Genjutsu?
Well here it is the sequel to "What the f?" it's out really early, as in the next day, but what can I say I'm on a roll but don't necessarily expect this to happen again. I really should have done my chemistry coursework instead lol.
I know I said that reviews were the key to getting this sequel and I've only had two so far but I've had a lot of fun with this so never mind.
I hereby dedicate this fic to Sakra-chan and Tisha-Lillianne, thank you so much.
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Obito could feel Kakashi's body shaking, in response he tightened his grip around his shoulders and held on as though they would never part.
Through his haze of happiness Obito wondered why Kakashi was shaking, it's not like the man was crying, Kakashi never cried. Dimly Obito concluded that he was shaking in revulsion at hugging him, that would be more like the Kakashi he knew, the perfect shinobi robot.
However as Obito withdrew from the other man, he became aware of a damp patch on the shoulder of his jacket, raising his fingers to it hesitantly he was shocked to find that it had been made of tears. He immediately looked into the face of his best friend and almost laughed at the sight of Kakashi visible eye puffy and weeping, tears glinting brightly in the sunlight on his cheek before disappearing into the navy fabric of his mask.
"Obito? How?" choked out Kakashi, voice hoarse and raw with emotion.
"I don't know," Obito replied softly, watching his friends exposed face ripple with feelings, he detected grief anew, happiness and, dared he hope for it, love.
Suddenly a bright laugh intruded upon their moment, "Geez Kakashi-sensei, anyone would think this guy had come back from the dead," Naruto grinned.
Kakashi turned to face his student, a look like he'd just swallowed a lemon on his face. Upon noticing that look, Naruto blinked and said "What?"
"You've met one of my students then," Kakashi addressed this to Obito who was torn between raising an eyebrow and grinning, his face had therefore settled somewhere between the two. He nodded, not quite trusting himself to speak.
"Naruto, Obito and I were on the same genin team," the silver-haired man explained to the blonde.
"Yeah, he said you guys were team seven, like us," Naruto said brightly.
Kakashi blinked and smiled sadly, Obito watched his friend unaccustomed to the range of emotions that Kakashi was displaying so openly, as a boy Kakashi had been emotionless to the point of scary, never betraying his feelings even when he must have felt something.
"Wait…" the teen said slowly, an almost frightening look of comprehension dawning in his blue eyes, "Anko said that your old team were all dead."
Kakashi nodded, "They were. Or at least we thought they were."
Obito frowned; he thinks I just stayed away? "I was dead Kakashi."
The silver-haired man stared, "But…?" he whispered.
Naruto frowned processing that, then he turned to the black-haired man, his eyes widened further, "Holy shit, a ghost!" he screamed leaping into the air and pointing at Obito, who sweat-dropped but burst out laughing as the blondes bronze skin went white and he began to tremble.
Kakashi's eye curved upwards into a grin as he shook his head at the teenager in mock embarrassment.
"I'm not a ghost Naruto," Obito explained, once he regained his breath, "I just came back."
Naruto just stared, still white and trembling, clearly unconvinced.
Obito grinned at the teen then shook his head as a wave of dizziness passed over him.
Kakashi stepped closer, one hand going to his shoulder to steady him, "Obito? Are you okay?"
Obito nodded, "Yeah I'm fine." Confused he tried to turn he head as he heard someone distantly yelling his name but all he could see was blackness before his mind shut down.
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"Have you even checked to verify he is who he says he is?"
Who was that? Obito didn't recognise the speaker, a woman. He tried to open his eyes but couldn't.
"I just know."
That voice was Kakashi's, he sounded tired.
"We can't base our decision on just your gut feeling Kakashi, we need evidence, he's potentially a security risk."
Obito could feel Kakashi's hostility before his awareness faded once again.
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"Have you been here all night?"
It was that woman again, the one Obito couldn't identify, he frowned inwardly, although her voice was slightly familiar.
Obito felt a shift of the mattress and sheets at his side, as though a weight had been lifted from them.
"I've spoken with Izumo and Kotetsu; they said he came with team Gai."
Team Gai? Oh the three teens, Tenten, the Hyuuga and that weird kid with the eyebrows.
"They found him?"
Kakashi? He was still here?
"I'm not sure, I've sent for them to see what they know."
Obito tried to speak, but the effort drove him back into unconsciousness.
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He could hear pacing, nothing else just the sound of someone walking from one end of a room to the other.
Unable to open his eyes or move, sensations were coming to him in little flashes as though he was asleep but slightly aware of what was going on around him.
Abruptly a door opened and high-heeled feet clicked in, the pacing stopped.
"I've spoken to team Gai."
That woman again, Obito was sure he knew her; he just couldn't place her voice with a face.
"And?"
Didn't Kakashi have a home to go to?
"Neji said that his Byakugan couldn't detect any lying and that this man was able to activate the Sharingan in his remaining eye."
Neji? Who the hell is Neji? Oh right the Hyuuga, the one on Tenten's team.
"I knew it was him."
Never mind that they were suspicious about him, Obito was starting to be suspicious of Kakashi. Kakashi was a cold, heartless robot. Who the hell was this impostor?
Struggling to make sense of his old friends behaviour, Obito once again lost the battle and sank into unknowing once more.
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The sheets were scratchy; he noticed that immediately, they actually felt like hospital sheets. Obito knew that there probably wasn't any such thing as standard issue hospital sheets, but still these were definitely them, the childish part of his mind pouted and refused to let reason or logic tell him what he knew to be true.
A slight breeze ran across the exposed skin of his arms and face raising goose-bumps in its wake. It banished the pouting part of his mind and cleared the way for logic, if the sheets hadn't told him he was in a hospital then what had?
Unable to move or open his eyes, Obito was forced to use his other senses, he couldn't hear anything, but he could smell a sharp tangy smell, chemicals? Chloroform. That was it, that was how he knew.
With a monumental effort Obito opened his eyes to be met with fuzzy blurred shaped and colour impressions. He blinked a few times and gradually his sight righted itself. He surveyed a white and pale blue room, a private hospital room. There was a stand next to the bed he was propped up in, with a jug of water, a cup and heavy shackles, Obito raised an eyebrow at the restraints but before he could move to examine them his gaze was drawn to the occupant of the chair. Kakashi had pulled the uncomfortable looking chair up beside the bed and had fallen asleep with his head by Obito's flank. Obito tried to lift his hand but was hampered by the drip attached to the underside of his elbow.
At the movement Kakashi lifted his head and focused on Obito.
"You're awake."
Obito nodded, he tried to speak but his throat was parched and no sound came out.
"Wait." Kakashi rose and poured some water into the cup. He slid one hand behind Obito's head and held the cup to his lips, allowing Obito to sip the water slowly.
"Thanks," Obito whispered hoarsely as Kakashi placed the cup back on the stand.
Kakashi nodded, "How are you feeling?"
Obito chuckled weakly, "Like death," noticing his friends tiny flinch, he apologised, "Sorry didn't mean that."
Kakashi nodded knowing what Obito meant.
The door swung open and a woman entered, Kakashi bowed, "Godaime-sama."
Obito blinked, "Tsunade?"
The woman smirked, "It's Hokage now brat."
That's voice Obito had been hearing, he had only met Tsunade once before with his team and sensei, the Sannin had had long blonde hair, golden eyes, and a creamy complexion. She had been tall with a large bust, the young Obito had noticed the way his sensei's teacher had kept staring at it, his sensei had noticed too, "Geez sensei, they're not going to attack you." Tsunade had punched Jiraiya through a wall and had almost followed suit with Obito's sensei but the man had been too quick. But although it had been over twenty years since that meeting the woman before him hadn't changed a bit.
"Aren't you like fifty?"
Tsunade's golden eyes narrowed, "Baka," she snarled and hit him over the head with her fist.
"Ow!" Obito yelped and cradled his head tenderly.
The fifth Hokage leant over him checking his drip and vitals; Obito's gaze was suddenly faced with the woman's monumental cleavage, remembering what happened to Jiraiya he hastily averted his eyes to be met with Kakashi's smirk. Obito glared at the man still not sure what to make of his strange behaviour but glad that this at least he knew how to deal with.
Tsunade straightened, "Well there's nothing wrong with you, you were just dehydrated and slightly starved."
Obito nodded, Kakashi looked relieved, "Are you sure?"
Tsunade looked at him; Kakashi hastily scratched at the back of his head with on hand and smiled "Maa…"
Obito frowned, that was something he had always done, Kakashi had always told him it was unbecoming, now he was doing it.
Tsunade turned back to Obito, "Now then, you've been presumed dead for twenty years and Kakashi says that you yourself confirmed that you were dead, I think it's time for you to explain what's going on."
Obito frowned, "I don't really know myself."
"Then start at the beginning of what you know," Tsunade suggested, the words coming out clipped.
Obito nodded, "Well it felt like I woke up in the clearing where I died."
"Felt like you woke up?" Tsunade interjected.
"Yeah, there was no falling sensation, or anything like that, it literally felt like I'd been asleep," Obito clarified.
Tsunade nodded, she motioned for him to continue with her hand.
"I woke as an adult, although I'd died a child, I couldn't remember anything at first, but when I was able to move I touched a pile of boulders and I remembered."
"What did you remember?" Tsunade asked softly.
"Everything, my life, my team."
Kakashi's knuckles were beginning to turn whit where he was clutching the edge of the stand but he didn't say anything.
"I began walking, I encountered a group of teenagers, they asked my name, they didn't believe me at first, the Hyuuga asked to see my Sharingan."
Tsunade inhaled sharply, "Show me," she commanded.
Obito looked at her, then activated his blood-line limit. His eye turned red and three corneas swirled in its depths. He held for a minute then released it. "Sorry," he said, "I'm a little tired."
"That's fine," Tsunade said, "We just had to make sure."
Obito nodded, "I accompanied team Gai back to Konoha were Naruto took me to Kakashi."
"Did you tell Naruto your name?" Tsunade asked sharply.
Obito shook his head, "Only my first name, I didn't tell him I was an Uchiha. I found out about my clan."
Kakashi grasped his shoulder, his touch lending Obito strength. Tsunade nodded, "I'm sorry," she said softly. She stood up to leave, "Get some rest." She closed the door quietly behind her.
Obito sighed and snuggled into the pillows at his back. Kakashi had returned to his seat. "Is that all you remember?" he asked quietly.
"That's what happened," Obito affirmed.
Kakashi nodded staring at his hands on his lap. "Why?" he asked quietly.
"Why what?"
Kakashi blinked and looked up, "Why are you back?"
"Aren't you glad I'm back?" Obito teased.
Kakashi caught and held his gaze, "I really am, I missed you so much."
Obito frowned slightly, Kakashi never would have said that, he would have smirked and said that he hadn't had any one to beat up while he was gone. These feelings and emotions pouring off the cold hearted boy were totally out of character.
"What is it?" Kakashi asked concerned.
"Who the hell are you?" Obito asked unable to contain his suspicions any longer. All his grief and confusion finally caught up with him and he let it all out at once. "You're not the Kakashi I remember; you're some impostor aren't you? Pretending to be my friend and doing a really bad job of it."
Kakashi simply stood there, eye wide and speechless. This only served to anger Obito further.
"Stop trying to act all nice, the real Kakashi wouldn't, he was a heartless bastard, you're not him. This is probably some genjutsu I'm trapped in, none of this is real." Obito made a quick seal, "Kai." When nothing around him changed he tried again, "Kai."
"Obito," Kakashi stepped towards him.
"Get away from me," Obito flung the covers back and tried to rise. Kakashi stopped, sadness clouding his face. "You're not real, not really here," Obito was crying now, tears streaming down his face from his lone eye. "I'm not real, this is just an illusion, my team will save me any minute now. You're just an illusion, a crappy figment of my imagination."
Kakashi stood there with his hands half extended. "Get out!" Obito screamed, when the silver-haired man didn't move, he seized the jug of water and flung it in the mans direction. His aim was erratic and Kakashi didn't have to move, as Obito slumped onto the bed exhausted, he turned on his heel and left with out a word.
Obito crawled under the covers and wept.
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Sometime later he was disturbed by the door to his room opening once more. He raised his head, tear tracked cheeks puffy around his eyes and took in the image of a girl, around seventeen, with short pink hair and sea-green eyes.
"Hello," she said smiling, "I'm Sakura." She walked to the opposite end of the room and picked up the empty water jug, there was a damp patch on the floor where the water had spilled out. Calmly the girl returned the jug to its place on the stand. "I'm just here to check on you," she explained as her fingers found the pulse on his wrist.
Obito stared at her, she reminded him vividly of Rin. Same gentle manner, warm fingers and caring eyes.
Sakura smiled at him, "I hear you yelled at Kakashi-sensei," she said with a slight note of wonder in her voice.
"Sensei?" Obito asked confused.
Sakura nodded, "I'm another member of team seven," she explained.
"Oh," Obito murmured.
"He said you think this a genjutsu because he's acting different," Sakura watched the man turn red. "But you know twenty years is a long time, it's possible that he is different to how you remember him isn't it?"
Obito considered, "Not this much," he said flatly. "The boy I knew was cold and uncaring."
Sakura nodded, "Grief can change a person," she said quietly, "and sensei has dealt with a lot of grief in his life." Obito stared at her. "People say that he always used to put the mission first before anything." Obito nodded. "But he's always taught us that team-work is the most valuable thing to a shinobi. Like I hear you also believe."
Obito gaped at her, "He listened to me?" he whispered to himself.
"Sensei is always late to everything he does," Sakura continued, "and he always has some silly excuse ready for us, but I heard from Gai-sensei that he spends much of time at the monument, talking to you and the others he lost. Maybe your death affected him more than you think; maybe he was trying in some small way to keep you alive through him with more than just the Sharingan you gave him." With that Sakura quietly withdrew from the room.
Obito hastily brushed the fresh tears that had sprung up in his eye away. He had to find Kakashi, and now he had a good idea of where to start looking.
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Obito jumped across rooftops towards the monument at a leisurely pace, his strength had not yet fully returned. He had found his clothing folded in a drawer in the stand coupled with a quick exit through the window and he had checked out of the hospital. He mentally winced as he remembered pulling the needle for the drip out of his arm though; he had always hated those things.
He dropped to ground and walked across the park towards the large stone at its centre, as he had expected Kakashi was kneeling before it. Though the man didn't turn at his silent approach Obito knew that he knew he was there.
Obito stopped behind him and waited for acknowledgement. Eventually Kakashi turned slightly, "You should still be in the hospital," he said quietly.
Obito shrugged, "I met another one of your students," he said, "She's a bright girl."
Kakashi huffed lightly, "Yeah?"
"Yeah. She said some things that I knew, you know? I just hadn't realised them then."
Kakashi snorted, "You still don't make any sense."
Obito grinned, "I'm sorry," he offered.
Kakashi stood and faced him, he smiled through his mask, "It's good to have you back Obito."
Obito smiled too, "It's good to be back."
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"So sensei died a hero huh? And the Yondaime to boot."
Kakashi nodded, "He always said he would."
"Yeah, he did."
The two men were leaning against the monument watching the last rays of the sun disappear from the sky.
"I had hoped he'd still be alive, but when I saw his face on the cliff, I figured what with there being the fifth now, that it wasn't too likely," Obito sighed.
Kakashi nodded, "He never forgot you, you know."
Obito grinned sadly, "Of course not, how could anyone forget me?" He traced over a name on the monument with his fingers, "How did Rin die?" he whispered.
Kakashi looked over at him, and then at the name. She went out with an ANBU team as the medic, they were ambushed, none came back."
Obito felt his throat close over with grief; the only thing that stopped him from simply dying once more was the man sitting next to him, who shared his pain.
"So what are you going to do now?" Kakashi asked.
Obito looked up at the moon, shining down on the monument, on the names of his family, his friends, his sensei, his love and the face of his best friend and brother, who would always be there for him now that they had each other once again.
"Live," He replied softly.
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Wow there was a lot of talking in this one.
What do you guys think? Review and let me know.
I hate to say it but I feel a third coming on, if anyone wants this to be made into a trilogy then just review.
