Hawk remembered the innocent boy that Obito once had been, the one full of life and hope. Looking in to the cell, she saw an empty, soulless man, one with no dreams, no desires-nothing. She feared if she touched him, his body might crumble.

She heard him murmuring lowly but could not catch what it was so she tried to pay it no attention. He cackled maniacally and started rolling around in his cell, feet kicking against the wall in glee. He looked at Hawk and smirked, a dangerous glint in his eye.

"You," he rasped. "You find me pathetic, don't you?"

Hawk was silent.

"Tell me!" he screamed, throwing himself against the wall. Blood flew through the air as Obito banged his head, and Hawk's eyes widened in surprise, welling in tears.

"Obito, stop," she begged, grasping the bars of his cell. "You're hurting yourself." He continued, his shoulders shaking and tiny gasps escaping his mouth. "Obito!" Hawk pleaded, her voice shrill and panicked.

Then suddenly, Obito fell, his body twitching. Hawk sighed shakily. "Please get me a paramedic!" she called out loudly.

Obito felt light, his body shrouded in shadows. A memory? No, this was a dream. A fantasy of sorts.

His head was resting upon somebody's lap, their fingers gently combing through his hair. Their thumb paused on his cheekbone; it felt roughed and callused. Then, so impossibly slow, the thumb tenderly stroked the softness of Obito's cheek, then his jaw line. Obito leaned into the touch and moaned. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied a tuft of silver hair.

"More, Ka-"

He woke up in a cold sweat, panting wildly. Eyes opening, he quickly panicked when he realized that his arms and legs were bound, and he was in a white, white room, and nothing made sense, and-

"Yo," a familiar voice chirped, and Obito whipped his head around. To his disgust, his rapidly racing heart had calmed at the man's voice. Obito felt ashamed that it was HIS voice that had brought him comfort.

"Kakashi," he spat vehemently, slightly struggling against his bonds. All of a sudden, he was aware of the throbbing in his head, and he hissed in pain.

Kakashi worried, stood abruptly from his chair. "Are you all right?" he said, gingerly touching the wound wrapped in bandages.

Obito froze for a moment before snarling, "Don't touch me!" He began to violently thrash around, attempting to free himself from his shackles. Kakashi immediately called for a nurse who proceeded to jam a sedative into his buttocks, but Obito didn't care because anything was better than being in the same room as this bastard.

When Obito awoke, he felt much more calm and at ease. Maybe it was because a man with a soothing smile was watching over him.

"Who are you?" he slurred.

"I am Doctor Daru," he said smoothly, his smile never leaving his face. "How are you feeling, Uchiha-san?"

"Tired." The words came out in a jumble; it was as if Obito's tongue was tripping over itself.

The doctor chuckled. "I can imagine. You had quite a lot of activity today." The doctor wrote something on his clipboard. "Now, Uchiha-san, your vitals are all good, but your head wound still needs time to heal. You're going to be here for a few more days, I'm afraid. Perhaps that is a good thing, though."

Obito couldn't help but agree.

Hawk hated herself. This was what he had come to, a maniac banging his head against the wall, screaming bloody murder at all times of the day. Though she knew it wasn't her fault, and everyone would tell her so, she was still responsible. If it hadn't been for her, he might've been free today.

Doctor Daru sighed heavily. "Sakura, I lied," he admitted. "Uchiha could have gone back today. I just-"

Sakura's eyes widened, but her expression was not disappointed. "I understand, Daru."

"He's pitiful."

"He's a criminal," Sakura reminded him, but Daru just shook his head.

Kakashi was happy. Perhaps Obito wasn't happy to see him, but today, he actually responded, even if it was in a violent, uncouth way. He looked at his palm. It still tingled.

Obito had settled into his touch for just a moment, but he then flinched and panicked. To be honest, his recoil had hurt Kakashi temporarily. Still, it was progress, and any progress was good.

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask.

Sakura checked in on the sleeping Obito, smiling at the guard who was standing in the corner. There were dark circles underneath his eyes, and he was making awful faces in his sleep. Sakura sighed and wiped off the sweat on his brow with a cold towel.

Smiling sadly, she said, "Hi, Taichou."

Beneath his ANBU mask, Yamato sputtered nervously, stammering out an excuse. Sakura snorted. "Very cool, Taichou." She patted his shoulder, and her hand trailed lightly down his arm. "See you later, Yamato." She shut the door behind her.

Yamato's face was hot. "Bye, Sakura," he whispered in embarrassment, slapping a hand to his masked forehead.

"Who are you talking to?" Yamato snapped up, and he sighed.

"How much did you see?"

"...you're very smooth with the ladies, Tenzou."

Kakashi returned from a mission with his new genin. This team worked decently together. Chiharu obviously didn't like Kenta, and Kenta obviously didn't like Chiharu, but they always managed to put that aside to accomplish the mission. Once the mission was over, however, the boy and girl immediately fought, usually with Chiharu winning or Kakashi breaking them apart. Luckily, the third member Kai was very silent and never caused any trouble. Kakashi liked him best.

Entering the hospital, Kakashi smiled at the receptionist and signed in. On his way to Obito's room, he spotted a flash of pink. "Sakura," he called out, and the young woman turned around and grinned at him.

"Sensei," she greeted fondly, walking to his side.

"I'm not your sensei anymore," he reminded her, but Sakura simply rolled her eyes.

"I know it just makes you feel old. So what are you here for today?"

"I'm here to visit Obito." Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh... well, I won't keep you here then. Say hi to Pakkun for me!" She then took off as if she was in a rush.

Kakashi gingerly rubbed the back of his neck, staring at his former student run away from him. Briefly wondering if Pakkun and Sakura still used the same shampoo, he moved on and continued to Obito's room.

Waving at Doctor Daru, the doctor every woman wanted to have, Kakashi went into Obito's room quietly so as not to disturb him.

"Hello, Tenzou," he said to the guard, and Yamato mumbled something along the lines of, why do I even wear this mask. Pulling out a stool, Kakashi pulled out a book and began to read, eager to relax. He didn't even look at Obito who was lying down, his back toward Kakashi.

Obito glanced at Kakashi over his shoulder, a questioning glance. Usually the masked man would attempt to start up a conversation with him, but today, he didn't even try. Shifting on the bed to a sitting position, he glowered at Kakashi intensely, but the man paid him no attention. He was too immersed in his book to even care. The ANBU guard looked as if he might say something to Kakashi, but his shoulders slumped, and his head lolled to the side in self defeat.

That visit had been even more uncomfortable than the last.

Words: 1,267

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