Chapter 1

Obito's Death

Rin's POV

"Release!" I heard the voice of my comrade call out after being released from a torturing genjutsu. It felt like I had just spent a week in torture, but in reality it had been only a few hours. My abductors had been shinobi of the hidden grass, attempting to extract intel out of me. Somehow I was always the type to be taken hostage. I hated that aspect of myself. I was nothing but a burden on Obito and Kakashi. They were always the ones saving me. Even now, here they were in this cave, releasing the ropes I had been bound with.

"Kakashi...Obito." I managed to choke out, as their faces came into focus.

"We've come to save you Rin! You'll be alright now." Obito reassured me, and that's when I saw them. His eyes! They were blood red with small black apostrophe looking symbols on either sides of his pupils. They stared intensely back at me. Holy crow! Are those...Had Obito awakened his sharingan? And Kakashi...his left eye had been bandaged. What had happened that they had gotten to this state? Oh my god. This was all my fault.

"Alright, now let's get out of here!" Kakashi urged us, finishing untying me. I stood up, rubbing my arms where the ropes had been tightly binding me.

"I see...you two make a good team, but you're still just kids. Right now, you're in enemy hands." One of my captors spoke up, causing Obito and Kakashi to whirl around, gritting their teeth. The man did some hand signs and called out "Earth style: Rock breaker!" The ceiling began to thunder and quake and Kakashi looked at us both with widespread fear.

"This is bad! Run for the exit!" he exclaimed and without a word all three of us took off in a mad sprint for the opening to the outside. Halfway there Kakashi was hit by a large piece of stone and took a fall to the ground while the ceiling and walls showered down overhead and around us.

"Kakashi!" I shouted, stopping mid sprint with concern for my friend. Obito didn't even take time to think about it, he just reacted and immediately came to Kakashi's aid, picking him up and tossing him out of the way of an enormous looming boulder, saving his life but putting his own in jeopardy. I watched as the eyes of my closest childhood friend rounded with instantaneous and overwhelming fear before the boulder came down on him, crushing and pinning the entire right side of this body to the ground. I didn't realize what had happened for a few moments considering the rest of the place caved in and knocked me to the ground next to Kakashi. Once the area had stopped collapsing momentarily, I heard Obito's voice call out to make sure we were okay.

"Are you alright...Rin...Kakashi?" he asked us, his voice weak. Kakashi sat up and took in Obito's condition, pinned beneath the boulder, only his left side peeking out from underneath it. Obito's mouth was dripping with blood and I sat up as well, my eyes round with gut curdling fear. My stomach churning and I thought I was going to throw up. But I suppressed the urge, gasping in disbelief. Kakashi ran over to Obito and tried to push the boulder off of him, but it was so large in mass and weight that it wouldn't budge.

"Don't...It's okay Kakashi. I don't think...I can make it. My right side is totally crushed. I can't even feel anything…" Obito managed to speak out and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. No..Not Obito. It just can't happen like this! My feelings for Obito were so great. I had loved him since we were small children. We used to play together and then when we grew older and started at the Ninja academy, I only applied there so that I could be with him. I had always guided him and supported him. I envied and admired Obito so much up unto this point, and I relished in the thought of him becoming Hokage someday. I vowed to myself that it was my personal goal to cheer him on along the way to achieve his dream...and maybe even someday, we could settle down together and start a family. But at this very moment, it was like my entire future had just quite literally been crushed before my very eyes.

"Dammit!" Kakashi howled, yelling at the sky, shaking with emotion.

"No...This can't be...Why?" I bellowed, cupping my hand over my mouth and trying not to lose it while tears escaped down my cheeks. Obito coughed and blood spray up out of his mouth like a miniature fountain.

"Obito!" I screamed, the teardrops falling on my dirty white overskirt. Kakashi fell to the ground and pounded his fist next to Obito in defeat.

"Dammit! Dammit! If...If only I had listened to you, and we had come to rescue Rin in the first place...This never would have happened!" He cried out. The thought of losing his rival...no, his friend, weighing in on him. "So what if I'm a captain? So what if I'm a Jonin?"

"Oh yeah...I had forgotten...I was the only one who didn't give you a gift..for becoming jonin, Kakashi." Obito spoke up, his hand twitching ever so slightly. "I was wondering what to give you, and I just had a thought." this made both Kakashi and I perk up, curious as to what he was going on about in such a state. "Don't worry...It's not some useless extra baggage...I'm giving you...my sharingan." he stated, opening his eye to look at him. "Whatever the village may say...You're a great jonin...that's how I really feel. So please, accept it!"

I jolted up, gasping for breath as I took in my surroundings. I was back in my room. The same room I had lived in for years. Another nightmare of the same memory on repeat for the last two years since I witnessed my best friend's death. My hands were cold and forehead sweaty. Tears flowed down and were partly drying on my cheeks, making the skin on my face feel like leather. I hated this. Every night, the memory of Obito's death came back to haunt my dreams. It was like his ghost was reminding me that he died because of me, and this torment was my punishment. I felt the aching in my heart begin to ebb and I pulled my knees to my chest and stared at the moon outside my window.

"Obito...I'm so sorry!" I whispered, wishing I could just see his face one more time. See him smile, run a hand through his thick dark hair, readjust his orange goggles and with a thumbs up he'd say, 'Rin! Just you watch, I'm going to be the hokage someday!' My god, I think the thing I missed the most was just being close to him and being able to see him blush when I took his hand. I was so sure he had finally started to really like me but...then again I guess none of that mattered now. I would never know how he felt about me. I missed him so much! "Obito!" I screamed into my knees as I sobbed harder. I just wanted him back. All of him. No matter what the cost. I just wanted my best friend back.