21 🍂

Obito's POV

I watched Lily drown in her depression.

Train, train, go on missions, and cry..literally everywhere. During missions, before sleeping, in her dreams, when she would go on dates with Naruto, oh and her favorite spot....alone at the woods.

I grabbed her shoulder from behind and she kicked me with a strength I didn't know she had, sending me flying to a tree.

When she saw it was me, she ran towards me.

"Wow", was all I manage to say as I catch my breath. "I knew the demon made you strong, but never knew it was this much strength."

"You're real", she spoke as she grabbed my arms and my mask. "I was starting to think that you weren't...I would only see you in my dreams."

"I kept an eye on you everyday since the accident....we're in this together", I heard myself say.

"My daughter", I heard her say. "Where does Sasuke have my daughter??"

*flashback to the night of the accident*Obito's POV

I walked towards Sasuke who was being taught by Karin how to feed a baby.

"Tobi", Sasuke said, holding the baby closer to him.

I looked at them confused of why he was holding Lily's daughter. "Where's Lily?", I asked him.

"I did what we agreed to do. Send her to Konoha", he said.

"She didn't put up a fight?", I asked surprised because Lily was quite stubborn.

"He put her under the sharingan genjutsu. Made her jump off a cliff", Karin quickly spoke.

I turned to look at Sasuke amazed, as he play with the baby as if he had done nothing wrong.

"By now Naruto has probably found her...and for the baby...Maybe your plant freak friend can take care of her," Sasuke said.

I didn't say anything, but I understood. A part of me needed her away. Ever since Itachi's death, seeing her triggered me to remember how I felt when Rin's death was recent. I couldn't get used to her noticing me wake up from nightmares every night.

*end of flashback *

"Your daughter is dead", I lied to her as she broke down to tears.

Sasuke was right...the baby was her weakness. It would only slow her down.

"I have no one-"she began to say and I hugged her without thinking.

The hug lasted for a few seconds and when we pulled away we locked eyes.

I felt myself pull my mask up and lean for a kiss.

That did it....Flashbacks and images of Rin came back at me all at once...what have I done....

"We're im this together", I quickly said once I pulled away from the kiss and began walking with her. "Let's go back".

She did a hand jutsu and out of nowhere huge tornados emerged from the ground.

"How can you do that?", I asked amazed.

"The demon can. I can also read minds to predict what movements the enemy will do", she told me.

She's a strong anbu. I need her with me and Team Taka, not in Konoha.

"You will come back with us. I need your strength for the war", I told her.

"It's for the best. The hokage, lady Tsunade was already suspecting that I am a spy", she whispered.

"Don't worry you won't ever go back. I promise you", I told her.

Silence.

"Are you from Konoha?", I asked her breaking the silence. "No", she said her eyes looking at birds flying by, "how about you?"

Memories came of my time in Konoha helping the elderly and constantly telling Kakashi and Rin about my plans to become hokage.

"No", I lied.

Quietness.

"Pein made a good choice transplanting the demon in you", I broke the silence again.

"I think the young girl, Valentina, would have mastered it too", she said looking down.

I remembered the young 13 year old who arrived at the hideout 7 years ago. How she would struggle with her aim and jutsus, and Pein would give her hell for it. Then she died.

"I'm sure she would of. What a shame what happened to her. She was very young", I said remembering how I would go to her room at night to keep her company when she was lonely.

Suddenly our hands interlocked and we continued walking holding hands. We stopped and kissed again.

                           ~*~We walked for days and talked about everything except our pasts. I stopped walking, and I signal her to hide behind a tree as we approach a now "good Konan". I didn't want to run the risk of losing Lily too.

During the fight,whenever Lily thought I was in danger , she would often run from behind the tree, and attempt to save me. Whenever she tried, I would signal her to go back. After a not so long fight, she finally came out and looked at me.

"Your mask...", she said picking up the pieces that were on the water, and starring at the half of my exposed face. Her eyes focused on the right side of my face where the mask had broken and reveal my skin.

"Snap out of it, Lily", I said already walking away.

"Lily? You're...Lily?"

I turned back and saw Konan grabbing Lily's leg.

Lily nervously looked down at the dying Konan. Her body tended as if she was afraid of her.

"Oh no you're not. You're actually-. Never mind that. You've grown so much....I'm sorry for not stopping Pein when he would tell you such things. You were so young. I'm sorry we had to see each other again and I had to apologize in these kind of circumstances. You have to be very careful with this man," Konan continued, warning Lily about me.

"That's enough", I said yanking Lily away from her.

We walked in silence after that.

"What was that all about?", I asked her breaking the silence .

Her eyes were glued to the ground. "I was always afraid of Konan. I was too young." She abruptly stopped talking as if she had said something she wasn't supposed to have said. As if her conscious had failed to stop her from saying her deepest darkest secrets.

I got in front of her, and lifted  my mask to kiss her.

"Kabuto wants to speak to you", the reanimation Of Deidara said interrupting our kiss.

"He died?!", Lily asked almost shocked. Her mouth open.

"Yeah ", I said wondering why she would act so surprise. In the akatsuki, never once had she been close to Deidara.

"Wait here while I talk to Kabuto", I said leaving.

Valentina's POV

I just watched Deidara walk away in complete shock. First I see Konan die, and now I find out Deidara is dead. Deidara was my only friend.....

I decided to start jumping tree branches heading the direction masked man went. I actually wanted to talk to Kabuto. Say hi because he was important to me as much as Orochimaru was.

I was awoken from my thoughts when I took a wrong step and fell. I close my eyes trying to make my fall less painful.

I opened them just to be face to face with sharigan eyes....I was in the arms of Itachi Uchiha...he saved me from my fall...

"Valentina", he said putting me to my feet, and I felt my life was complete.

Everyone seemed to recognize me except dumbass masked man.

"Valentina what are you doing here? You're not evil...", he seemed almost saddened to see me here cooperating in Madara's plan.

"Sometimes things change you ", I said taking a step away from him.

"What could possibly change you? You survived death...you had another chance to be good without having the Akatsuki after you", he spoke softly.

"Survived death? It took Orochimaru Sama one year to revive me completely....a death that could have been prevented! I could have ran away but then you came the night before and told me to wait for you. That you would guide me", I said taking a step back feeling an anger I have been suppressing for the longest time.

"I didn't go to you the night before", he said to me.

I took another step back and looked at his expression. He was being honest....

"If it wasn't you then who was it?", I asked him. Demanding an answer from him. Demanding an answer right now because my anger desperately needed to be redirected to someone.

"The only other person who had access to you and possessed the sharigan to put you under an illusion that would make you confuse voices....", he said.

Masked man.....