Chapter 2

It had been two years since Obito had passed away. With the war still going on, everyone around me was so tightly wound, it was like a single word could make anyone snap. I, on the other hand, was still emotionally recovering from my nightmare from the previous night.

"Rin. Are you feeling alright today?" I heard the voice of the only teammate I had left. I jumped slightly upon hearing him call my name and turned to face him. I was heading toward the hokage's office to receive our orders for our next mission. We were supposed to infiltrate the enemy territory and for some reason I couldn't wait to get on with this one. It was like something was telling me I was destined for this mission. I wasn't sure what it was, but I couldn't wait to find out.

"Huh? Oh! Kakashi. You startled me." I stated, avoiding answering his initial question. I knew Kakashi could see right through me.

"Let me guess. You had the dream again?" his mono toned voice replied. The previous night where I relived Obito's death in my sleep was not the first time it had happened. In fact, I had the dream so many times that Kakashi was now able to tell when I was suffering the side effects of such an episode.

"Is it that obvious, Kakashi?" I asked him after a moment of silence, during which I found myself staring at Kakashi's left eye, where Obito's sharingan hid beneath his ninja headband.

"Rin...I know how you felt about Obito-" he began and I couldn't stop myself from snapping on him.

"Felt?! Don't you mean feel? I still love Obito!" I bellowed, "But you'll never understand what I'm going through Kakashi. You treated Obito like crap! All he ever wanted was your respect. I was the one who truly cared for him!" I had raised my voice so loud that a passersby or two were beginning to stare. Kakashi's one visible eye popped in surprise at my outburst.

"R-Rin...You've got it all wrong! Obito was my...He was my best friend Rin. I think you're the one who was oblivious to Obito's feelings. Not me!" he exclaimed, pushing past me as he headed toward the mouth of the stairs to the hokage's office. I ground my teeth at his backside and then what he had just said suddenly sunk in. I was the one who was oblivious to Obito's feelings? What the hell was that supposed to mean? I broke out into a light jog to catch up with my teammate.

"W-wait, Kakashi! I'm...I'm sorry. That wasn't fair of me. I know you loved him too. It's just...even though it's been two years, I still feel empty. Like my heart was ripped out of my chest. Sensei says time heals all wounds but...nothing is healing Kakashi!" I bellowed and he stopped in his tracks and turned to me, reaching out and wrapping his arms around my shoulders to bring me into a warm embrace. I hadn't realized I had started crying but my eyes were full of salty tears that stained Kakashi's shirt.

"I know, Rin...This isn't my business to tell but...there's something you should know about Obito and how he truly felt about you." Kakashi began but then several jonin rushed past us in a urgent manner, heading for the hokage's office.

"It looks like that's going to have to wait Kakashi. Let's go!" I exclaimed, dragging my sleeve across my face to dry my tear stained cheeks.

"Right!" Kakashi replied as we both broke out in a full on sprint to see what was going on. It had turned out our mission had been moved up due to movement on the enemy head. Kakashi and I were instructed to accompany the other two teams for backup and intel. We headed out immediately and I'm not going to bore you with the off topic details but during said mission, I was kidnapped again. I wasn't sure who by. My memory was a little hazy. But once Kakashi rescued me, I had already been made the three tails jinchuriki. I remembered the pain that came with such a title. It was like no other torture I had endured before. But I could feel the demon inside of me, and the battle to maintain control over myself ensued from within. I tried to tell Kakashi that I couldn't go back to the leaf with him. But he wouldn't take no for an answer and I had to make sure he got back to the leaf safe. I had asked him why he would risk his life to save me and he just replied with something that Obito had said to him on our last mission together as three. "Ninja who break the rules are scum, but those who would turn their back on their friends are worse than scum." I couldn't help but smile at such a gesture. Obito was always the loyal one, to a fault. Even causing his own demise. And then I was reminded once again that Obito was still dead because of me. And I refused to be the cause of another comrades death. So evidently, I gave into Kakashi's pleas for my return until we managed to get halfway back to the village.

We were ambushed by the enemy and Kakashi was fighting most of them off single handedly. I couldn't help but feel like everything was all my fault. Obito's death, Kakashi's possible demise for having to rescue me from my captors, (I had a real act for getting kidnapped) and the certain destruction of the Leaf that would ensue if I let Kakashi drag me all the way back to the village. There was no way I could let that happen. Nobody else was going to die on my watch today. I had every ounce of confidence in Kakashi's ability to survive and make it back to the village without too much damage. But my life would have to end here. I couldn't risk destroying my home. All because I was a useless girl who couldn't even save her one true love.

You know, now that I thought about it, it was kind of funny. How everyone thought I had feelings for Kakashi. I'll admit, at one point I had been swept away by kakashi Hatake. What girl in the Leaf village hadn't? But that was nothing more than a silly schoolgirl crush. I had loved Obito since we were children. And that wasn't ever going to change. I more just distracted myself with kakashi because I was in denial about my feeling toward Obito. I didn't want to ruin a lifelong friendship over my own selfish desires. Besides, I knew he probably didn't even see me as anything more than a friend. But even so, nothing could ever overshadow my love for Obito. Not even the shadow of death itself.

And seeing Kakashi fending off the enemy got me thinking. I was too much of a chicken to off myself. I knew this was going to scar Kakashi probably for life. Especially having lost both of his teammates. But it couldn't be helped. This was going to save the entire village from Isobu being unleashed to destroy it through me. The enemy had devised this plan to do just that. But I couldn't let them get away with it. I watched Kakashi carefully and calculated his moves just right, enough to spring forth and intercept a chidori blow intended for the enemy. Who better to end my suffering than Kakashi?

I smiled upon preparing to execute my suicide plan. Knowing that I would soon be with Obito again filled me with the utmost joyful feeling of wholeness since his death. I was going to die in order to save my village. But I was also going to be able to see the one I loved again, and be with him for eternity. As crazy as it may sound, I found true comfort in that.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Obito...I'm coming. Are you waiting for me?" I found myself whispering as I sprung into action and ran at full speed toward Kakashi and positioned myself just right in order to wedge myself between him and his opponent. This was going to hurt quite a bit. I knew that. But it would all be worth it once I got to the other side. But right as I slid into position, a shrouded man enveloped me in his arms and tackled me out of the way as Kakashi's chidori connected with his original opponent.

"Rin!" Kakashi exclaimed, turning his attention to my position on the ground, this cloaked oaf lying on top of me. I opened my eyes after having flinched from the impact of being plowed into the ground and looked up at my savior.

"No! What have you done, you idiot?! That was my shot at saving the village and being with O...O-Obito?!" I practically shouted in the guy's face as he hovered over me. His black hair was much longer, dripping with rain. And he looked older now, but there was no mistaking the one remaining sharingan that was staring back at me out a of a half disfigured face. This couldn't be real..No. Obito was dead! I watched him die!

"What the hell were you planning to do? Are you trying to kill yourself, Rin?!" the boy pinning me down practically shouted down at me. This couldn't be Obito...his voice was much deeper than I remembered. Then again, if Obito had survived these past few years I suppose he may have matured a little. But it just couldn't be him. Obito died that day on the Kannabi bridge mission two years ago. There was no way he was alive now, lecturing me about my martyr tendencies. This had to be some kind of trick. A genjutsu by the enemy, making me see my heart's innermost desire or something.

A black gloved hand perched itself rather firmly on the boy's shoulder and I heard Kakashi's voice through the symphony of down-pouring rain. "Who the hell are you? Let Rin go!" Kakashi snarled, hitting the boy in the face so hard that he flew through the air a few feet and Kakashi followed up by slamming him into the ground with enough force to crack the earth beneath them. The boy with Obito's face fell limp and ceased to struggle against Kakashi.

"Ka-kah-shi!" the boy sounded out in a choppy voice as he faded from consciousness. Kakashi's eye grew wide with shock once he was able to get a closer look at the perp's face. His hands trembled as he lifted his headband to activate Obito's sharingan. With his sharingan, Kakashi would be able to tell just who this guy was on a molecular level.

"K-Kakashi?" I questioned, getting up off of the ground and making my way over to stare at the ghost of our past. "Who...who is this guy?" I managed to ask him, my voice shaking as I came to stare down at the Obito look alike. "This is...this is so sick. Who would pose as Obito, Kakashi?"

"Rin...this is going to be very hard for you to believe but...I can't believe it myself." Kakashi began, his eyes intense as the color from his face drained.

"What is it Kakashi?" I asked him as my whole frame began to shake. I wasn't sure if it was from the eerie feeling that was churning my stomach, my efforts of controlling Isobu, or from the cold rain. But something inside of me was raging. I was afraid of hearing the words he was about to say.

"Rin this...this isn't a poser. This guy IS Obito! His chakara is polluted with that of another's, but it's definitely him. Rin...Obito is…" Kakashi began to explain and something in my heart ignited.

"Alive." I whispered as the rain continued to pelt down on our backsides.