."

Kakashi supposes that Madara had witnessed what happened as well - and he had the Sharingan, so he must have remembered too. He still doesn't know everything that went on between Obito and Madara, though - from their brief interaction in the future and what Obito had mentioned now, it was obvious that they were working together to create the infinite Tsukuyomi, but...

He'd assumed Madara would be a non-issue. Since Gai hadn't remembered, it seemed obvious to think that Madara, wherever he happened to be at this time, wouldn't either. Which was not the case.

"Kakashi?" Rin prompts uncertainly. "Was that Madara?"

"I don't know," Kakashi says. "Like you saw, the one in control was the one with the black half... I think that must have been Madara, or at least part of him? I don't know," he repeats.

"Was... was I there? In the future? I must not have been, because I know that you and Obito didn't ask me about anything... Was I just not there or was I-"

"Don't worry about it," Kakashi says firmly. "Like I said, things are changing."

Rin stares at him, then shakes her head. "I was dead, wasn't I? Why else wouldn't you tell me." She gives a soft, mirthless laugh. "How did I die?"

Kakashi's Sharingan dutifully plays back that horrible mission, the desperate flight from the Kiri nin and his last resort-

"That bad, huh?" she whispers.

"I told you, it's not going to happen again," he says, more harshly than he intends. "Obito and I were... deeply affected by your-" He exhales. He's a jounin, ex-ANBU, he shouldn't have a problem discussing death. Even if the deceased in question is standing right in front of him.

Rin nods. "It's not going to happen again, you said?" she murmurs, twisting her hands together anxiously.

"It's not," Kakashi agrees. "Obito and I would die before we let someone hurt you."

Rin flinches at the mention of their teammate. "But then why did he-?" She glances at the left side of Kakashi's face again before looking away.

"He must have felt there was no other choice," Kakashi answers. It feels inadequate; Rin doesn't look particularly soothed.

"How about this," he says, awkward, as the silence stretches between them. "I'll tell you when you've passed your death day."

Rin wrinkles her nose. "Seriously," she mutters, though she doesn't look as uncomfortable. "Are you really in your thirties? That's morbid and awful. Even younger Kakashi had some tact. I don't think even Obito would say something like that!"

"... Ow. It's insult after insult tonight, isn't it. 'You're soft, Kakashi. You have no tact'," he mimics, pitching his voice higher for dramatic effect. "I see how it is." He adopts his best Pakkun-puppy-look, though the devastation factor is probably a lot lower due to his having to convey the whole thing with only one eye.

Rin snorts and pushes him. "You're lame now," she tells him. "I don't know why I ever thought that aloof attitude was cool. But seriously, this is worse," she adds gravely. "And it's weird because you're more than twice my age but you're technically a year younger."

"Hey, thanks for reminding me," he says sarcastically. "I'd been trying to forget about the fact that I'll have to go through puberty twice."

Rin giggles. "Maybe we should get back now," she remarks, smile fading. "Sensei will probably be worried."

"Ah, Rin," he says, falling into step beside her as they walk towards the main entrance again. "Do you suppose... that you could leave this from Minato-sensei?"

Rin glances at him, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why."

Kakashi shifts uncomfortably. "Because the less people that know about this, the better. I know I keep repeating myself, but things are changing. The first time around, you were the one who got kidnapped, not me. And that Zetsu-Madara didn't show up. So... Why get everyone worried needlessly?"

"But if you tell Minato-sensei about the big things, he'll be in a better position to help avert them!" Rin insists, outright frowning now. "Like... you must know what happens in the war! Major offensives, and counterattacks and- think about all the lives you can save."

"Rin. Trust me-"

"-I can't," Rin says, without hesitation.

Kakashi winces. Well, he probably deserves that. He has spent the majority of this conversation essentially lying to her. "Just- I swear, the different outcome from this mission will create a lot of changes. Please, Rin."

Her eyes widen, then narrow again. "Did I die during this mission?" she whispers, like she can't quite believe it.

"No, Rin, I told you. I'll tell you when that passes. But it's after this mission that Uchiha Madara starts moving against the other villages," Kakashi says, conveniently leaving out the fact that it's really Obito under Madara's name.

"... Why is that? You said he didn't show up in the first mission," Rin says.

Kakashi feels like cursing her sharp mind. "As you might have guessed, Madara had a grudge against Konoha," he hedges. He's aware that the best lies have some truth in them, but the real problem is finding the right balance of truth and falsehood without implicating Obito.

"Obito got separated from us during the mission and ran into Madara. I don't know the specifics, but something about the encounter prompted a renewal of Madara's hatred for the village that spurned him - Konoha - and the clan that he felt had betrayed him - the Uchiha. He's the one who engineered the massacre, using one of their brightest prodigies to carry it out with his aid. And he later led a prominent criminal organization against Konoha. Not long after that, the world war broke out."

Rin stares at him, speechless.

"It sounds outlandish, I know, but-"

"So why shouldn't we tell Minato-sensei about all this!" she hisses. "You're not being very convincing!"

"Obito's already leading him to where the real Madara must be, not that Zetsu clone thing," Kakashi says, hoping that the 'Mountains' Graveyard' Obito had mentioned was indeed Madara's hideout. "Think about it this way, Rin. If Konoha dominates in this war, it could prompt the other villages to ally against us. Who knows what else could change as a result of that?"

Rin frowns. "This isn't right," she says. "It's like you're playing god, picking and choosing what to change just because you think it's to everyone's benefit. You could save so many lives, Kakashi."

"And who would die in the changes we'd bring?" Kakashi retorts, sharper than he intends. Probably because her words have the sting of truth.

She exhales heavily, frustrated. "I still think- But, fine. You have your reasons, and you don't want to tell me those reasons. I don't feel like you have a malicious intent, although..." She shakes her head. "You're really not the stickler for rules that you used to be," she remarks.

"No," he agrees. "I'm not."

Rin's jaw clenches and she turns away jerkily. "I won't tell Minato-sensei about this."

"Or anyone else," Kakashi presses.

Rin gives a soft laugh. "You're asking me to trust you, but you obviously don't trust me either," she says, sounding almost sad.

"It's not that-"

"Yes, it is," Rin says calmly. "Whatever, it is what it is. I swear that I won't tell anyone else about anything that you've told me tonight. I don't know who would believe me, anyway, besides Minato-sensei or Kushina. It's not like anyone else knows you well enough to realize how much you and Obito have changed," she adds bitterly. "And Obito's doing a pretty good job of hiding even that from Minato-sensei."

"Thank you, Rin," he says sincerely.

"Don't thank me," she mutters, striding away. "I just don't want to get hypnotized by the Sharingan again, even if I wouldn't remember it."

Kakashi winces once more and lets her go without making an effort to catch up.

He isn't sure what it says about himself that he worries more about what Minato-sensei is going to think about Rin's obvious distress than he regrets deceiving Rin and twisting her arm to secure a promise she obviously didn't want to give him.