10Autor's Note: So It was four in the morning and this idea popped into my head. It's already been done before but I was bored. And I just LOVE Tobi and Hinata. Two of my favorite characters of all time. Even if Tobi was just a persona made up by Obito.
Anyways, this fic will the involve one of the crackiest paring of all time (not really): TobiHina. Because there's just not enough.
And because I want to. Enjoy and feel free to offer your criticism and whatnot.
Disclaimer: Nothing involving fictional worlds are mine to claim. Yet.
Chapter 1: Coincidence
Their first meeting was purely coincidental.
Obito awoke with a start. His breath came out in short pants as his onyx eyes adjusted to the low lighting in his room. The genin blinked blearily and looked at his bedside clock.
"Eh? Two thirty-four?" He groaned and slapped his hand over his face. What was he doing awake at two o'clock? He had a mission tomorrow! Kakashi would never let him live it down if he fell asleep during their super awesome mission. He frowned, remembering that Bakashi had once again upped him. The stupid jerk was a jounin. The Uchiha's eyes hardened with determination. He'd make jounin for sure once the next exams came up! He'd show Kakashi, no, he'd show everyone that he has what it takes to become Hokage! Maybe then Rin would stop her whole goo-goo eyes thing with Kakashi.
A sudden image of him barging through a wall of enemy ninja with Rin in his arms came to mind.
Yeah! That's what he'd do. Obito grinned. He'd be so badass out in the field that they would have to promote him! He could already imagine the Third Hokage standing above the village with himself by his side as the elderly man bestowed upon him his very own green flak jacket. The raven-haired chuunin shook with excitement. The villagers would cheer him on and his clan would look at him proudly. They'd think, "Wow, Obito you're amazing! You're truly going to become Hokage one day." Of course, their faces would be stoic and as emotionless as usual but they would be thinking that!
Obito settled down into bed and sighed contently, slowly drifting back to sleep.
"NO! TOBI IS A G-GOOD BOY!" Obito quickly got up, his fingers twitching at his side for a kunai. Muffled shouts and noise could be heard coming from outside. The thirteen year old peeled back his blanket and tip-toed to his window to see what all the fuss was about. He warily peeked out his window. Seeing nothing due to the dust and grime that had collected on the glass from neglect he carefully pried it open. The spiky-haired boy was confused to see a child no older than four shivering terribly with tears running down his cherub face. Obito unconsciously leaned forward to get a closer look.
The boy, from what he could see, had numerous deep scars scattered around his face and arms. His black hair obscured his eyes but Obito knew they must have been wide with fear.
Maybe he was lost. Although, how the kid got lost here was a complete mystery to the Uchiha. It was odd seeing people around here, especially around this time. Obito lived in the outskirts of the Uchiha compound, at least five or six miles away from anything resembling civilization. The genin grit his teeth bitterly. No one wanted him. He was the black sheep of the clan. He was already thirteen and he hadn't even activated the first stage of his Sharingan. Pathetic. Not to mention his barely average shinobi skills and his exuberant character didn't exactly earn him any brownie points. Obito was a disgrace- a blatant smudge on the proud Uchiha legacy.
The boy below sobbed into his long green scarf, "Please leave Tobi alone. H-He's sorry, please don't lock Tobi away again."
Obito stiffened as five masked shinobi suddenly surrounded the terrified child. The black-eyed teen watched as the five freaking Anbu Black Ops approached the child. Their bodies were tense and their hands were positioned closely to their weapons. You could practically see the tension wafting and curling through the night sky.
Obito blinked incredulously. Why were there five freaking Anbu members after one tiny kid. The squirt didn't look like he could put up much of a fight. Or tie his own sandals, for that matter. However, Minato-sensei did say that a good shinobi always looks underneath the underneath.
His eyes narrowed as a hawk masked shinobi spoke.
"Come with us willingly or we will be forced to subdue you by any means necessary." The subtle threat caused a shiver to run down Obito's back. The man's voice was so cold and unfeeling. Almost robotic.
The kid, Tobi, shook his head fervently.
"No! Tobi doesn't want to go back." He raised his hands innocently, his voice wavering. "T-Tobi didn't hurt anyone. Tobi is a good boy." A neko masked kunoichi stepped up, her hands beckoning the boy to come closer.
Her voice was soft and soothing. "Yes, you are, Tobi-chan. You're a very good boy." The spiky-haired kid slowly stopped shaking as he watched Neko inch closer. "Tobi-chan is a good, good boy." Obito watched with trepidation as the female Anbu stood in front of the entranced child.
Obito saw the the child's lips upturn in a gleeful smile. "Tobi likes your voice, Neko-chan! It's pretty." Tobi giggled happily, no longer afraid. Neko nodded and Obito almost missed the subtle gesture of her hand as she patted Tobi's head stiffly
Three male Anbu obeyed the silent command, surrounding the boy in a standard triangle formation. Neko forced chakra to her feet and jumped back. Tobi let out a shriek of pain as one the Anbu ninja twisted his arms behind his back. The second masked-nin quickly took hold of the child's shoulders. Another pulled out a pair of chakra-repressing manacles that Obito recalled seeing when a group of jounin had brought in a captured Iwa-nin to T&I.
The genin grounded his teeth in anger. This was cruel, tricking the child into letting down his guard only to stab him in the back. The kid was harmless! He probably couldn't even spell his own name if his life depended on it. Obito was already preparing to launch himself down from his two-story window when the impossible happened.
"Stop!" The small boy struggled wildly, his scarf coming undone and falling to the ground. "Tobi is not crazy!" Tobi reared back his head. Obito stilled, his muscles freezing.
His eyes.
The raven-haired teen couldn't believe it.
The moon illuminated the two crimson orbs, exposing the legendary dōjutsu- the Mangekyō Sharingan. Obito had only heard snippets about the final stage of the sharingan. It was the last and most heartbreaking thing an Uchiha could hope to achieve. He'd heard that the power gained from unlocking the Mangekyō sharingan was unrivaled, allowing the user to easily accomplish the impossible. But it was not without its drawbacks. Eventually the dōjutsu would either blind the bearer or make them go irrevocably insane. Maybe it's the latter that happened to Tobi. It made sense. The boy had hinted that he was, quite possibly, an escaped mental patient.
Obito shook his head. Regardless, the kid was obviously frightened and in trouble. He'd made it his life's goal to become Hokage and a Hokage's responsibility was protect all of Konoha's people, whether they were mentally all there or not. The Uchiha, with renewed conviction, prepared to leap down to the the four year old's rescue.
Unfortunately, the kid had a way of shocking Obito into immobility.
Tobi's eyes spun. The pinwheel shaped orbs became a blur as they continued to frantically look for an escape route. One of the Anbu rushed forward to shackle the boy only for the manacles to pass through his wrists. Obito watched in awe as the scarred Uchiha (he was obviously an Uchiha: the dark hair and eye pigment and not to mention his freaking, fully evolved sharingan!) became intangible and easily slipped through the grip that the two male shinobi had on him.
Tobi faced them, and in that moment Obito felt his heart weaken, and said through the tears and blood streaming out his eyes, "Tobi is tired, Anbu-chan. He's tired of running away and people always hurting him." Hawk swiped at him only for his arms to go through. Tobi flinched back, hugging himself. "Tobi doesn't like it there. They don't ever let him out to play! It's dark, lonely, and it smells icky in Tobi's cage."
Neko and the other three Anbu ignored him and flew through various hand signs, finally slamming their hands onto ground with a synchronized yell, "Sealing Art: Cage of the Beast!" The scarred boy slowly passed through the A-rank jutsu. His chest was heaving as if the very act of breathing was too much for him. The boy cried out with raw emotion inflecting his voice, "Why are you doing this to Tobi! Stop it! He didn't do anything. Tobi is a good boy…that's what Momma used to say before…" He trailed off, his body swaying. Two Anbu Black Ops darted towards him, attempting to shackle him. Again, their attack slipped through his body. Tobi rubbed at his eyes tiredly, mixing his blood and tears on his porcelain-cracked cheeks. "Tobi wants to go home. Tobi wants his b-bunny-" The raven-haired boy paused as the forgotten fifth Anbu member appeared. In his calloused hands that had caused so much death and despair was a limp, stuffed toy. The Anbu was an odd one. He was lanky with with a mop of red hair atop his head. His standard issue uniform, that all Anbu Black Ops wore, hanged loosely off his tall frame. His grinning fox mask was an oddity among the hard-faced, empty masks of his team.
Obito slunk back into his room, peeking out cautiously. These were Anbu shinobi down there. They wouldn't take too kindly to him if they caught him spying on them- whether he be freind or foe.
War does that to a village. Even he knew that.
Tobi stepped forward. His legs shook but he made his way towards the dirty toy. The bunny looked like it's been through hell and back. having been torn in places and then sown crudely back together with the inexperienced hands of a child. It was like a mini Frankenstein.
"Bunny-chan?" Tobi called, his eyes flickering between red and black. They finally settled on black as the sharingan disappeared. The fox-masked man shook the toy enticingly. The spiky-haired child reached out for the bunny. Fatigue, however, got the best of him and the boy toppled over. The Anbu surged forward and gently caught Tobi, cradling him his strong arms. He, almost fondly, tucked the beloved toy into the child's arms. The redhead stood up straight, towering over his fellow shinobi.
"I'll take the boy back. Go report back to Hokage-jiji." He said, voice deep and full of authority despite its rather gaunt container. Before the others could protest the man had shunshinned away in a flurry of leaves. The four Anbu members followed soon after. The only sign of their presence were the few scattered leaves and the worn, green scarf laying forgotten on the floor. Obito warily looked around, expecting a masked-nin to pop out and show him a thing or two for being the nosy person he is.
The raven-haired boy listened intently. Hearing nothing, he jumped out his window and picked up the scarf the mystery Uchiha had left behind. The fabric was soft and warm despite looking worse for wear. Obito fingered the clothe before folding it.
He looked contemplative as he walked back into his lonely apartment. Maybe he'd head over to the Konoha Mental Institution for Shinobi after his mission and give it back to the poor kid. Obito smiled to himself, tucking the scarf away. Yeah, that's what he'd do. Obito laid in his bed and went back to sleep.
However, Obito would ultimately 'die' saving Bakashi, departing with a belated gift to his new best freind and rival. So many things left unsaid, undone.
Obito coughed, choking on his own blood. Luckily, his entire right side was numb so the only thing he could feel was the earth rumbling beneath him as the cave collapsed and the deep regret seeping into his body.
He would never get to see his friends: Genma, the cocky player. Asuma and his secret sweetheart, Kurenai. Gai and his overenthusiastic shouts of "Youth!" Nor would he hear Raido's, Izuma's and Kotetsu's cries of fear as Anko ran after them with murder in her eyes. Nor taste Kushina-neechan's world class ramen. Minato-sensei and his kind, gentle smile as he patiently waited for him to understand a particular difficult theory about chakra. He would never have the pleasure of removing that infernal stick that was stuck up Ebisu's as-
The genin choked, spitting the clotted blood out. This was it. Obito smiled, the action feeling bitter-sweet. What he would miss the most, though, were his silly fights with Kakashi and how Rin would tentatively rush in and play peacemaker.
"R…Rin." He croaked. If he had his left eye he was sure he would have been crying. He'd miss everything that made Rin…Rin. Her sweet smiles, the way her eyes flared with anger when he tried escaping the hospital, her gentle chakra as she healed him for the hundredth time, and the way she'd look at him when it was just him and her. The pure joy on her face caused by just being with him. His heart swelled…then deflated. He'd never fulfill his promise of being Hokage. He'd never get the acknowledgment he always craved. Worst of all, Obito would never get to tell Rin that he…loved and still did love her even as he lay dying somewhere in Kusagakure.
The sudden image of a raven-haired boy with powerful eyes popped into his head.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about you…I guess I'll never get to give you back your scarf…"
The darkness was closing in now, its claws sinking into his flesh, making him feel cold and more alone than he'd ever felt in his whole life.
"Tobi." He croaked, his body letting go as his breaths quietly subsided.