Chapter 18: Sacrifices
A/N: As of 6/19/2022, I made some minor changes to the chapter, including added detail to the scenery and minor dialogue updates.
Weapons clashed through the air in a seemingly endless cycle, the sound of metal grinding against metal, howls and yells coupled with the rugged pounding of tempest rain and thunder saturated Jitsuko's surroundings. Obito, Rin and Kakashi as well as numerous other Leaf ninja were summoned to rendezvous in an area between the Hidden Leaf Village and Hidden Cloud Village because of the alleged betrayal by Cloud ninja and attempted kidnapping of the Hyuga princess, Hinata.
Jitsuko wasn't expecting to accompany the mission, but a member of the Uchiha clan had stopped her with an urgent message from the Fourth Hokage to join the group immediately. It surprised her that the Hokage decided to send Jitsuko of all people, especially since she had a prior appointment set up and were on her way to see Minato before receiving the new orders. Regardless, Jitsuko found herself well beyond village borders.
Tension was high between the Leaf and Cloud shinobi; both syndicates idled on standby near the frontlines in preparation for if negotiations fell through. The four of them were discussing a potential battle strategy in case things got serious when Obito began to lose focus; one hand clutched his goggles while he idly dug his pinky finger into his ear with a bored expression on his face, until a pointed object sticking out of the ground piqued his interest. Obito's voice clearly indicated fascination as he beckoned Jitsuko over to check it out with him.
She moved from her spot to Obito's location when a sudden yell from a Cloud ninja on the other side followed by an unanticipated lightning blast struck a fellow Leaf shinobi directly behind where Jitsuko stood, startling everyone. She stood there completely stunned at the blatant disregard for the peace treaty and she seriously considered the attack to be an accident, but she didn't have time to assess the situation very long as enraged Leaf ninja immediately charged to the other side in preparation for battle – with the intention to kill.
"Obito, we'll issue a direct attack on the enemy at 3 o'clock. Take the lead and I'll cover you," Kakashi ordered before turning his head. "Jitsuko, Rin, head for 9 o'clock and protect that group from the enemy and keep an eye on their lightning weapons. We'll meet back here once the fighting clears."
"Right!" they all said in unison, Kakashi's levelheaded composure supplying them with confidence to fight. The two pairs then split in opposite directions toward the battlefield.
Rin immediately tended to an already injured shinobi lying on the ground while Jitsuko charged ahead to defend a nearby Leaf group. One Leaf nin was already struck down before she could even begin to form hand signs.
These Cloud ninjas are so fast!
She had always known that a strength of Hidden Cloud Ninja was their speed, but seeing it up close was an eye-opening experience as Jitsuko assessed that her protective jutsu was much too slow to defend anyone from these weapons.
What… what can I do, then…?
She heard a threatening sound of a sword sliding out of its sheath as her head darted toward a Cloud shinobi about to strike down someone from the Abarame clan. Jitsuko's legs worked faster before she could sensibly assess what to do, flagrantly disregarding the heavy wind and vicious rain cascading directly into her face and mudding her vision.
Jitsuko naturally did what her instincts thought best: she ran in front of her comrade and blocked the attack directly with a simple kunai, the lightning emanating from the sword proceeded through the metal knife and struck her hand with a painful zap. She yelped in surprise and quickly jumped back, taking her teammate safely back with her. Not even a second after her feet touched the ground, the same Cloud shinobi appeared behind Jitsuko, a cocky smirk broke out on his face as he roughly kicked her back, forcing her chest forward and sending her to the ground several meters away, separating Jitsuko from her teammate.
"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad," she chanted as her body repeatedly rolled off the ground, fresh cuts and tears riddling her skin. She began forming hand signs desperately before coming to a complete stop in anticipation of the enemy charging with a finishing blow, and successfully formed a thick earth barrier around herself. The barrier forced Jitsuko to an abrupt stop once her shoulder slammed violently against its sturdy walls and onto her back, effectively rooting her inside the compact shell. The wailing and crashing from outside became muffled, the only clear noise coming from her pounding chest and labored breathing as Jitsuko struggled to recover from the sudden attacks.
After a few moments, her breathing began to steady. The air inside the barrier was stifling and it got eerily quiet around her.
Jitsuko momentarily switched her breathing from her mouth to her nose in an attempt to listen closely to the surroundings…
"…."
What's going on out th-
*SHING*
Jitsuko's eyes slowly widened, struggling to register the blinding light that had vertically pierced through her barrier. She stared at the flashing blade, her mind in a complete blank; the only perceivable sense was an intense heat seeping from her torso.
"Did I getcha?" a voice called out before the barrier shattered violently into shards of electricity to reveal the assailant – the same Cloud ninja she had just defended her teammate from.
"Don't'chu know that Earth Style is weak to Lightning Style? Are all Leaf shinobi that brainless?" he mocked before leisurely sliding his sword out of Jitsuko's rigid body, her pitiful squeal of pain never ceasing even after the blade no longer had any contact.
"Listen, it really is a shame that our villages can't get along. We weren't expecting an actual fight, but I'll show you mercy and take you out of your misery, sound like a plan?" he offered with a hint of sympathy in his voice.
With trembling breath, Jitsuko lifted her gaze to peer up at the man as a thin line of blood trickled out her mouth, her mind still in complete shock when a tiny spot flying in front of his face caught his eye. In less than a moment, that one speck turned into hundreds, then thousands of tiny insects that invaded his vision and distracted him enough for Jitsuko's comrade of the Abarame clan to scoop her up and immediately flee the battlefield.
Smaller droplets of rain pattered softly against Jitsuko's face. Her damp, disheveled hair matted to her cheeks as she stared blankly at the sunless overcast while being carried; black spots began clouding her vision before her attention fell on the yelling of her name a short distance away. She somehow found the strength to turn her head to the source of the noise only to see her best friend racing toward her, his eyebrows furrowed in panic. Jitsuko felt her eyelids drop slowly and she struggled to keep them open until they shut for what felt like only a second.
She gradually opened her eyes back up, but this time severe delirium from blood loss clouded her mind. There was a numbing sense of her body being jerked around from her teammates carrying her in a frenzied rush. Jitsuko could barely make out muffled yelling.
"Obito, you can't lose any more blood –"
"I don't care, just keep her awake!"
Muffling.
"Why would they send Jitsuko out there knowing she's weak to lightning?!"
"We know, Obito, just calm down and let Rin focus."
More muffling.
Jitsuko blinked only for a moment again and found that a flimsy fabric had replaced her view of the miserably grey sky. She lazily tilted her head around the small tent while on her back and saw that her top had been cut down the middle where a deep, red, oozing mess now occupied. With the corners of her vision blurred, Jitsuko's attention then landed on Rin as she stared intently on the wound, the defined wrinkles on her forehead told of her precision focus and extreme distress.
Jitsuko's head then shifted to the figure next to her; Obito was grasping at her hand tightly, one of his eyes was squeezed shut with his teeth clenched in what appeared to be immense pain as he looked down at her. Seeing that she was awake, his entire face softened with hope, but Jitsuko managed to detect that his face was incredibly pale and even a little sunken. He tried calling for her but all she could hear was an intense ringing before slipping back out of consciousness, but not before watching Obito's expression morph back into pain as he yelled out to her in clear, unrestricted desperation.
She heard the soothing sound of crickets outside as she slowly opened her eyes, determined to keep them open this time. Confused, Jitsuko saw nothing but pitch blackness around her and wondered if she somehow had gone blind before finally establishing that it was simply dark outside. She then became thoroughly aware of an intense burning, throbbing, agonizing pain emanating from her chest as she clutched the bandaging and panted heavily – trying anything to ease the harrowing torture seizing her upper body.
Watching her stir roused the figure watching over her and they stood up to walk quietly towards the cot. As the mysterious shadow approached, Jitsuko gasped and sat up abruptly only for that figure's hand to gesture her back down.
"Easy, Jitsuko."
That voice…
"K-Kakashi…?" she murmured, fragility riddling her tone.
At that, Kakashi lit a candle next to Jitsuko's head, the warm glow brought comfort to her aching muscles.
"What… what are you doing in here?"
Kakashi looked down at her and smiled. She couldn't see his lips under the darkness of his mask, but she could see the indication through a warm gleam in his eyes.
"Just thought I'd check up on a friend," he stated simply as his eyes closed in casual delight.
Jitsuko's heart swelled at Kakashi's changed demeanor. After years of trying to get on his good side, Kakashi finally accepted her as his friend. The sensation from the change in her heartrate was soon replaced by that intense dull throbbing as Jitsuko let out an undignified groan from the pain. She wasn't expecting a deep wound to still be present on her chest. On their first mission together, Rin was able to heal the gash in Jitsuko's abdomen with minimal issues, but this injury was different. It was close to her heart.
Evidence of Kakashi's smile began to fade as he watched her tense in agony. "That really was a close call. Too close. You wouldn't believe how much effort it took to calm Obito down so Rin could work on you. You're not in immediate danger of bleeding out anymore, at least…" Kakashi trailed off as if he were holding something back from her.
Jitsuko was surprised that she awoke to Kakashi and not Obito, rather disappointed that her best friend wasn't here with her, more so than she would ever let on. At least another one of her friends was here to comfort her, Jitsuko thought to herself. Still, she worried about Obito and his whereabouts. Something just didn't feel right.
"Kakashi, where's Obito? It's not like him to-" Jitsuko's words halted as she watched Kakashi's expression morph from neutral to grim, his foreboding expression emphasized by the dim candlelight.
"How do I say this…" Kakashi's eyes went downcast. "By all accounts, you weren't supposed to have survived that injury, Jitsuko. You lost too much blood for any healing to work on you. Now Obito. When he saw your condition, he immediately ordered Rin to transfer his own blood to you. Other nin told him that any blood he gave you would immediately bleed out of your wound. They thought that you were a lost cause so nobody offered their own blood, but Obito refused to give up on you."
Kakashi paused, allowing Jitsuko to soak in everything he was telling her.
"We got lucky. Obito's blood happened to be in the O category so there was a greater chance that your body would accept his blood. Mine's O, too, but I had a bit of a scuffle myself and wasn't able to get back here in time," he said while grazing his hand over the bandages on his side.
"Rin was taking blood directly from Obito and transmitting it to you the entire way they were carrying you back to the site. You should've seen the blood trail they left behind, it's… how I was able to find my way back," Kakashi tried ending humorously as his arm reached to scratch the back of his head with a nervous expression on his face.
He was met with silence.
"Well, anyway. Obito's blood was able to sustain you long enough for Rin to mend your injury."
Jitsuko quietly peered down at the bandaged gash on her chest.
"…It was much worse. Trust me."
"Where is he?"
No response.
"Kakashi?"
"He's... resting nearby."
Kakashi's attempts at eluding the question gave away his blaring reluctance to what he had to tell Jitsuko, causing a smothering rigidity in the air between the two of them. It was becoming increasingly difficult for either one of them to keep a collected composure.
Exasperation overtook Jitsuko as she abruptly stood up from the cot to face Kakashi, blatantly ignoring the severe dizziness and fatigue in doing so.
"Kakashi." Sternness pierced her trembling voice. "How much blood did Obito lose…"
"Enough."
"Enough for what."
"Enough for you to lie back down and not worry about him." Kakashi gently raised his hand in front of her as a gesture for her to repose. "Obito would want you to rest."
"What do you mean he would want?"
Kakashi didn't respond.
"You're not saying he…?"
"We don't know, Jitsuko," Kakashi finally blurted out, unable to avoid the truth anymore. His face was just as devastated as hers was.
"…We don't know if he can recover from this."
The entire world seemed to come crashing down on her, the stinging pang in her chest grew exponentially worse. Without another word, Jitsuko shifted her focus to the tent flap as she struggled to walk to the exit, only for Kakashi to step in her way. It took a few years, but he had finally gained enough height to loom over her.
"You can't go. You'll reopen your wound, and then Obito's sacrifice would have been for nothing," he asserted sympathetically.
Jitsuko paused to look at him for only a moment before she struggled to leave again.
"Jitsuko," Kakashi said with commanding insistence in his tone, one that made her halt in surprise.
Kakashi stood behind Jitsuko as he watched her head lower and shoulders start to tremble.
"Kakashi…" she muttered between shallow breaths. "Please. This is because of me. Obito wouldn't be like this if I wasn't so careless. I should've known better… I need to see him. I need… to tell him…" she trailed off and slowly stumbled forward again as Kakashi looked on silently, his head averted to the ground with a conflicting expression on his face.
Jitsuko's hand broke through the thin fabric of the tent and struggled to grasp a nearby beam to steady herself and catch her breath. She had far too little blood to be going anywhere. Not long after, she tensed and felt a pair of hands gently lift her: one held a strong grip under her knees and the other firmly supported her back. Jitsuko looked up in surprise to see Kakashi holding her as he began to walk steadily through the stillness of the night. He caught her baffled stare before returning his gaze to a tent in the distance.
"Well, if you insist on going then I might as well make things easier for you," he tried saying in a casual tone in an attempt to hide the fact that he was actually contented in helping Jitsuko in any way he could.
The light of the moon pierced its way into the darkened tent as Kakashi set Jitsuko down gently onto the cold, rigid dirt floor and stood up in search of a candle.
"Why is it so dark in here? Shouldn't there be medical ninja watching Obito?"
Come to think of it, it was completely dark in my tent, too. I was lucky that Kakashi was watching over me, but why wasn't anyone else?
"Rin's the only medical ninja in our squad, Jitsuko. This was only supposed to be a peaceful standoff. Nobody was expecting that we would end up engaging in combat, so they didn't think to send more medics."
"Are you… serious?"
Kakashi successfully found and lit a candle before passing her a solemn nod. "Medical nin aren't a common class of shinobi. The village is short-staffed as is. Rin isn't completely done with her rehabilitation, either. We're lucky that we were sent any at all."
Kakashi made his way to Obito's cot, carefully placing the candle to where the light won't disturb him. Jitsuko's eyes followed the candle before finally landing on Obito's motionless body. A thick, reddened bandage covered his chest from where Rin sapped blood directly from his heart with impossible precision. He looked… so drained.
"If you two have the same blood type… then why haven't you transferred some of yours to him?"
"You say that as if I haven't done that already," Kakashi stated calmly, the wrapping around his chest taking her notice. "We just don't know if it was too late. Obito had already gone into shock by the time I got to him."
Jitsuko's hand enveloped her mouth, choking back a weep as tears collected in the corner of her eyes.
This is all my fault. I let him get this way. I should have tried to… I… I could have done more… Why couldn't I…?
Kakashi's eyes softened with empathy as he watched her deep in thought before turning his attention to Obito.
You better get through this, Obito. If not for yourself, then for her.
"Kakashi," an unfamiliar voice called from outside before a Leaf nin stuck his upper body into the tent. "Another casualty. We could use your help carrying this one," he stated in an unsettlingly neutral tone.
Kakashi sighed and turned to leave the two of them, but not before planting a firm hand on Jitsuko's shoulder with a reassuring grip before leaving.
She watched over Obito for what felt like hours. Her entire body grew numb from the uncushioned ground, bits of rubble and dirt dug into her skin each time she shifted. But Jitsuko refused to get up. She only moved from that spot occasionally to check on Obito's pulse, which was alarmingly faint.
As she exhaled deeply, Jitsuko's mind wandered to the night Obito opened up about his feelings for her, but she had to cut the meeting short to go on an emergency mission. The two of them weren't able to get closure, and Jitsuko was petrified that now, she never will.
"Obito…" she murmured while clutching his lukewarm hand. "Y-you can get through this. I can't lose you… remember?"
Sleep didn't find her that night. The searing, unique pain in her chest combined with the sheer anxiousness about Obito's condition kept Jitsuko thoroughly restless and on edge. She stayed in that spot for the entirety of the next day and well into the next night; and Obito's condition had not improved. It took every ounce of mental strength for her to not panic, but she needed to stay strong, for him. Jitsuko was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the arm reaching into the tent to pull away its folds. Kakashi trekked in shortly after and stood over them, hushed for a moment.
"…We'll be heading out in the morning," he announced bluntly but with a particular gentleness in his voice.
"Obito and I will catch up with you."
"I can't leave you here; we're still on enemy territory. The last thing we need is for you to get captured and lose you along with Obi-"
"He's not going to die, Kakashi!" she snapped and aggressively tilted her head in his general direction. Moments scraped by before she realized just how hostile she sounded.
"P-please forgive me, Kakashi. I'm just… it's so hard… to be the reason why he's suffering," Jitsuko choked out as her vision clouded with tears.
Kakashi placed his hand on the top of Jitsuko's head fondly as he stood over her, his gaze never leaving Obito. "You have to remember. Obito wanted this more than anything. He values your life over his. Please try to understand that."
She understood that feeling all too well.
"Again," Kakashi turned with his back facing hers. "We leave in the morning."
He slowly trudged ahead and paused when he was midway out of the tent. His weary eyes dropped over the odds of Obito's survival.
"I'm sorry," Kakashi said in a whisper, trying to conceal the hurt in his voice as he internally struggled with his own feelings of dismay for his teammate's condition. Even after finally revoking his previous frigid view on his teammates, Kakashi still hadn't found an appropriate opportunity to truly reconcile with Obito about the way he treated him all these years; he may have lost that chance forever. Kakashi's mental stability only deteriorated further over pondering such a notion. He needed time. He needed to recuperate.
Without another word, he was gone.
