For a second, I couldn't breathe, couldn't move, and couldn't speak. When I woke up, I felt like I was going to explode.

"NO!" I screamed, ran to where Obito was being slowly crushed to death, and beat the boulder as hard as I could. It barely had any affect. "OBITO!"

"Kakashi," Obito whispered hoarsely, "stop."

"NO!" I screamed again, and beat it harder. My fists were starting to bleed, but I didn't care. "YOU SHUT UP!"

"Kakashi, please. I… I need to talk to you. Before…" He trailed off, and I buckled down to my knees and started to bawl. Obito's face was covered in blood and tears were streaming down his face, but he was still smiling, and it was clear he was experiencing excruciating pain. His smile, the smile that seemed to be there whenever he should be should've been frowning or crying.

"No… no… this isn't happening… it's a dream, I know it is," I sobbed.

"I wish you were right. But Kakashi, this is very real." Obito's smile wavered for a minute, and I wished it would go away. Yet it still remained, even when he uttered the words, "Kakashi, I really am going to die." I heard a squeak from Rin, who was somewhere behind me.

"No you're not. I'll help you. I'll get you out of here."

"You can't, and you shouldn't waste your energy on me. You've done enough of that already."

"NO!" I roared again. "SHUT UP! WHY DON'T YOU SEE THAT I OWE IT TO YOU! I SHOULD BE THE ONE DYING RIGHT NOW! I DESERVE IT, I… I deserve it…" Then I couldn't help it, and started to cry even harder than before.

"Best friends have to make sacrifices to save each other. You did that for me, and now we're even. You don't deserve this." This actually registered with me.

"When did I sacrifice anything for you? I was a crap friend this whole time. Even though you…" I paused to try and not have a mental breakdown. "You took the place of my dad when he died."

Obito made a noise that sounded slightly like a laugh. "Really? I've been a dad?"
I shook my head, unable to smile. "No. You were the person that supported me. Just like dad, you still believed in me and cared about me even when you had thought that I stopped believing in and caring about you."

Obito's face contorted and lost the familiar grin that had managed to survive for so long. "You think that I thought you stopped caring about me?"

"Of course. What else were you supposed to think?"

"That you were scared, confused, and trying to protect me." His lower lip quivered a little bit. "I never would have thought that you stopped caring…"

"Obito, I can't go back home," I said suddenly. "I can't show Mom and the hokage and everyone else that I failed…"

"But you still have time to complete the mission."

"I don't care about the mission now. All I care about is that I failed you and I failed Dad. I was a bad leader, and everyone's gonna know it."

"If you were a bad leader, you would have left both Rin and I for dead. You didn't. You're more like your father than you think."

"Don't do this!" My tears started coming quicker again. "Don't tell me this just because you want to make me feel better! You're dying, my best friend is dying, and you just want me to go on my merry way?! I already saw one death and didn't do anything about it! I can't let the most important person in my life die again!"

"You can. You will. And I'm gonna make sure that I'm not completely gone from your life."

"What?"

"Take my sharingan."