Present

Chapter Eight: Shared Predicaments

"I'm leaving for Kita in two days."

"Kita? Isn't Shisui already there?"

Obito nodded. "Next week, you and Toshiro will be sent out to Azuma. We're going to retake Hokuto by attacking from both sides."

The first attempt to take back Hokuto by the offensive team situated at Kita had ended in failure. Word had it that some of the strongest Senju shinobis were stationed there, including the Sarutobi heir, the famed Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and the Yellow Flash. The Uchihas had seen it as an opportunity to attack one of the Senju's outposts instead, while their forces were heavily concentrated in defending Hokuto, yet that ambush was thwarted when they were confronted by Jiraiya and Tsunade.

Kakashi lightly elbowed Obito's side. "At least I won't have to see Sora. Consider it payback for ditching me last time."

Obito rolled his eyes. "It was only for a few days and you got to leave much earlier than expected. Besides, if it all works out, then we'll be stationed at Hokuto."

"So what's the plan?"

Obito told him, down the exact detail. It sounded perfect in theory, boxing them in from both sides, overwhelming them and forcing them to retreat. Shisui would be the one to fight Minato, if Minato was even at Hokuto. There were speculations regarding his presence, some claiming that he wasn't even there, but used his reputation to deter them from attacking. It was hard to believe that the leader of the entire Senju force would lower himself to simply defending an outpost.

Kakashi knew that Sensei likely was elsewhere and if he was spotted at Hokuto, then it would mean that they were planning to go on offense.

He also couldn't wrap his mind around the appearance of Ino-Shika-Cho. Shikaku was an invaluable asset to the Senjus for his brilliant tactical mind, and since the last war, he stayed in the village alongside Hiruzen to give out orders. The Yamanaka clan's mind jutsu allowed them an advantage of passing along information and orders in real time. As the clan heir, Inoichi would be the most well versed in all of his clan jutsus, which meant he would stay in the village to serve as the epicenter of the communication line. Logically, the only one who would be on the field was Choza.

That meant Ino-Shika-Cho's appearance was mostly a farce, most likely capitalizing on their reputations to keep the Uchihas from attacking. Choza was probably the only one there, along with another Yamanaka and Nara, but their power wouldn't compare to the original trio's.

When the Uchihas did attack, they would send out a larger force than necessary, leaving their outpost to be more vulnerable. It would be the perfect opportunity to strike, especially if they took advantage of the blind spot due to the difference in elevation from the northern edge.

Kakashi had to admit that it was a good move on their part albeit risky.

Obito let out an annoyed groan. "The stupid elders have been breathing down our necks about Hokuto, otherwise we wouldn't make a move so early."

"Early?"

"Itachi had the next ten moves planned out." Kakashi refrained from mentioning that Shikaku probably had double the amount of moves planned. "Besides, there's a rat in our ranks. Itachi was going to take advantage of the leak and feed false information, lull the Senjus into a false sense of security."

"Any idea who it might be?" Kakashi ventured to ask.

Obito shrugged. "I think Itachi has a few suspects, but I'm not aware of who they are. He told me to spread the information to as many people as possible so it'll get to the rat's ears."

"What information? That we're going to attack from both fronts?"

Obito shook his head. "We're going to attack on both fronts as a ruse to force the Senjus to concentrate their forces at Hokuto. Our real target is Hoshi."

Hoshi, a vital junction that allowed them access to one of their largest sources of water. Based on proximity, it was also the nearest outpost to Hokuto, which meant it would become the prime source for reinforcements.

"But our real target isn't Hoshi, isn't it?" Kakashi pressed, hoping he would get Obito to slip up on the real plans.

"Of course not," Obito answered. A puzzled look appeared on his face as his forehead scrunched up, looking like he was in deep thought. "Actually, I don't know what the plan is exactly. Guess it slipped my mind to ask Itachi about it."

It was at that moment that Kakashi knew that Itachi was very aware of who the rat was. Kakashi had to admit that he was even more cunning than he had originally thought; by telling Obito, the closest person to Kakashi, it was guaranteed that the words would reach his ears. And knowing how much Obito trusted Kakashi, Obito wouldn't have any qualms about spilling everything, so Itachi didn't let Obito in on the entire plan.

All of this forced his mind into overdrive as he contemplated the numerous different possibilities that could happen. What was Itachi's endgame? Hokuto? Hoshi? Or something else?

If Itachi knew he was a spy, what was his purpose for sending him to Azuma? Why didn't he interrogate him and find out everything that Kakashi had told the Senjus? Why didn't he just kill him?

Or maybe, it was a trick to alarm him. To startle him into running and lead them to the village, showing them how to slip through the Senju's defenses. That might have worked for anyone else, but Kakashi already knew that he was going to die on Uchiha soil from the day he agreed to undertake the mission. Sensei was under the impression that he was going to return, but Kakashi had never planned on it.

Either he was going to die on the field or he would die when they killed him for being a traitor.

"Kakashi?" Obito waved his hand in front of Kakashi's face, but he still didn't seem to register his action. Obito called out his name again, the blank look on Kakashi's face remained. He nudged him with his shoulder with a considerable amount of force, enough to shove Kakashi forward, who lost his balance for a second before his shinobi reflexes saved him from face planting. Kakashi whirled around, directing his glare at Obito.

"What was that for?"

Obito innocently shrugged. "I called your name so many times and tried many different ways to get your attention for the past few minutes. Clearly force was the only method that worked. What are you thinking so hard about anyways? Don't tell me you're the rat?"

Kakashi almost choked on his spit, even if he knew that Obito was saying it in a joking manner. "What are you going on about now?"

A huge grin morphed on Obito's face as he tossed an arm around Kakashi's shoulders. "You know I was kidding. Don't take it too seriously."

Kakashi rolled his eyes at Obito's antics, lightly brushing Obito's arm off of his shoulder. Luckily, Obito hadn't picked up on his weird reaction.

"Come on, let's spar. Better make sure that you're still in shape before you go out onto the field."

Obito's grin became even wider. "You're on, Bakakashi!"

It was approaching three hours from the time that Kakashi told her he would be at the training field today and Rin feared that he would have already finished his training and left. Her entire overnight shift had been peaceful until an hour before she was set to get off. One of her patient's heart acted up again, resulting in an impromptu operation to save his life, followed by an emergency situation when two shinobis were brought in, on the verge of death. One thing led to another and the next thing she knew, it was rapidly approaching noon.

Rin wanted to go home and sleep; it had been almost twelve hours since she left the hospital, but she didn't want to stand up Kakashi, if he was still there. Not to mention, Rin had been genuinely excited when he told her last time they met that he would teach her something new today…

Guess that would have to wait another day, Rin thought to herself upon arriving at an empty training ground. She had been ready to leave, when she felt two flares of chakra signatures in the vicinity.

One figure hopped out of the trees, landing on the grass, standing still just long enough for Rin to make out the Uchiha crest on his back before he moved again. Hands forming a sequence of hand seals, a massive ball of fire came out of his mouth, right at the figure who had hurtled out of the trees.

Rin's eyes widened as the second figure's body was engulfed by the flames, her instincts screaming at her to run over and help him when she saw the flames die down, two pieces of charred log in the figure's place. Her eyes found the first person again, who whirled around at such speed to block an incoming punch from the second figure, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

All she could see were blurs of black and white as the two of them engaged in a taijutsu match.

So that is how shinobis fight, Rin mused as she continued to marvel at their insane speed. Her eyes could barely follow their movements and it wasn't until the two of them broke apart, standing three meters apart and simply staring at each other, could she finally make out their identities.

Kakashi and Obito.

Rin wanted to keep quiet so that she would witness more of their spar, but it was too late. They already knew she was there. Obito beckoned her over.

"Why did you stop? You were just getting to the good part!" Rin exclaimed as she bounded up to the pair.

Obito chuckled, jabbing a finger in Kakashi's direction. "You mean the part where I kick Kakashi's ass?"

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest, scoffing loudly upon hearing Obito's statement. "Like you ever could."

"Whatever, don't listen to him. Kakashi is just bitter because I can totally kick his ass. In all seriousness though, what are you doing here, Rin?"

Rin opened her mouth, but shut it when she realized that she had never told Obito about training with Kakashi. After being solicited to become Itachi's right hand man after Shisui left, Obito became extremely busy and both of their schedules often clashed, so Rin saw him far and few in between. The few times that they managed to meet over the past month, the topic never came up.

"I've been training her," Kakashi commented offhandedly.

"Really?" Obito looked towards Rin for confirmation. She nodded.

"Ah, didn't know that the two of you were that close." He let out a half hearted chuckle.

"Sorry I never told you. It must have slipped my mind." Rin wasn't lying; it really did.

"No worries. I'm just surprised, that's all. I had to run so many errands before I could get Kakashi to teach me one of his jutsus. And even after he agreed, he was such a pain in the ass. I mean, who can understand what he's trying to say when he skips over all the crucial details?"

And just like that, the smothering atmosphere between them disappeared. Kakashi smacked the back of Obito's head, who let out a pained noise, before whirling around to face the culprit.

"Maybe if you read more books on jutsu theories, you would have understood my explanations. You've known Rin for so many years, why didn't her studious nature rub off on you?"

"Hey! It's not my fault that the books are boring. Besides, I'm not like you, always trying to create new jutsus. I'll admit that the Chidori is pretty badass, but you can't even use it in battle, so what's the point?"

"Why can't you use it?" Rin piped up, cutting off Kakashi's retort.

Before Kakashi could answer Rin's question, Obito cut in. "The jutsu makes him move so fast that his brain won't be able to register any of the enemy's counterattacks, so it's dangerous for him to use. It's because he's not awesome enough to have the Sharingan like me!" Obito pointed haughtily to his own set of his eyes.

"Sorry I wasn't born an Uchiha," Kakashi sarcastically replied. He remained quiet for a few moments, before he continued. "At least that means that I don't have to be related to you. That would be a nightmare."

That comment earned a laugh from Rin and a deadly glare from Obito. Kakashi and Obito continued to bicker, flinging insults back and forth, yet there was no malice behind their words.

How she envied that kind of friendship.

"Hey Rin, since you're already here, how about a spar? I want to see how much you have improved," Obito suggested.

Rin shook her head. "Sorry Obito. I just got off of an overnight shift so I'm really sleepy."

"Oh I see." Disappointment was evident on Obito's face.

"Is something the matter?"

"I'm leaving for Kita in two days and I don't know when I will be back." Rin felt sad that Obito had to leave again, so soon, but she had already gotten used to the feeling long ago. At one point or another, all of her friends left for war; she was the only one that ever stayed behind.

"Dinner at my place tonight," Rin announced. "Both of you have to come. At least let's all have dinner together before you have to go."

Both of them agreed, with Rin extracting a promise from Obito that he wouldn't be late this time. Just in case, Rin told him the wrong time, thirty minutes prior than when she had intended dinner to start.

Now she would go home to take a quick nap, then wake up before dinner.

That sounded like a plan.

How Kakashi wished that he could get into Itachi's head. He spent the afternoon plotting all of the possible plans that Itachi could possibly have, but he was coming up short. He had a gut feeling that he was missing something crucial. Something that should be so blatantly obvious that it had slipped from his radar.

His finger traced the lines on the map again. Two arrows from Kita and Azuma directed at Hokuto. An arrow from Hoshi led to Hokuto, which would be the main source of reinforcements due to their close proximity. Even though Obito said Hoshi wasn't the target, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder if it was a ruse, to make them think it wasn't, but it actually was.

But what if the Senjus actually did fortify Hoshi? What then? Or did they just want Hokuto? Or did they want Hoshi so they can surround Hokuto from all sides while cutting off one of their major sources of water?

The vast amount of possibilities was making his head hurt.

Ideally, the Senjus would have to take Azuma next; there was no Shisui there, no Sora, and no Obito, yet there was the risk that the squad at Kita would take the opportunity to retake Hokuto. There was still a spy somewhere, and if that spy was stationed at Hokuto, that would complicate things immensely.

Kakashi's eyes scoured the map for the fifth time. Oto? No, they were located south of the Uchiha's borders and would be too far away to assist. Most of the other villages allied with the Uchihas were civilian ones, mainly for supply trading. They got their supplies evenly throughout different villages, so cutting off access to one wouldn't make much of a difference.

Kakashi looked further, mouth forming an o shape when he finally realized what he was missing all along.

The Land of the Whirlpool. It was located so close to the Senju's western border that it had slipped his mind that the Uchihas had taken it in the previous war. Although for sentimental reasons, Kakashi knew his sensei wanted to get that piece of land back, taking it didn't have much strategic value for them other than securing their western border. Yet from what he heard, the shinobis stationed at Whirlpool had never once tried to attack the western border.

They were just there.

Unless…

Kakashi drew two more arrows, one coming from the western post and the other coming from the eastern post to Hoshi. If they were going to fortify both Hokuto and Hoshi, they would move shinobis from Hoshi to Hokuto, then move shinobis from Hikari and Yami to Hoshi, leaving Hikari, their western front, vulnerable.

The perfect opportunity for them to strike.

Gripping his pen tightly, Kakashi reached over to grab a piece of paper before he began to write.

The vial of poison seemed to burn a hole in his pants while it rested in his right pocket. All throughout dinner, every now and then, Kakashi couldn't help but to reach over and touch the vial, almost as if to remind him of his mission.

Kakashi was running out of time. In one week, he would be sent out again and Rin would remain in the village. He would lose his opportunity to complete his mission.

He couldn't make the same mistake that his father did.

It was at that moment did Kakashi really have an idea of what his father had gone through a decade ago.

Kakashi was jolted from his thoughts when Obito offered him a drink. Kakashi declined, to which Obito shrugged and drank sake straight from the bottle. Judging from how flushed he was, Kakashi figured that Obito was already drunk. It wouldn't be long before he passed out. Meanwhile, Rin drank alongside Obito, but she didn't even look a bit tipsy.

"Medical ninjutsu can flush alcohol right out of my system," Rin explained when she noticed Kakashi's questioning gaze.

Kakashi snorted. "What's the fun in that? Obito is just getting drunker and drunker all by himself."

Rin shrugged, her gaze sliding over to Obito, who swayed dangerously. Kakashi's hand had to reach out to push him back against the seat before his head collided with the table.

"He's too drunk to notice anyways."

From beside him, Obito was muttering all sorts of nonsense. The only word that Kakashi could make out was Rin's name, which he would surely use for blackmail later. However, he needed to prevent Obito from saying something that he would regret in the morning; Kakashi could imagine how horrified he would be if he woke up remembering that he unexpectedly confessed to Rin.

"He's pretty much out of it. Can you tell me where I can put him so he can sleep off the alcohol?" Kakashi had already reached out to grab Obito's arm, ready to swing it over his shoulders when Rin's hand stopped him.

"I got him."

Kakashi shot her a skeptical look.

"Consider it as a form of strength training. I promise that I won't drop him."

"Are you sure you can carry him?"

Rin nodded. "Positive. Besides, you can finish the rest of your dinner while we're gone. I know that you probably feel uncomfortable eating in front of us."

Kakashi aided her in pulling a slumped over Obito out of his seat and propped the brunt of his weight against Rin. Upon shouldering the added weight, Rin had buckled over, stumbling a bit, but Kakashi caught her before she could fall. Rin righted herself once more, readjusting Obito's weight on her shoulders. Coaxing a barely conscious Obito to move, the two of them made slow progress out of the kitchen.

Pulling down his mask, Kakashi finished the remainder of his dinner in three minutes, then proceeded to clean the table, taking the dirty bowls and plates to the sink and tossing away the empty bottles of sake in the trash.

He returned to the table with two glasses of water. After pinpointing Rin's chakra signature, he concluded that she was still in the bedroom, with no indication that she was returning to the kitchen anytime soon.

Rin probably was stalling, to give him more time to eat.

It was his chance.

Kakashi reached into his pocket, pulling out the vial of clear liquid. Popping the cork with his thumb, he dumped the contents into the right glass. Holding up the glass to the light, he swirled the water around, watching all traces of the foreign substance disappear and merge with the water. He slowly set the glass back down on the table.

A sickening feeling formed in his stomach.

He was no stranger to killing, but it would be the first time that he killed someone he knew. It would be the first time he would kill someone unprovoked.

A memory of his father popped up in his head. The sight of his father with dark circles under his eyes, a dead look in eyes, hollow cheeks, unkempt hair. The taunting, the whispers, the graffiti, the insults.

That memory spurred Kakashi to slide the glass of water towards Rin's side of the table right as she appeared. He quickly retracted his hand, noting that the glass was left right at the edge of the table, with the risk of toppling over.

Rin reclaimed her seat.

"He's asleep."

The two of them sat at the dinner table, talking. Well, Rin carried the majority of the conversation, with Kakashi interjecting in a few appropriate moments to drive the conversation forward.

"Last time you mentioned that the Senjus betrayed your family. Is that what spurred you to join the Uchihas instead?"

Kakashi didn't know when the conversation had suddenly turned into a heart to heart.

"If you're asking about revenge, no. It crossed my mind a couple of times, but that was when I was young and stupid. I figured that the Uchihas were the last place that they would look for me."

"So there was someone who tried to look for you."

"A family friend, probably out of obligation."

Rin frowned. "I'm sure that whoever it was actually cared for your wellbeing."

He did, but Kakashi couldn't tell her the exact truth. He was glad that she didn't pry into the details of how they "betrayed" him because Kakahsi never thought of a cover story. No one ever asked.

"Enough about me," Kakashi cut in. "What about you? Why did you join the Uchihas?"

"I've been with the Uchihas for as long as I can remember," Rin recalled wistfully. "They gave me a home."

A home.

To some extent, Kakashi could understand that feeling. Too bad that pitted them on opposing sides.

Rin was smiling when her hand reached out to grab the glass of water. Kakashi's eyes widened in realization. The poison.

In a spur of a moment, Kakashi had intended to stand up to grab the glass out of Rin's reach, but in the process, his knee collided with the bottom of the table with enough force to knock the glass off of the table. Both Kakashi and Rin watched as the glass fell, the contents spilling outwards. The glass shattered.

He was up and out of his seat, squatting down next to the mess. Rin had grabbed a nearby towel to soak up the water while Kakashi began to pick up the shards of glass with his bare hands, careful not to cut himself.

Rin placed a hand on top of his. "Leave it, I'll get the broom to sweep it up. Don't hurt yourself."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It's just one glass."

To her, it had only been a glass of water, but to him, the implications were much, much greater.

Minato Sensei,

I'm sorry that I let you down. I can't do it.

Rin never met with Itachi outside of the hospital; she often ran into him when he came to visit injured shinobis, but they rarely spoke beyond him asking about the patient's condition. Most of their correspondence was either through Obito or another messenger, so Rin was thoroughly surprised when she received a note asking her to go to his office when she went to work the next morning.

Much to her surprise, the first words out of Itachi's mouth had been "I heard you wanted to be sent to the outposts?"

Rin blinked twice, not so subtly pinching her forearm to make sure she hadn't been dreaming. Her first thought was Obito had put in a good word for her. But wait, Rin never told him about wanting to go to the outposts; she briefly mentioned it once when the war first started, only for Obito to shoot down the idea. Since then, the thought lingered in the back of her mind since Rin knew Obito wouldn't support her, so she never said it out loud again, not until…

Kakashi.

Rin wasn't sure what propelled her to tell him things that she wouldn't tell Obito. Perhaps it had been the appeal that was practically a stranger on the mission to Oto, so it didn't matter what he thought.

Except, Kakashi had been the only one to not try to convince her otherwise like Obito, Akiara, and Izumi had.

"Yes. I believe my talents would be far more useful if I were able to give immediate treatment on the field."

"I can agree to send you out of the outposts if you complete another mission that I have for you."

Rin nodded eagerly, figuring that Itachi was going to ask her to create another poison or something along those lines. She stared at him expectantly, waiting for Itachi to pull out a small vial from one of the drawer's of his desk. Itachi set the vial on his desk, laying it out for her to see.

A chill went down her spine as her wide eyes remained locked on the container. Though it was the first time that it was happening to her, Rin knew exactly what Itachi wanted.

"Who?" Rin whispered. She wasn't sure that she wanted to know. It wouldn't be too late for her to leave the room, to forget all about going to the outposts. Someone else would be assigned to do the job; it wouldn't have to be on her conscience.

Or would it? Rin would still be a bystander.

But it was too late, the name had already left Itachi's lips. At that moment, Rin desperately wished that she could have unwind time for two minutes, just so she could say no to Itachi's question.

Her heart ached at the mere thought of having to assassinate a stranger.

Her heart shattered when her brain finally registered the name.

Kakashi Hatake.

A/N: Hi again!

Sorry for the cliffhanger; I know I'm evil. I'm sure we all kind of knew that Itachi was on to Kakashi from the beginning of their first interaction and it's just two geniuses attempting to outsmart each other lol.

For those of you who guessed that Kakashi won't kill Rin, you might be onto something, judging from this chapter. It looks like his decision is made up. But now a new dilemma is introduced...any predictions? :)

Next chapter is the battlefield and probably the most action packed chapter in this entire story.

Thanks for the feedback and for reading! Until next time.

-MM