Back again. I see I've gotten a few more reviews, but hardly as many as I'd like to have. But, thanks to all those who have reviewed, favourited or even alerted this story so far.
This chapter includes the scene that is in the summary, so I hope you enjoy it. Please, feel free to leave your opinion, whether it be yay or nay.
And, unfortunately I sprained my ankle last night, very badly, went into the emerge this morning and discovered I have a fracture, and am now stuck in a cast with a pair of crutches and an extremely sore and painful ankle. Brilliant. But, that will not affect the update speed of this story, so don't worry!!
Chapter 4
It is bitter to lose a friend to evil before one loses him to death. - Mary Renault
Kakashi wandered down the streets of Konoha, lost in thought just as he was lost in the thick mist that had settled over the village a few days before. He looked up sharply when the sound of footsteps other than his own reached his ears.
"Obito! Where've you been keeping yourself lately?" Kakashi asked the figure that emerged from the fog.
It was true. Kakashi had not seen Obito for several days, which was strange of him.
"Hello, Kakashi. Yeah, haven't seen you for a while," Obito said quietly.
"So, what's new? Something's different about you," Kakashi observed.
Obito looked surprised at Kakashi's assumption. "Yeah, you're right. You'll never believe it, but I made up with my dad. We made a compromise regarding that new training we had argued about before."
"Ah, so you've been busy with that, then," Kakashi realized. "Maybe it'll come in handy on missions, you think?"
"Mmm," Obito said distractedly.
Kakashi was slightly put off by the change in Obito's behavior, but he brushed it off as effects from his training. "Want to grab something to eat? And after, maybe - "
"Oh, sorry, Kakashi, I-I can't," Obito interrupted. He looked very uncomfortable with Kakashi's offer. "I promised my dad I'd be home soon, and you know how he is with punctuality."
"Oh," Kakashi said. "Well, maybe some other time then, eh?"
"Yeah, sure. See ya." Obito turned and quickly disappeared into the mist.
Kakashi stared at the back of his retreating friend. Since when had Obito ever been concerned with being on time? A tiny grain of suspicion made its way into the back of Kakashi's mind, but he dismissed it. Obito was just getting used to his new training. Nothing was wrong.
Kakashi barely saw Obito for the next few days. Every time they passed in the street, Obito hardly noticed Kakashi, and every time Kakashi asked Obito if he wanted to grab lunch or hang out, he said he was busy. They hadn't sparred for weeks, and when they went on missions, they hardly communicated. Kakashi knew that missions went badly when there was a lack of communication or cooperation, and it was only a matter of time before something would go wrong.
This is what spurred him to find out what was going on with the Uchiha, because something was definitely off about his behavior.
And, that is why one day found Kakashi, decked out in his complete ANBU uniform, minus the mask, hammering on the door of Uchiha Takeshi, demanding that Obito come out and spar, especially because he knew they had a new mission coming up.
Imagine Kakashi's surprise then, when Obito actually agreed. A few moments later, Obito stood in front of Kakashi, also in full uniform.
"My dad says he'll give me a chance to practice with my teammate," Obito said with a grin. "Looks like we're going to go all out this time, eh?" He asked, eyeing Kakashi's gear.
"You know it. Even I'm getting rusty, having no one to practice with besides Gai. And you know what he's like." Kakashi shuddered.
"Well, let's get going then," Obito said cheerfully, sliding the door closed behind him.
As the two made their way towards the training grounds, Kakashi looked Obito over, trying to find some explanation for this sudden return to his normal behavior. Kakashi thought that Obito seemed almost a bit too cheery, and he wasn't insulting Kakashi 24/7 like he had always done. Kakashi just ignored it again. Who was he to complain when his friend was finally willing to spar with him?
"Alrighty, ready to go, Kakashi?" Obito positioned himself in the middle of the clearing once they reached the grounds. He faced Kakashi and rested his hands on his hips, grinning cheekily.
"Anything goes. Weapons, summons, genjutsu, taijutsu, ninjutsu, and even your Sharingan. Not that it will do you any good anyways," Kakashi added with a smirk.
Uchiha and Hatake slid easily into standard attack positions.
The spar began when Kakashi launched a handful of shuriken at Obito, and then followed behind them, prepared to catch Obito when he was distracted.
Obito withdrew a kunai and blocked the shuriken. Kakashi came at him just as he lowered his arm. A swift kick to his stomach sent Obito flying backwards, only to disappear in a puff of smoke.
A clone? What the hell! Kakashi froze and searched the clearing, ears poised for any sound that would reveal the location of the real Obito. Kakashi heard a rustle of leaves to his left. He grinned at Obito's foolishness. Putting his hands together in a seal, Kakashi teleported a few feet away from where he heard the sound.
Crouching low to the ground, Kakashi pulled out a kunai and crept forward. Another rustle of leaves came directly in front of him. Kakashi lunged upwards, kunai held out in front.
There was nothing there. Kakashi relaxed slightly, but too late he noticed the small explosive tag attached to a bush in front of him.
Damn! A trap, Kakashi thought, as he raised his arms to his face and let the blast knock him backwards. The masked ninja dodged just in time when a foot came hurtling out of the bushes.
"Getting a little sloppy, eh Kakashi?" Obito laughed, stepping out of the undergrowth, the blood red Sharingan spinning in his eyes.
"I wouldn't say that," Kakashi replied. "Although you have improved a lot, I see."
"You haven't seen the half of it yet," Obito said. He raced through a series of hand signs, and held his hand up to his mouth. "Fire Style! Phoenix Fire Technique!"
Several miniature balls of fire shot from his mouth, aimed at Kakashi. The masked ninja flipped up into a nearby tree, dodging the attack.
"Lightning Style! Lightning Flash!" Kakashi shouted, after forming his own seals. He raised his arm to point at Obito, and several powerful electric charges shot out of his hand. Obito deflected the attack with a simple earth wall that rose out of the ground before him.
Kakashi groaned in annoyance when the earth wall dropped, revealing the Uchiha to have disappeared once more.
Probably gone to set up some more little tricks, Kakashi figured. He would have to be more careful. He was definitely more powerful. Just what kind of training had his father put him through?
Suddenly, Kakashi had a sudden thought that something wasn't right. Obito wasn't patient; he would have done something by now. Normally he was the one to attack first. Kakashi thought back to their last encounter. Had he done something? It came to him in a flash. Damn, he was an idiot not to have seen it coming!
"Genjutsu," Kakashi hissed. His surroundings wavered, then swirled away as the genjutsu was released. The release also revealed a fist headed straight for Kakashi's face.
Unfortunately for one experienced jounin, the fist made perfect contact with his jaw. Kakashi flew backwards, landing hard on the ground and flipping over once, finally coming to a rest on his stomach. Groaning, Kakashi tried to get up, but a firm foot on his back prevented it.
"Nice one, Obito. You finally beat me," Kakashi said, finding it difficult to speak when blood was pouring from a cut lip and swollen gums. "You've definitely improved, though I always thought you preferred more flashy genjutsu."
Kakashi attempted to stand once more, but Obito's foot remained in place. "Uh, Obito, you won. The spar's over," Kakashi said, unnerved by Obito's behavior.
"What makes you think this is over, Kakashi?" Obito said in a quiet whisper.
"What?" Instead of another response, Kakashi felt Obito grab his arms and quickly tie them together with wire, doing the same thing next with his legs. Obito lifted Kakashi up and propped him against a nearby tree.
"Obito, what are you doing?" Kakashi asked, getting increasingly nervous at his friend's actions.
Obito stood a few feet away from Kakashi, staring at him with his brown eyes, except that they were far from normal. Obito's eyes were normally full of life and held a spark of mischief, but now they were as blank as paper and as cold as stone. Obito's mouth twisted into a malicious grin when he noticed Kakashi looking back.
That was when Kakashi finally accepted it. Every single cell in his body screamed out the same message. This was not Obito.
Yet it was. Physically, yes. Kakashi could sense Obito's chakra, and he could not sense any genjutsu or other kind of trick. So, what was wrong with him?
"Obito, let me go. You've been acting weird for weeks. Ever since you made up with your father. Just what was that training he put you through? That new technique he wanted you to learn?"
"My, my, Kakashi, and I thought you were supposed to be a genius ninja. To only have figured that much out this far along?" Obito shook his head disapprovingly. "I'm disappointed."
"Obito, what the hell's making you act like this?"
Obito turned away from Kakashi, clasping his hands behind his back and staring into the leaves above his head. "Have you ever heard of the Mangekyou Sharingan, Kakashi?"
"Mangekyou…?"
"Yes. It is much more powerful than the normal Sharingan, and it is partly for this reason that the Uchiha clan forbids it. Of course, the main reason it is forbidden is because of the action that must be taken to obtain it. My father wanted me to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan, and to therefore become one of the most powerful Uchiha in the clan. I spent days training and studying the skills of the eye technique. And finally, today, I will obtain it!"
Obito gave a small chuckle that sounded more like a growl. "Do you know what one must do to get the Mangekyou, Kakashi?"
Obito whirled around to face Kakashi, the Sharingan once again blazing in his eyes.
"You must kill your closest friend!"
