Kakashi shuttered. The cold stone floor pressing against his skin left him sore and painful. It almost felt like it was burning and the coldness was slowly trickling into his bones, settling there and making his very core feel frozen. He took a deep breath, as deep as he could with his bruised ribs, but he needed the air more then he resented the pain at this moment. The darkness obscured his vision, keeping him blind if it wasn't for the distant light. It was too far away, too far to offer solace, too far to keep his hope alight.

Tobi stood before him, looking down on him, watching his struggle against whatever it was they had done to him. He wasn't restrained, yet he was unable to move. Tobi crouched down, tilting his head and at the same time, Kakashi felt that same familiar dread as he did when he first saw Tobi. It was the way Tobi moved. It was the way the eye seemed to look into Kakashi's soul. He knew this man, but he was unable to place him.

"Hmm, Kakashi~? What's wrong?" The sing-song childish voice echoed in the large open space. "What's this I see? Emotions? What is it? Hurt, maybe..? No... Something less shallow." Tobi sat down, leaning in closer. "Ahh, I see. It's worry. Over your boyfriend, isn't it? Well, I'd say, don't worry, but you and I both know there's lots to worry about. Will he be rash? Will he forget about himself? Again? Does he even know what danger he's going to be rushing into?" Tobi laughed. It was as melodious as the way he spoke, but Kakashi just revolted. Tobi could say whatever he liked. Even if Shizuka rushed in, he'd be capable of handling this clown. Because Tobi doesn't know that Shizuka already knew him, fought him and defeated him.

"Wow, such a deviant look. You're thinking Shizuka knows things that I don't. But I do. We do. And we... We already know every single thing about him. We followed him and studied him from the first moment he took down one of us. There won't be any way to hide..." Tobi stood up and took a few steps back. "Because you see, Kakashi~, he already knows he lost. That little peek he got, that's going to tear him down. That's going to fester in his brain until all other thoughts are gone and nothing matters but saving you, not even his own life. Because that's the type of man you'd fall for. And that's the type of man Uzumaki Naruto is." Tobi smiled behind his mask, watching Kakashi's eyes grow wider. "Well, see ya!" With that, Tobi disappeared in that swirl again, leaving Kakashi heaving for breath in worry. Tobi was right. Shizuka was going to obsess, and he was going to act on that, forgetting everything else, including himself.

Tobi didn't come back. It took hours, or at least, it felt like hours before Kakashi even heard a sound other than his pained breathing. He was sure he drifted in and out of consciousness as well, making it even harder to keep track of time in the steady darkness he was left in.

The same sound repeated, almost at a steady rhythm, a dull bash against the stone far away, but it was something at least. Something from outside this place, Kakashi hoped. It had to be. It would help him keep connected if things got worse. And Kakashi already knew things would get worse.

As time dragged on Kakashi lost all sense of time. The steady rhythm that he clung to before slowly became an antagonising beat of a drum, designed to mock him with each stroke, and he was lost as to how much time passed between each dull beat.

Once Tobi visited again. It was as pleasant as the visit before. The whispered truths that Shizuka was out there looking for him, losing himself in doing so, and the taunting words that spoke of the trap Tobi was drawing Shizuka into, meant to rile Kakashi into anger, they hurt. But Kakashi wouldn't give Tobi the satisfaction of even reacting to it. That didn't mean his mind wasn't consumed with visions of Shizuka searching for him, but not finding him until Shizuka collapsed from pure exhaustion, or the taunting thoughts of Shizuka finding him, only to break when he found Kakashi dead by the hands of Tobi. Even if Shizuka was able to find Kakashi before Kakashi died for whatever reason, he would find Kakashi wounded, likely beyond healing and all they would have would be a last shared gaze, maybe a whisper from Kakashi and a silent but intense reply from Shizuka.

What did it matter? Kakashi saw no way for him to survive, but he clung to the faint hope of getting to tell Shizuka that his death was not Shizuka's fault and that there was no need to bear the guilt over everything that had happened. He wanted to tell Shizuka that he had made his life worth living in the time they had known each other and that he would gladly give up the rest of it if that meant knowing Shizuka.

No, he wouldn't get that chance. Either Shizuka would be too late, of Tobi would make sure Kakashi didn't get the chance. Either way, Shizuka would die with him. Maybe not physically, but he wouldn't be able to handle the loss...

The little light in the cave felt dimmer than before. The darkness was pressing on Kakashi's mind, pulling him back into moments of unconsciousness, strewn with glimmers of clear-mindedness before toppling down into fatigue and despair once again.

Something changed in the darkness. A pressure was lifted and for the first time in a long while, Kakashi had clarity of mind that lasted longer than a moment. He drew in a deep breath, which made him cough. A wet, strained cough leaving a metal taste in his mouth and his ribs screaming from the forced movement. It was less painful than before. Had he been there long enough to have his ribs healed a little? He supposed so. Wrapping his arms around his body, he waited for the pain to ebb away again. It took a while to realise that he wasn't as restricted as he once was.

He moved his arms and legs, pulling them inwards and testing the invisible restraints Tobi had put on him. They were gone. He was free to move for as much as he could in his state, but it was enough. Enough to straighten his body, stretch the muscles that had become stiff and sore and finally struggle to sit up straight and survey his situation for the better.

He didn't see anything. There didn't seem to be any light source, but the faint glow, barely enough for him to see anything, had to come from somewhere. Kakashi struggled to stand up, but his body wasn't letting him. It wasn't just stiff and sore muscles, but a more innate weakness, one someone got from not eating or drinking for a long period of time while stuck in harsh conditions. Once he felt like this before. It had taken a few weeks to feel like he felt now, and even longer to recover from it.

The dull beat that drove him into despair was now a beacon of hope. Not the rhythm or the direction it came from was any help to him here, but what he did notice was that it was more frequent, more random and was now coming from different directions and slowly the realisation saturated Kakashi's mind that it wasn't the dull best from before, but the smashing of rocks only a fight could bring. It was fast. Almost too fast for his muddled mind to process with the different origins of the sounds being so widespread between each beat, but that only reaffirmed Kakashi's mind. That speed belonged to his Sensei, and the only living person today to use it was Shizuka.

Kakashi still couldn't keep himself sitting up straight, let alone stand up, but with every crash against the rocks his heart seared, because it sounded closer because it brought hope.

A bright yellow flash made him over his eyes for a second, but he didn't keep his eyes closed long. Before him was Shizuka. He had his right side to Kakashi, his Katana clutched in his hand, kneeling on one knee and heaving for breath. A fiery yellow cloak burned Kakashi's eyes after all this time spent in darkness, but he didn't allow himself to look away. He didn't want to. The man before him had never looked this strong to him before, and never more beautiful.

Kakashi swallowed and tried to speak, but all that came was a hoarse whisper and only a single word. "Shizuka..."