Ari's POV

I was more than just a little speechless.

Not just because my throat was all cut up from screaming for an indefinite amount of time (AKA two thousand eternities); moreso because I had no freaking clue where I was anymore.

One second I'm getting the chakra (and probably the pee) sucked out of my by Obito's craptastic ritual, the next, I'm lying curled up in the fetal position in a misty (that part wasn't new) landscape. The sky was vacant, cloudless, but colored an expressive gray that very aptly described my mood at the moment. No sun beat down on me, which explained why shivers kept rolling across my exposed skin and my breath clouded the air each time my chest heaved.

I couldn't catch my breath, couldn't calm down my spazzing heart.

Slowly, I unfurled myself from my cramped position, stretching out legs that felt like they'd been put through Germany's bootcamp (I'm just proud to say I wasn't whining like Italy). And then came the Charlie Horse.

"Oh holy flipping shit, that freaking hurts! What the frack did I doooooo to deserve this?! Someone just freaking shoot me, goddamn. Goddamn, goddamn, goddamn! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Shit, flipping shit!"

I was rolling around on the ground, hugging my knee to my chest, my burning calf held between trembling hands as I moaned in what had to be complete agony. Don't ask me how I got such a spastic muscle cramp after doing practically shit-nothing; it just happened. Maybe it was all that badass fighting from before catching up to me...

Either way, it hurt. A lot. Note my excessive use of cuss words. They indicate my level of pain.

(It was over 9000)

"I'm surprised you can feel pain here."

I stopped rolling around like a Pokeball on its last legs and slowly turned to face the owner of the newest voice. I wasn't sure what to expect, really, because the last like twenty times someone new had come into the picture, they were trying to kill me. And I just didn't know how to feel about that.

My eyes widened to the point where I feared they'd pop out of my head. Then I'd have to get those weird glass eyes that everyone knows are fake and I'd be stared at (for all the wrong reasons, this time) for the rest of my life but I wouldn't be able to tell, cause my six sense of "I know exactly when you're creeping on me even though my back is turned to you" has never actually beeen that great. And that wouldn't be fun for anyone.

Kami, I'm getting seriously off-track again. Sorry, not sorry (but - plot twist - I'm actually sorry).

"Oh, are you feeling alright? You look a little constipated..."

I shook myself, interrupting my creepy stare-down and jolting myself from my mindless stupor. I wasn't dreaming (probably). The girl kneeling in front of me, concerned, tentative smile playing at her lips... it was her. It was really her.

Rin Nohara.

She looked unchanged (and by that I mean she looked exactly like she had in the Naruto episode where Obito "dies"), her feathery brown hair cut to chin, sparkling brown eyes, framed by gorgeous black lashes, warm and expressive, soft smile that metled many an idiots' heart. Even the blocky purple markings on her cheeks were exactly the same. 

The only thing different was her outfit.

Instead of the black shirt and apron-thingy, she wore a delicate pink kimono that looked vaguely familiar to me. And her feet were bare, something that struck me as odd, enough to do a double take when I was giving her a quick look-see.

"You're name is Ari, right?" Her cheery voice broke me from my thoughts, and I snapped my head up to look her in the eyes. Another small smile pulled at her lips. "I'm pretty sure you know who I am, but just in case you don't, I'm Rin Nohara!"

"Yeah," I mumbled, too in shock to be any sort of articulate right then, "yeah, I know who you are." Her earlier words were starting to register to my effed-up mind and my brow rose at the replay of one particular question. "Did you... ask if I was constipated?"

Her cheeks colored a blooming pink. "Mm, I did," she laughed awkwardly, rubbing at her cheek (probably a nervous tick of hers). "But it's only because Obito used to have the exact same look, and the one time I decided to ask him if he was alright, he told me he hadn't gone to the bathroom for three days and I..." She trailed off, her bright, nostalgic tone suddenly awash in broken memories and shattered perceptions.

I held back a wince at the mention of the bastard's name, channeling my anger into my clenched fists.

She didn't look like she wanted me to pry into her private memories, so I took to looking around at the charming scenery again. Gray, gray, and - hey, look! - more gray. A Fairy Tail fangirl's paradise, really. But that wasn't what I was thinking about then. Nope. I was thinking on some deep shit.

"Am I.... I died, didn't I?"

Rin looked up sharply, the depressing paleness that had overtaken her face sliding off as surprise sparked in her gaze. "No!" she cried, then checked herself, taking a deep breath. "No, I mean, you aren't dead. Not yet, Ari."

I cocked my head to the side, giving her an exasperated sigh. "Lemme guess: It's complicated, right?"

She bobbed her head, seemingly pleased I'd guessed correctly. "That's right! Right now, in this place" - she gestured expansively - "time is stopped. You aren't really alive or dead. Just... here. For the moment, anyway. But if I let things go now, Obito will definitely kill you. And I can't have that."

I flopped backwards, worn-out, just tired of hearing the man-child's name over and over again. Then I bolted back into a sitting position, getting a bit too close for comfort to Rin. She took it all in stride, smiling pleasantly, gently pushing me back until her personal bubble was fangirl free.

"Yes?"

"But he's doing it for you!" I blurted out, throwing my arms out for emphasis; I ended up hissing a curse and curling my arms back against my chest. My shoulder still hurt like a bitch from getting raped by a kunai.

Rin's eyes darkened, the smile slipping from her lips. "That's true," she murmured, casting an unfocused look at her lap, where her pale hands rested, fingers twiddling and whatnot. "He still loves me; after all this time, he refuses to let go. It's that stupid Curse of Hatred his Clan has, making him turn against everything he's believed in just because... just because he lost me..." Her throat moved like she was trying to swallow but couldn't quite manage it. Her hands curled into anxious fists. "He doesn't understand," she went on, her eyes flicking up to mine, pleading with me to follow her words. "He thinks... he thinks Kakashi killed me, and he hates him for it. He hates the world for it; he hates his reality. But the truth is, it wasn't Kakashi's fault. I killed myself, using Kakashi's Chidori."

I was probably pulling quite the blank face at this point, so Rin took pity on me and explained herself in more detail.

"After we thought Obito had died, Kakashi and I were sent on more and more missions. During one, I was kidnapped by Kirigakure Ninja, who forced me to become the Three Tail's jinchuriki."

Cue my exaggerated and baffled gasp.

Rin's smile made a welcome reappearance, but it was more of a dry smile, no warmth or mirth to it. "Part of their jutsu also made me a walking time-bomb, turning me into a weapon who would release the Tailed Beast the moment I was inside the Leaf Village's Gates. I couldn't do that, let my Village suffer because of me. So I asked Kakashi to kill me once I figured out what was going to happen."

"But you said you--"

"He refused, of course," Rin broke in, smiling again, a soft, sad smile that told me just how much she cherished that white-haired bossy-pants, even now. "He wouldn't kill a comrade, especially after what had happened with Obito. He was too kind. But I couldn't let myself harm the Village, no matter what, so I took matters into my own hands, and when the Kiri Nin showed up looking for me and Kakashi went for them with his Chidori, I stepped in front of the attack."

Just like Haku... I sighed inwardly. No wonder Kakashi took his death do hard.

"I died because I chose to," Rin said, like she was trying to make me understand. I would have placated her, said I got it, I understood, but then I realized it wasn't me she was talking to. Not really. Even though they weren't here, even though it was just me she had for an audience, it was her old teammates she wanted to tell this to. 

Kakashi and Obito had been living their lives in sick amounts of grief, and she couldn't have felt more guilty about it.

"I don't want to be revived. That's the point of all of this, Ari." She fixed me with a pleading stare. "Even if the cost wasn't the lives of you and your sisters, I wouldn't want it. So I'm going to help you stop Obito."

At this, I literally jumped to my feet and fist-bumbed the air, a euphoric cheer bursting from my lips. 

Rin giggled.

"That's the spirit!" she chirped, following my lead and getting to her feet. She took my hand in both of hers (which were surprisingly cold), giving me a reassuring squeeze. "I'd rather the three of you not die for me, Ari. Instead, I want you to live. Become amazing Shinobi and show Obito there's more to this reality than death and hatred. Please."

I smiled my wicked smile, nodding. "You got it, Rin. By the way, I freaking adore your name. It's the same as this smexy guy I know, and he is by far the most fabulous devil I have ever seen in my life."

Rin's cheeks dimpled in another indulgent smile. "I'll just take that as a compliment."

"You're taking it the right way, you Ninja-tastic woman."

Even Rin had to sweat drop a little at that, and I couldn't blame her one bit. "A-Alright, then I'll just bring your sisters here, then."

Before I could crush her in a grateful glomp of epic proportions, she spread her hands and two crumpled forms shimmered into existence on either side of her.

As my sisters were groggily pulling themselves together, looking around, taking in what I thought was probably the place between Heaven and Naruto-Earth, I rubbed my hands together eagerly, ready and willing to break outta here and give Obito the worst bloody nose in Ninja history.

Get ready, ya inglorious bastard, imma coming to destroy your manhood!

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SHORT CHAPTER I'M SORRY BUT IT'S AN UPDATE AND I NEED TO STOP HERE CAUSE IT'S A GOOD PLACE TO LEAD INTO THE NEXT CHAPTER I'M SORRY