A/N: Thank you to everyone who read my fanfic. More people actually liked it than I had thought would like it, and that means a lot to me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything to do with it.

Chapter 3: The Ambush

Team Minato dashed through the trees, keeping a close eye on their surroundings. They were currently on border patrol, and they had been two hours late due to Obito.

"Like I said, an old lady—"

"Liar."

"What was that, you jerk?!"

Kakashi had been arguing with Obito for the past few minutes, mostly to keep up appearances, but also because it was kind of like a habit. His responses had been lacking their usual venom. However, Obito hadn't noticed. Rin and Minato might've because they were more perceptive, though he doubted they would make a big deal out of it if they had.

"Quiet down. We're on a mission," Kakashi said coldly. At this, Obito glared at him and opened his mouth to retaliate.

Minato cut in before Obito could revive the argument. "We should all be quiet now. If there are enemy ninja around, we don't want them finding us before we find them." Rin seemed relieved at Minato's intervention.

Obito's frowned and began to grumble under his breath, no doubt cursing Kakashi's existence. Kakashi barely paid him any attention. He was too lost in thought, replaying the events of this day over and over again, making sure he knew what was coming. Once they reached the clearing coming up, they would be ambushed by some shinobi from Iwagakure.

Kakashi tensed as they came upon the clearing. He noticed Minato tense also; he had noticed the enemy ninja. He raised a hand, signaling for his team to halt. They waited, scanning their surroundings. Then, the enemy jumped down from above and the chaos started.

Minato was facing the majority of the shinobi which Kakashi didn't really worry about. That fight would be over very soon. Minato wouldn't lose to those people. Rin didn't need to be worried about, either. Even though she had been knocked unconscious the first time this day happened, Minato had saved her effortlessly, resulting in Rin only having some cuts and bruises. However, Kakashi was worried about Obito. There was a ninja advancing on him, and Obito just stood there and watched him get closer, shaking slightly and holding a kunai. With his focus on the ninja from Iwagakure, or the Iwa-nin, in front of him, Obito didn't notice the other one racing towards him from behind.

Time froze. Kakashi recalled that Obito had gotten cut, but he had avoided major injury thanks to Kakashi taking down one shinobi and distracting the other until Minato could assist him. This was it. It was the perfect opportunity to solve his Sharingan problem, and it would happen the same way as before. He would "lose" his eye the same way he had in the old past.

"Obito!" Kakashi called out before jumping in front of the kunai that had been descending towards Obito's back. Using his incredible reflexes, fighting experience, and prior knowledge of events, Kakashi was able to time the kunai's descent perfectly. He dodged it just enough so that it sliced along the scar going through his left eye. The blade didn't penetrate his eyelid into his eye, leaving his Sharingan intact. There was no way that he would throw away Obito's present so easily, not when that eye had seen a future filled with suffering. He would show it a new future, a brighter one, for the Obito that had died.

Kakashi gritted his teeth; even if his eye wasn't permanently damaged, the wound still kind of hurt. He took advantage of the enemy's surprise to stab him with his white chakra blade, a memento from his father. Then, he whirled around and engaged the other ninja in combat. Kakashi knew he was in trouble. His younger body wasn't able to keep up with the demands of his advanced mind yet, which resulted in a few minor injuries. However, when you combined all of them, he was losing quite a bit of blood. The Iwa-nin began to make hand signs for ninjustu, and that's when Kakashi determined that he had to stop him now. Knowing that Obito was behind him and couldn't see, Kakashi opened his left eye, his wound stinging, the Sharingan swirling in its depths. The enemy faltered as he recognized the Sharingan.

Kakashi's hand became covered in lightning chakra in such a concentration that it could be seen easily. He would use Chidori to win. While the Iwa-nin was caught off guard, Kakashi plunged his hand into the Iwa-nin's chest. He pulled it out, and the enemy ninja fell to the ground. Kakashi looked at the body of the Iwa-nin and realized that he had seen his face before. He was a high ranking shinobi. No wonder Kakashi had a hard time defeating this ninja in his current condition.

Speaking of that, Kakashi was exhausted. Using the Sharingan and Chidori without any training for it had taken its toll on his younger body, and the mental stress from knowing about the ambush had been more than Kakashi had realized. Also, he was pretty sure he was suffering from blood loss. These factors were all contributing to his tiredness. He closed his left eye and turned to face Obito.

"Kakashi," Obito said quietly, his eyes wide, "why would you…your eye…"

"I don't think I'll be able to see out of it anymore," Kakashi replied.

Obito looked alarmed, but he shook his head. "Not that. Why would you…risk yourself for me?"

Kakashi paused. He was too tired to hide things from Obito. "Those who break the rules and regulations in the world of shinobi are trash," he said, noticing a wince and a glare from Obito, who was used to Kakashi insulting him this way. "However," Kakashi continued, "those who don't care about their companions are even worse trash."

Obito looked truly shocked, like that had been the last thing he had ever expected Kakashi to say. Kakashi smiled at him, and if it was possible, Obito would have looked even more shocked. If he were Obito, Kakashi would have suspected being under a genjustu. He didn't know what had gotten into himself. He had been acting like nothing had changed with a lot of effort because that was for the best. He would cause suspicion if he didn't keep that up. So why? Why was he messing up like this? Maybe fatigue was making him loopy. Kakashi told himself to cut it out, but now that he had started, the words wouldn't stop.

"You're the one who taught me that, Obito," Kakashi murmured, his vision fading. "You were the one to say that to me and change my life." He took a deep breath before saying what he had always wanted to say. "Thank you…and…I'm sorry." Then, he collapsed from exhaustion. Kakashi was aware of Obito catching him before he completely blacked out.