Helpless

  Tobi and Zetsu stepped past the Land of Fire’s border and began travelling through Sunagakure’s desert.  Tobi, as expected, had worn himself out to the point of almost dropping dead.  Zetsu was carrying the now-sleeping boy.

  They had arrived just minutes before the gates of Sunagakure Village when Zetsu put Tobi on the ground, awakening him.  Tobi stood on unsteady feet. 

  Zetsu took the boy’s hand and pulled him towards the guards that were blocking the entrance to the village.

  “Don’t say anything unless we tell you to, alright, Tobi?  If you fuck this up, it’s on you, kid!  He’s not about to stuff it up.”

  Tobi listened to the two sides arguing as they neared the guards.  Zetsu stopped talking as the Sand Shinobi blocked their path.

  “Who are you?” One guard asked, narrowing his eyes at the Akatsuki member.

  “We are just some weary travellers looking for a place to stay for a couple of days while we recover.” Zetsu said, feigning exhaustion.  “This is our subordinate, Tobi.  We request a few days to stay in your village while he recovers.  He isn’t in the best of shape right now.  We don’t want to take him out there in all of that while he’s exhausted and weary.  He needs a good rest.”

  Tobi, as if on cue, yawned widely, leaning against Zetsu as he tried to sleep while standing.  Zetsu picked him back up and held him close.

  The Shinobi guards nodded before stepping away from Zetsu and allowing them entrance to the village.  “There’s an inn not far in.  Take him there and let him rest.”

  Zetsu nodded and stepped forward into the village. 

  ”Alright, Tobi,” Zetsu whispered into Tobi’s ear, “the mission has begun.  For your own sake, be careful.”

  Tobi nodded.  He grabbed onto the front of Zetsu’s robe and buried his face into the man’s chest.  He closed his eyes and just minutes later begun snoring.

  -XX-

  Tobi still had his face buried in Zetsu’s cloak, feigning sleep after having been awoken rudely by the older man dropping him.  He listened as the green-haired male organised their room, wishing that he hadn’t been awoken – something seemed off about Zetsu today.

  When Tobi felt Zetsu begin to walk again, he was secretly relieved.  Once they were in the safety of their rented room, he wouldn’t have to worry about people interrupting his ‘alone’ time with Zetsu.  After he heard the door lock click, he pretended to have awoken.  He stretched and yawned, and lay back down once he had been placed onto the bed.  He watched Zetsu pace for a while.

  “Come sit with Tobi, Zetsu-san!” Tobi called in a cheerful manner, patting the empty space beside him.  Zetsu obeyed, lying on his side to face the child.  “Tobi wants to talk with Zetsu-san.”

  “What would you like to talk about?” Zetsu smiled.

  Tobi shrugged.  “Dunno…  I’m tired…”

  “Have a sleep, brat.”

  Tobi pouted.  “Tobi doesn’t want to sleep…  Tobi wants to play!”

  “We’ll play after you have a sleep, okay?  You’re very tired – I can tell.”

  Tobi smiled.  “Okay.  If Zetsu-san says so.”

  Zetsu smiled back.  He stroked the boy’s hair as Tobi lay down and pulled the blankets over him.  Once he was sure Tobi was sleeping, he leant down and placed a kiss on the pale forehead. 

  “I love you, Tobi…” Zetsu whispered.  “Never forget that…”

  Tobi’s smile only grew in his sleep.

  -XX-

  When Tobi came to, Zetsu was nowhere to be seen.  He could hear the faint sounds of the shower running in the bathroom.  He only waited for a few moments more until the shower was shut off and Zetsu emerged with a towel around his waist.

  “Zetsu-san!” Tobi cried happily.  He jumped off the bed and ran to Zetsu, wrapping his arms around the wet body.  “Tobi missed you!”

  Zetsu chuckled.  ”How long were you awake for?”

  “Not long.  I had good dreams, Zetsu-san.”

  “That’s good.  Go and get some food and leave us alone!  Ignore him – he’s in a bad mood.”

  Tobi smiled and nodded.  “Okay.  Can Tobi have some money, please?”

  “The hell you need money for?!  Go steal!  You probably don’t even need food, anyway!  We fed you last night, didn’t we?!  Tobi is a growing boy – he needs more than one meal a day! So long as he gets fed at night, he’s fine.  He’s not a dog!  He’s a boy!”

  “Zetsu-san…” Tobi whimpered.  He hated it when Zetsu fought with himself.  “I’m hungry…”

  Zetsu sighed and gave a weak smile.  “Of course…  The money is in our pack, okay?  Be back before dark.  Or, better yet, don’t come back at all…”

  Tobi frowned.  He approached the neglected pack by the door before rummaging through it in search of some notes.  When he found them, he smiled and placed them into his pocket.

  “Thank you, Zetsu-san!” Tobi chirped.  He ran back to the man to give him a hug before running out of the inn room and to the outside world.

  -XX-

  Tobi had arrived at the nearest food-stand and was currently trying to decide on what he should buy.  Hmm…  He did love dango.  Maybe he should buy lots of the sugary treat?  Or perhaps some ramen?  He liked ramen when Zetsu would get it for him.  Or maybe even…  After deciding five minutes later on ramen and dango, he waited at the table for his ramen to be brought out to him.

  Tobi’s ramen arrived after the boy ate his fourth dango.  He happily grabbed his chopsticks and dug into the ramen hungrily.  The waiter who had brought him his food sat down beside him.

  “Honey, why are you so skinny?” The waiter asked.

  Tobi swallowed a large amount of ramen before answering.  “Zetsu-san takes good care of Tobi – he’s a Shinobi, so he can’t always make sure Tobi has food.  Tobi is working with Zetsu-san for this mission, so Tobi has to survive on what Zetsu-san can do for him.”

  “Are you happy with him?” The waiter asked.

  Tobi grinned.  “Yup!  Tobi loves Zetsu-san!  Zetsu-san is training Tobi to be a Shinobi, so Tobi thinks that he should just get used to Zetsu-san’s life now.”

  The waiter chuckled.  “I’ll go and get you another bowl of ramen – on the house, of course.”

  Tobi cheered happily.  “Thank you!  Tobi loves ramen!”

  The boy watched the woman leave again before returning to his food.  He was so happy that he had found food so close to the inn.

  -XX-

  Tobi wasn’t sure how long he had stayed at the small food-stand for, but before he knew it, Zetsu was standing before him with a worried expression on his face.

  “Tobi, why haven’t you come home?” Zetsu asked, reaching out to pull the boy into his hold.  “It’s long past dinnertime – we were getting worried.”

  Tobi frowned.  “Tobi is sorry, Zetsu-san…  Tobi made friends with Hazuki-san and has been talking with her and getting lots of free food…”

  “Tobi, you’re coming back to the inn right now.” Zetsu picked the boy up and slung him over his shoulder.  “It’s time for bed.  Let’s go.”

  Tobi’s frown deepened.  “Okay…”

  Zetsu couldn’t help but laugh.  He loved that boy so much.