A/N: This is a birthday present for my beloved Annie-kins, who is my pseudo-psychology patient and my fwend. Awww. So yeah. In spite of appearances, she is OBSESSED with Kakashi, so I decided to write up this pile of crap for her as a little gift for being an awesome beta and cool person in general. BUKE. THIS ONE BE FOR YOU. SO LIKE IT. EVEN THOUGH IT SUCKS.

Enjoy!

He sat on a worn out tree stump in the dewy morning air, calmly breathing. In out, in out, in out. He breathed the breaths that Obito couldn't savor. The stone in front of him a cruel reminder of all his failures. The names carved on it also carved themselves a nice little niche in his heart.

Obito Uchiha. Who gave his life to save his friends. Who gave his birthright as the dying gift to his greatest comrade. Who gave everything, and received nothing in return.

Kakashi silently gazed at the slab of marble jammed in the cold earth. His eye hurt with the memories. His heart hurt with the guilt.

'Those who don't care about their companions…are lower than trash.'

"I'm sorry Obito. I'm sorry you couldn't tell Rin yourself. I'm…sorry. Just sorry."

The sky was grey, but clear. Silent tears fell on deaf graves and unhearing corpses of young heroes.

"Yo! Kakashi-sensei!"

Suddenly, a blob of orange entered his peripheral vision. A young boy with bright blond hair came into his sight, and for a second, he saw a glimpse of the boy with the goggles through the tears.

"'Sup? You're actually here early? Is it the end of the world or somethin'?" It was the typical Naruto with his typical lazy drawl, his typical stupid grin and his typical caring self.

Everywhere he looked; his old teammates were haunting him with a vengeance.

"Naruto? Where's Sasuke and Sakura?" Get off the topic of world's ending. His world ended a long time ago, when little black haired boys with deadly red eyes actually cared about others and gave a damn when comrades were hurt.

"Dunno. Teme's probably off brooding and whining. Sakura-chan's on her way."

Simple minded Naruto. Naruto, who could be read as easily as a book, and whose face betrayed every one of his emotions and showed them to the world. Just. Like. Obi-

'I'm…the only one…who didn't…give you a present…at your Jounin celebration…right Kakashi?'

A picture embedded itself into the man's brain.

It was a picture of a smiling face, half crushed by a boulder. A picture of a young girl crying, losing one of many friends.

A picture of an eyeball, swirling with the Sharingan, slowly being brought to his own empty socket.

"I never deserved any presents. Not from you."

"Did you say something, Sensei?"

"…No, no I didn't do…say anything. Now, where are those two?"

***************

Days, months, years pass. Boys with bright hair and even brighter smiles are extinguished by shadows. Girls with cherry blossoms for hair are cut down and burned by revenge. Boys with blood-red eyes no longer care for comrades, but instead slaughter them.

Time passes, and yet, the Scarecrow never ages. His eye remains ever-seeing. His only gift from his only comrade keeps on showing him the future, as it promised to do.

'I will become your eye…and from now on I will see the future…'

This future was not shown to him. And yet, it is not surprising. The one-eyed man with the still-silver hair faces off on war-torn grounds.

Streets are covered in blood. The moon has become red.

Sasuke. The leader of Akatsuki. How predictable.

The man with both god-gifted eyes launches at him. Revenge has been long lost to madness.

Kakashi does not flinch. His hand glows blue, and sounds like one-thousand screeching birds. He too, flings himself at his enemy. The boy is no longer his comrade. Years of killing innocents has led Kakashi to believe that Sasuke isn't worth saving anymore.

His feet lift off the ground. Familiar smells come rushing into his nose. The smell of blood and of steel. The smell of betrayal. He's next to the cold-hearted boy.

Kakashi can feel his breath coming down on his shoulder.

"Sasuke. I won't let my comrades down, not again. "

Drip. Drip. Splash.

Gouts of blood come rushing out of the younger man's heart, as the Scarecrow's hand embeds itself into Sasuke's chest. Kakashi can feel the heartbeat on his fingers. It is slowing down. Becoming softer and softer. It stops, not suddenly, but as if it is fading out, like the end of a long song of killing and madness.

Sasuke has a look of shock on his face. His eyes fade from red to black. His muscles relax.

He dies with his eyes open.

Kakashi feels nothing, sees everything. He drops the body of his once-student, and closes Sasuke's eternally vengeful eyes.

The black sky rumbles and opens. Arid earth becomes soaked with water, shining red like the moon.

His hand is caked with the quickly-drying blood of the last Uchiha. The straw man has wiped their clan's name clean of their dirty past.

He walks away, his Sharingan still swirling. Still viewing the future. As it promised to do. As its' true owner promised to do.

His left eye, his gift from Obito…for his Jounin ceremony, no longer aches with guilt.

'The present…I've come up with it…no, don't worry…its not useless baggage…it's-'

"This Sharingan of mine."

A/N: YAY. IT'S FINISHED. I really had to crank this one out to get it published on your b-day Annie, so sorry if it sucks. I CANNOT GET IN KAKASHI'S HEAD. I imagine it being full to the brim with guilt, so I springboarded offa that. The only part I really like in the story is the last 4 lines. LOVE. So yeah.

MANY HAPPY, KAKASHI-FILLED BIRTHDAYS TO YOU, MY LOVE.

Love, Kasey/Duffums

~Review? I know this is shameless to put on someone's gift-fic, but I'm a shameless person, so I don't care. Muahaha.