A/N: A little something I wrote sometime in December, when I was still crying over all my Kakashi/Obito feels. These two always get me... T-T Please stay friends, asfdgwfdjhf you guys are supposed to be brroosss, man
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Kakashi looked around. His gaze held unsteady between his student and his teammate. No…his former teammate. Uchiha Obito...
What was this man doing here? This man...this boy...is supposed to be dead. How could this be happening? A flood of realizations overwhelmed his mind.
Obito was responsible for the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha sixteen years ago. He was responsible for the death of so many of the villagers. Iruka's parents...Naruto's parents...
Minato-sensei.
He was responsible for the death of their teacher. And his wife, Kushina-san. Kakashi's dear student could have had parents. Loving, caring parents who wanted to live a happy life with their child.
But there was also...Rin. It was all his own fault. He couldn't keep his promise, and she was dead.
His heart cringed in pain. Am I the one responsible for Obito's destruction? His path of rage and twisted outlook on the Earth and its inhabitants...his cruel treatment of life itself. Obito...it was all him. And Kakashi had allowed it all to happen. Yes...
I should have been the one to die underneath those rocks.
Unable to look at his student, friend, and comrades, he let his head lower in shame. Never before had he been filled with such contempt for himself. Hatake Kakashi...a talented shinobi with the strength to protect everyone except the people closest to him. And now the whole world was at stake...
His fingers began to tremble imperceptibly. Sweat rolled down the side of his face. His mask became stifling and his face was flushed. He let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes.
What is going on? Naruto turned to face his sensei. He was nothing less than stunned. Something was not right with Kakashi-sensei. He had never, ever seen him just freeze up and come to a complete halt like this. This was his teacher he was talking about...Kakashi-sensei! Unafraid of anything and everything. A strong shinobi with no fear...former-ANBU Hatake Kakashi, a Konoha jounin-level shinobi with superior skills and intelligence, and the strength and heart of a lion...his mentor, and...his family. Teacher, father, big brother, friend...whatever kind of relationship they had, it was a damned sure strong one.
Who did this Obito guy think he was?!
This was his sensei here, fighting with his life to protect everyone. There was no way in hell he was going to let anything happen to Kakashi. Naruto had already lost his master... and what now? Was he expected to just sit there and take this? Let this dear person to him be called trash? His frown deepened. How dare this man! He had even been Kakashi's classmate...
Standing face to face with the world's assailant, he stared at him hard. This guy holds the ultimate threat to the world, along with the resurrected Madara. He had to do something. I need to finish this now. Suddenly recalling Itachi's recent words, Naruto rephrased his thoughts. We need to finish this now...together.
His eyes found Kakashi once again. Kakashi's head was still lowered. A furious, hot breeze wafted by, blowing through his messy hair and against his masked face punishingly. His silently pained expression intensified. Naruto could now see his teacher's hands open, and shaking. No fists, seals, chakra or weapons in his hands...they just shook, empty and waiting to be held by something comforting.
Naruto felt his own fists clench. Just looking at Kakashi's current state was enough to make something inside him snap. Concern choked his throat and buried itself deep into Naruto's heart. Seeing his sensei made so vulnerable made his blood boil, and the golden-yellow, high-energy chakra shroud enveloping his body flamed even brighter. Kurama stayed silent in the background, for the first time really sensing Naruto's true feelings and developing a respect for them.
The stifling wind soon reached Gai, but felt cold across his overheated body as he stared into the face of Uchiha Obito, dumbfounded and momentarily frozen.
...What? This can't be. No. He had known Obito when he was younger. Feeling the heaviness of his comrade's soul, he pulled apart from Kakashi, giving himself the excuse that neither needed the physical support anymore, although he knew this was a lie to prevent himself from feeling his friend's sorrow. Images of the younger Obito flashed through his mind. Training together at the academy, bumping into him on the street...that overconfident brat he beat countless times...Kakashi's teammate. He remembered the chuunin exams, and when he was in his old team with Ebisu and Genma.
And then Kakashi, after Obito had died. Yes. Obito is dead. Remembering the younger Uchiha, and the profound effect his death had had on Kakashi, he just knew it. This man...is not Uchiha Obito.
Pushing the thought aside temporarily, he glanced about. He could sense Naruto's fury growing, Obito's intent to kill, Bee's confusion, and Kakashi's despair. He did not like any of it. Anger, killing, and despair were all things a person with energetic youth could do without. He didn't quite know how to react to this Obito person in front of him, but he could not stop the swelling of his heart reaching out to Kakashi and Naruto. He then began to think of his students. Lee...Neji...Tenten...
How were they? With these kind of opponents this war was sure to be tough to win. Blood still dripping from his face, he closed his eyes for a brief moment, imagining the effect that this war must be having on them.
…
Nevermind!
They would be just fine! They had their youth to fight for, not to mention the youth and happiness of the whole world! He must believe in them. Gazing at his masked comrade standing next to him, he carefully took in his appearance. But you must believe in yourself, as well, Kakashi. He noticed the weariness and baggage he carried. He was tired. Everyone was tired. Gai noticed his own tiredness, too, for once. But he refused to acknowledge it, thinking of his own need to help protect everyone. Feeling Naruto's determination flaming bright, he shifted his body toward the struggling Bee with a new look in his eyes.
Obito? Kono yaro, baka yaro! He's sure got me in a tough spot, yo. Bee was panting heavily. He had never needed to use this much chakra before! Gyuki was giving it his all, but him and Naruto were still standing here, war still waging. Clearly he was not doing enough. Kuso, Gyuki! Bee began to think of ways to bring down this insane man. Maybe he and Naruto could pull off some sort of combination attack...no, nothing seems to work on this guy...! Taku yo!
Don't worry! We got this, Bee!
Bee hoped Gyuki was right. It was now two to four, with the recent arrival of the ressurected Madara. Even the massive amount of chakra that Gyuki was giving him would not be enough to counter these two, he feared. His thoughts drifted to Ei as Naruto demanded of Madara the status of the five Kage. Hearing Madara's response, his muscles tensed. He hoped it was a lie, a simple tactic to lower their spirits. Brother...
He wiped the sweat and blood off his face, and took a deep breath. He was going to continue giving it his all, no matter what. Even if he died here, he could not let these men cast an illusion over the world. If that were to happen, then it would no longer be "the world", but rather, "their world". After giving his enemies one last unseen glare through his sunglasses, he shut his eyes for a moment and let his mind work while his body prepared to continue the battle.
The legendary ninja, Uchiha Madara, stared at the man from a distance. Man? No...his vessel. Of course Obito was only a tool to help him become the Juubi's jinchuuriki. He appears to be thinking hard about something. I hope he is not seriously reconsidering our plans... He'd been looking at Naruto quite intently, he noticed, and wondered if Naruto was beginning to rub off on the boy. At the thought of this, Hashirama crossed his mind. Yes, Uzumaki Naruto...he certainly resembled that damned Senju well enough. The whole "Will of Fire" crap...and all the rest of Hashirama's bullshit. Him and that Senju...yes, they had been very good friends once.
Once.
But things had changed. Madara had decided on a different path, rather than live in that unenlightened cage Hashirama had called their village. All that was left now was his plan, and this young, foolish Uchiha to not screw things up.
Staring hard down at his former friend, Obito felt nothing. He began to mentally torture the man, call him trash, and sent him away with Kamui. He would deal with him later. He started to turn toward Madara; however, seconds later, Kakashi warped back in front of him. Not surprised, Obito made a remark about Kakashi's eye being the real thing, after all. Showing no mercy, he continued the assault with his sharingan-aided taijutsu. In a moment during the violence, a longing familiarity crept upon him, and he let his emotions betray his desire for the past as he furiously used his giant shuriken to slash an "X" across Kakashi's chest.
He suddenly noticed the complete lack of defense his friend had. Why was he not fighting back anymore? Did he not care if he died? Oh well. He was already injured pretty badly and probably out of chakra; it's not like he could do anything even if he tried. And help was out of the question—Naruto was busy with Hashirama's wooden dragon, and Madara was currently dealing with Gai and the rapping-idiot-Hachibi.
Why did you send him away?
Obito's eyes widened as the thought intruded into his mind.
What?
He was already hurt and defenseless. You had ample opportunity to just finish him off right there. Kakashi already knows despair, so there's no need to torture him like the others. Why drag on the fight?
Obito could not answer himself. What are these thoughts? Hadn't these feelings dissipated long ago? Or had they been pent up in the back of his mind all this time, forcing themselves out now that his identity and plans were out in the open? Were you planning on talking with him later?
…
Of course you don't want him to die.
Scowling, Obito tried to force the thoughts of out his mind. He had a dream, and he was going to force it upon the world. Sou. Kakashi will be there, along with Rin and Minato-sensei in the new world. The ultimate genjutsu...an Infinite Tsukuyomi! Yes...it will be alright. It doesn't matter if his friend dies in this world, since he will be alive and well in the next...
A sharp pain established itself on right side of his head. Ugh...
Now that Kakashi knew his real identity, he'd been finding it harder to oppose him in the first place. It had been so much easier to deal with him before, when Kakashi would fight back with full force. But, kneeling on the ground and out of breath, the look on Kakashi was a sight he had never seen—wracked with guilt, exhausted...but most noticeably, completely without the will to fight his former comrade. Obito started to feel something in his heart, but he could not identify it. What was this feeling? Of course, he really is distracting me.
That all changed once he'd warped Kakashi away to their shared dimension and took a hard blow to the stomach. Blood escaped his mouth as he stood in shock and pain. He saw the stunned look on Naruto's face as the boy could not believe he'd actually hit him like that with his kyuubi-mode punch. Of course, it had actually been Kakashi who had dealt the blow while in the other dimension. Obito took another hit from Kakashi, this time across the face, after being forced to warp his head away in order to further avoid Naruto's giant chakra hand.
There it is.
Kakashi's will to fight had returned. But why? Could that Naruto kid really have influenced him this much? "I'm not trash! And I won't become trash either!" Something like that. "I won't let you kill my comrades!" Kakashi seemed to perk up after hearing those petty words.
But how? Obito wondered just how Kakashi was able to use Kamui again after being so thoroughly drained of chakra. He knew Kakashi did not have a very high chakra capacity. Then...was it all...his will? Had he finally found the courage to face his friend with newfound resolve? If so, Obito suddenly felt he was underestimating him. Damn you, Kakashi...you still had hidden strength. To his surprise, this thought gave him a somewhat pleasant feeling in his gut, as if he were a child whose toy had not yet broken under the duress of years of use. He was not quick to care why, though; his plans were about to come into fruition any moment now...
Kakashi murmured to Naruto to give the Kyuubi his thanks.
This is it...
Get ready, Kakashi...Naruto.
I never really did want to kill you...
But this is all necessary for the plan. Ja, na. We will meet again under better circumstances. Maybe even become friends...again...
And then, Kakashi...we can finally see Rin. And Minato-sensei! It will be just like old times.
He smiled sadly to himself as he felt the ground shake from the immense chakra being directed toward the statue. It was time.
Everything would be alright, soon enough.
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A/N: Ah, I hope we get to see them meet in 629. I wouldn't mind waiting another chapter, though, just for the sake of further suspense.
Feel free to leave a review— they are more than welcome~!
(and just to clarify...by "very good friends" I mean it only in the strictest sense of HashiMada... :D hehehehee) (you can choose not to believe) (but we all know it's practically canon, especially after seeing Madara's face in that last chapter, hmm...) (I am looking forward to their meeting as you can see)