AN:

I'm just going to leave this right here.

III

Obito didn't go on many solo missions. It wasn't really his thing. To him, he wasn't the 'best' ninja. Sure he could do it, but he worked best as support. Was good at protecting his team. And he was fine with that. But when the Kazekage ask you to go on a mission, you have to go.

Obito inhaled deeply as he pulled his mask up. He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment. His team hadn't laughed at him when he started wearing his new clothes. Temari-sensei had given him a small nod. Hachiko smiled. Mako had punched him in the stomach, shaking her hand as she approved his new chest protector.

His mother had teared up a little before ruffling his hair.

He grabbed his gourd and slipped out of his room quietly. He passed his mother curled on the couch, reading. "Come home through the front door, not the hospital door!" She called. She always tried to sound indifferent as she called out her farewell. Obito smiled as her eyes flashed up to him, the worry not only in her voice.

"I will, mom." He called. He said, heading towards the entrance way. He slipped on his shoes and walked out the front door.

III

Kakashi Hatake had to admit to himself.

This...this wasn't going as plan.

If it had been going according to plan, he wouldn't be bleeding so much. Or tied to this tree so tightly. His hands were bound to opposite branches while his legs and feet were bound to the trunk. His shoulders were threatening to dislocate if he struggled too much.

He tensed as the air around him shifted. When the punch struck an already broken rib (and possible punctured lung) it still hurt like hell.

"Now, if you don't answer correctly." The voice was dark and raspy but sounded more like they were out for tea instead of in the woods at the edge of the fire country. He couldn't remember what the man looked like-he'd lost his vision hours ago, but he liked to imagine he had some gold teeth and maybe a pegged leg. The man was still talking, but Kakashi was having a hard time listening. "We'll go back to using the knife." To emphasis his point, he dragged something pointy-the knife know doubt-down the right side of Kakashi's face. He felt blood, or sweat, dribble down his cheek. The man patted Kakashi on the cheek, making Kakashi spit a bit of blood into his mask.

The man laughed. "What's your answer, Copy Ninja."

Kakashi didn't remember what the question even was, but he chuckled anyways. "I was hoping you'd sharpened the blade. It was getting a little-" luckily, it was the fist again.

At least they're safe. Kakashi let the blood dribble out of his mouth as he released the tension in his body, coughing wetly into his mask. By the time his team makes it back to Konoha and returns with reinforcements, it would be too late for him, but maybe they could catch these bastards before they got too far.

It had been a simple mission-collect a stolen scroll from bandits. But wasn't it just his luck that the contractor didn't tell them exactly how dangerous these ninja's were. The C rank mission should have been an A-Rank or S-rank for ANBU but he and the rest of his Chuunin team didn't realize it until he had used himself as a shield (and a pin cushion) to let his team escape.

He recalled with a lazy smile the fight with Zabuza and how well his little Team 7 had done. And how, surprisingly, none of them had died. It still baffled him.

When the present came back to Kakashi, it had become very quite.

Kakashi opened his eyes, his sharingan spinning weakly. Light twinkled in the corner of his eye, but other than that it was darkness.

The wind started picking up, rustling the leaves ominously. "What's going on guys?" He asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"Oi." One of the ninja's to his left ask in a whisper. "How close are we to Wind?"

There was a long pause. "Are you talking to me?"

"Yes, dammit!"

"About a day out." Kakashi tried to make it sound cheery, but it sounded more pained. "But it gets windy in Fire too."

"Then..." That was deserving of a punch, Kakashi knew and was surprised when the raspy one's voice tremble. "Why-why is there sand?"

"Sa-"

One shrieked. "Oh god! Look out-" His voice muffled as the roar of what sounded like a tidal wave echoed through the trees. It was quite again.

Gaara-sama?

There was a loud boom! A second later, a strangled cry. And then, quite.

Kakashi felt small pellets hitting his face, as he stared blankly out at the darkness. He tried to push more chakra into his Sharingan, but it was useless.

After a few seconds of silence, Kakashi spoke as loud as he could. "Hello?"

The hair on Kakashi's back stood on end as something warm slid around him like slime.

"Where is it!?" One of the men who Kakashi was certain was the knife guy, said trembling. There was a rumbling. "The shit's going on here?!"

A pause.

"The fuck's the guy on the tree!?" This was a new voice-a not Gaara voice. It cracked slightly on the curse. It was a young kid. "Stop! You fuck!" There was a loud whooshing sound and another strangled cry. The air became stale and silent before there was a loud scream. "Why are you tying people to fucking trees!?"

"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" The raspy voice seemed far away.

There was a exasperated sigh."I won't hurt-kill you if you leave what you found here and get lost." The young voice crackled a bit but it sounded like it was in control. Kakashi smiled. The boy-it reminded him of Naruto's going up against Haku.

The raspy voice laughed. "You really think you can defeat me, you little brat?"

"No." The boy sounded bored. There was a scream. "I know."

"You little bastard!" The sound of metal on metal seemed so distant. Why?!Kakashi cursed himself for not being able to do more for the boy. He struggled sluggishly against the tree, ignoring the exploding pain. There was another whooshing sound and a strangled cry.

Then silence.

Kakashi counted to nineteen before he heard a staggering breath. "Now just stay there!" Kakashi let out a shaky breath as there was some muffled cursing "I said stay fucking put." The boy muttered. One more cry and a heavy sigh. "What a fucking mess."

Slowly, Kakashi felt fresh air move around him. "Hold on-uh," There was a pause "Leaf guy. I'm going to untie your shoulders. Just relax, you won't fall." He tensed as he felt something pointy near his wrist. He let out a slow breath as he felt his wrist become freed. But despite being free, his arm didn't fall to his side. It landed on something hard and scratchy. "If I let your arms fall, you might pass out or something-circulation." His other hand came free. They slowly started lowering. Kakashi sighed. "Legs." The boy said methodically. "I'm going to sort of tie you up again. But it's only to keep you from causing anymore damage to yourself." Kakashi felt himself slowly slide down the trunk, landing on a soft cushion beneath him. Kakashi coughed up blood. He couldn't feel anything anymore.

"Thank-"

"Shut up." The boy said shortly. There was movement around him and small hands push his chin up.

"Holy fuck." The boy whispered, his voice cracking on the curse again. "Hold on, hold on, hold on." He felt something pointy on his cheek and fingers on his mask. He let out a feeble protest, but he could hear his mask ripping as cold air rushed his cheeks. Once his mouth was clear he coughed freely. "Oh man..." The boy's voice was shaky as he felt small hands on his chest. The fingers ran down his torso, stopping at the hem of his shirt. Kakashi tensed as he felt something pointy on his stomach. "I'm not going to hurt you." He heard ripping and cold air rushed his chest. "Fuck!" He felt the point run along his arms like the tip of a pencil before he heard a slapping sound as the top of his body became cold. He started tremble as he gulped down fresh air.

"Eh...Easy now." Kakashi still heard cursing from somewhere in the distant. "Don't tense." The boy said as Kakashi felt himself move from the tree.

He tried not to wince. And failed.

"It's alright," the boy whispered, "you're alright. I've got you." Kakashi was now laying down. A familiar warmth spread through his chest. He sighed loudly, body melting.

It was healing chakra.

He closed his useless eyes. "Who are you?"

"Please don't talk." The boy's voice was tense. "Blood in lungs."

Kakashi hummed, making himself cough blood.

The boy grunted. The warmth left his chest and moved to his stomach. "You are so lucky." The boy whispered with a bit of awe in his voice. "If I hadn't been in the area when I was, you'd be dead."

Kakashi hummed. "Lucky for that."

"Shut up."

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

The boy snorted. "I don't kiss my mother."

Kakashi chuckled, wincing slightly. "Maybe you should. I think mother's like that." The warmth left and fingers trailed up his body. It stopped at his neck for a moment before making it to his face. The boy traced the scar on his left eye, Kakashi opened his heavy lids. "Don't do that."

"I won't touch your eye. It's your head." Warmth spread around his face. "You got punched in the nose." The boy let out a small whine. "And the temple. Multiple times. When I get rid of the swelling, you should get a little of sight back. And be able to breathe better."

Kakashi nodded. "I'm lucky a field medic dropped in."

"Literally dropped in. But...I'm not a field medic."

"Don't care." Kakashi winced.

They fell into silence.

"The fuck is wrong with your eye?" The moved back a bit as the Sharingan started to spin a little faster due to the extra chakra. He could see shadows.

"It's suppose to be like that."

"I...I don't think so..." The boy's fingers pulled at his eye lid. "I think it's seriously infected..."

"Trust me."

The boy paused. "Whatever." He moved to another part of his face.

Slowly the pain in his head subsided and he opened his eyes. The boy in front of him couldn't be more than ten. The boy had moved back to work on his abdomen; his eyes clenched shut and his lip sticking out slightly as he healed. He started feeling pain again.

The pain was good.

"Your team?" Kakashi mumbled. "Where's your-"

"Shut."

Kakashi smiled as he slowly began to feel his fingers. He wiggled them a little as he closed his right eye and let the sharingan spin and tell the tale of the nine year old that saved his life. It was dark and he could really only see shadows, but he could see the boy's major features. The boy still hadn't lost his all baby fat, but his face was beginning to lean out. He had had high cheek bones and pointed, slightly familiar, nose. But the familiarity could be the blood loss.

The boy leaned back and wiped his brow, looking behind him. Kakashi let his eye follow and saw that they were surrounded by a high wall of sand. Which immediately fell and the boy, looked to him before moving away. "Be right back."

Kakashi watched the boy walk to some strange rocks and come back, cracking his neck.

The boy returned, looking over his shoulder wearily before plopping back down rather ungracefully. He leaned back on his heels and bright green eyes stared at him in amazement. "You sure know how to take several knives to the stomach and not die." The boy stopped. "Leaf guy."

Kakashi chuckled. "It's a talent."

"It's quite the impressive talent."

"Hmmm." Kakashi let his eyes close.

"Hey! Don't fall asleep!" Kakashi's eyes opened wide as the kid caused serious pain in his stomach. "I'll tell you when you're allowed to sleep." He said darkly. "And it's not yet." He heard something ripping and something warm touch his stomach. "Tell me about yourself."

"Why?"

"So you don't die."

"You seem to know everything about me already." He closed his eyes again. "You first."

"You don't seem to know how this whole 'not dying' thing works."

"On the contrary." The boy seemed to get closer. He was wrapping something around him.

The boy sighed. "Medic-nin from Suna. Go."

"You said you weren't."

"Today I am, just talk."

He chuckled. "Copy Ninja, Konoha."

The boy stopped. "You're Kakashi Hatake?"

He smirked. "My reputation precedes me." He mumbled tiredly.

"Holy Shit..."

Kakashi chuckled. "I'm sure you're mother would cry if she heard you talking like that..." He trailed off.

"Oi, oi, oi! Don't fall asleep yet!" The boy barked. "Not until I tell you!"

A memory flashed in his mind of days of old. He opened his eyes to see panicked green eyes staring down at him.

He closed his eyes. "Yes, Sakura."

"Shit!" The boy cursed, but it sounded so far away as Kakashi let himself fall into unconsciousness.

III

Kakashi woke with a start. His pulse race as he felt himself pinned to the ground.

"Please don't fight it." A young, tired voice said. Kakashi's memory threw bits and pieces of information at him as he turned his head to see his young medic, leaning back on his hands looking into a fire. The boy was covered in blood (hopefully, only Kakashi's blood) and sand. It stuck to his hair and his face and everywhere else.

"Tired?"

"It's been five hours. Your people are slow." He mumbled. "I have to keep you and those fucks over there ensnared and it's very tiring."

Kakashi's eye sight was slowly focusing. Sand was scattered all over the clearing. Two men were incapacitated in large heaps of sand. One was standing, covered in sand to his cheeks. His eyes were wide with anger. He tried to move, but the sand only gripped him tighter. Sand from the ground slowly collected on his body.

"He's not going anywhere." The boy yawned, his voice full of exhaustion. He tossed wood on the fire, almost missing.

Kakashi looked down at himself to see that he was also wrapped in sand. "You don't-"

"It's keeps in your body heat, and, not to mention, your small intestine inside your body. You are wrapped the tightest."

Kakashi nodded. The boy was watching the fire, biting his lip. "Thank you."

The boy shrugged.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kakashi spoke again. "I'm guessing you're from Sand."

The boy didn't look away from the fire. He didn't even crack a smile. He just shrugged. "Yeah."

Kakashi smiled, "You are quite the little ninja."

The boy's eyes furrowed, but Kakashi could tell what that meant. "I'm not that great."

"You saved a dead man from four S-ranked ninja's all on your own?" Kakashi peeked his good eye open to see the boy squirming. "Not to mention you brought the dead man back to life." He gave the boy a once over. "How old are you?"

The boy looked at him. Making Kakashi gasp.

Those eyes...

Those so bright green eyes seemed to be searching for the answer. "Thirteen." He said finally, looking back at the fire.

Kakashi nodded. "Impressive."

The boy squirmed. "Thanks."

They fell into silence again. Kakashi must have dozed off because when he opened his eyes, the boy was red faced and beads of sweat rolled down his face. He had to be almost at his end. The Sand around Kakashi was looser.

"You okay?"

The boy nodded. They didn't speak until the boy sighed, smiling brightly. "Your team's here."

Kakashi nodded, eyes widening when he realized his mask was in place. He looked at the boy curiously. "You never did tell me your name." Kakashi shifted slightly. "Sand boy."

The boy stared into the fire. "My, my name is-"

"Kakashi!" The loud rustle of trees and slowly people started landing soundlessly in the clearing. Gai came trampling out of the trees like a tornado. "I have come to rescue you, my damsel!"

The boy looked wearily over at Kakashi, who only smiled.

"Yo."

Gai's head snapped in his direction. "Kakashi-" He took a large step before turning to the others. "He's alive!" He turned back to Kakashi with tears in his eyes.

Sai and Shikamaru dropped to the ground. Shikamaru put his hands on his knees. "How-how is that even-" He stopped. Kakashi looked over Gai's shoulder. Shikamaru was staring at the boy. "Obito?"

Kakashi felt his breath being sucked out of his chest.

Obito? How ironic. The boy grinned up at Shikamaru. "Yo."

"Obito," Shikamaru looked around the scene before looking warily at Kakashi. "what are you doing here?"

Obito shrugged. "Saving the Copy Ninja, apparently." Shikamaru gaped at him. Obito shrugged. Kakashi gave an eye crinkle as what looked like medic nins surrounded him.

"He did a very good job at that."

"Why are you here by yourself?" Shikamaru demanded. "Where's your team?"

"At home, I guess. Sleeping. Painting each others nails?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Goddammit, Obito."

"I'm on a solo mission. It was a B ranked mission, but...I think it's been raised a bit." Kakashi was able to see the boy trying not to smile.

Shikamaru growled. "B-ranked solo- So that means..." Shikamaru sighed. "You're a Jounin now?"

The boy shrugged nonchalantly. "It's been like a year and half." Kakashi felt the sand shift slightly as the boy moved out of Kakashi line of vision. "I hope I'm getting compensated properly by the Hokage for this."

Shikamaru sighed, moving to the sand entrapped guy. "Troublesome little shit."

"It's been like eight hours. You guys are slow."

The three medic nins, who had been whispering to each other, hovering over him started to face him, hands glowing. His hand weakly broke the sand and waved them off.

"You didn't have to bring field medics for my sake." He swatted the girl away. "The boy patched me up pretty well."

"Please don't listen to him." Obito said, taking a deep breath as the sand rolled off Kakashi. "He's still halfway dead."

"I like to think halfway alive."

Gai gathered Kakashi's hands so the medics could get in. Gai's eyes were serious. "I hope you're lying. You're still in pretty bad shape."

"You should have seen him before." Obito sighed as Shikamaru detained the men. There was a low whooshing sound as sand filled the air. It swirled around the boy before moving towards a gourd at his side. "I'm surprised I did what I did." His eyes flashed to Kakashi, "Not a very good medic."

Kakashi gave him a signature eye crinkle as he felt the warmth of the sand slide off him. "You did very well."

The boy blushed. Kakashi closed his eyes, letting the healing chakra warmth (though not as warm, he had to admit) pass through him. He smiled.

"Seriously?" Shikamaru whispered.

There was a loud grunt and a laugh from Shikamaru. Kakashi opened his eyes as he felt his organs fall into place. The boy was rubbing at the collar of his shirt, glaring at Shikamaru. "His organs are falling out, multiple stab wounds and multiple serious blows to his face. There are more important things to address."

Kakashi cleared his throat, making both of them jump. The boy- Obito, looked to Shikamaru. "I got to get back to Suna. You guys got this?"

"You can't make it back-"

"No. I'm fine."

"I insist." The boy froze as Kakashi pushed the hands of the medic away and began to stand shakily. Gai was there with a strong arm and he slumped against it. "It's still two days to Suna and you've probably wasted all your chakra." Obito looked over to Shikamaru who threw his arms up in the air. And moved to join the rest of the recon team on the other side of the clearing.

"No. I really can't-"

"Sometimes the most stubborn people make the most loyal Shinobi." Kakashi was pretty sure he was quoting Icha Icha, but the boy didn't have to know that.

"Or foolish." The boy muttered. He bowed deeply to Kakashi. "An honor, Hatake-san." Kakashi waved him off, feeling slightly out of body. But it could just be the blood loss.

"The honor is all mine, Jounin Obito of the Sand." He held out his hand. Obito hesitated, before gripping it firmly, smiling brightly. Kakashi started feeling fuzzy inside. Something was happening to his heart. It could have been the medic. But when he looked at this boy..."Perhaps our paths will cross ways again."

Obito nodded, grinning like an idiot.

III

Kakashi awoke two days later in the hospital. Immediately he started pulling I. V.s out of his arms, ready to flee the hospital when he froze.

He'd had that same conversation with Sakura right before they-

He yanked the cords to heart monitor out of his chest. He didn't need the readings to give away an old heart broken man escaping from the place that reminded himself so much of her.