Three days later, at midnight.
Shuo woke again. Not naturally, but from the feeling of someone watching him, chilly and prickling like needles in his back, making him uncomfortable all over.
He lay still with his eyes closed, Lightspeed Thinking kicking in instinctively-the room was very dark, and Sai was curled up on the floor, sleeping deeply, his breathing perfectly even.
Outside, the moonlight was dazzlingly bright, and the street was deserted, without even a cat.
But that feeling of being watched remained, coming from just outside the door.
He slowly sat up without putting on shoes, planted his bare feet on the icy floor, and walked softly to the door. He reached out and gently opened it a crack.
Someone stood in the hallway, his Akatsuki cloak gleaming coldly in the moonlight, the same Spiral Mask still covering his face. He stood tall and straight, yet there was an indescribable loneliness about him.
Obito.
"Back again?" Shuo opened the door, his tone flat, as though greeting an old acquaintance.
"Back again." Obito's voice had none of his earlier flippancy, nor the cold hardness of their confrontation, only a weariness that was hard to define.
They stood there without moving. Moonlight shone through the window at the end of the hallway and fell between them, stretching their shadows long. It was so quiet they could hear each other breathing.
"About Kakashi," Obito spoke first, his tone somewhat heavy. "Did he tell you?"
"He did." Shuo nodded.
"What do you think?"
Shuo thought for a moment and shrugged. "Not much. It's his business. He has to figure it out himself."
Obito fell silent, and the hallway grew quiet again. Only the wind slipped through a gap in the window, gently stirring the hems of their clothes.
"He turned me down." Only