Kakashi was brought back to reality by the searing pain he felt creeping its way up his legs. Kahyo; body guard of Garyo, leader of the group known as the Ryuha Armament Alliance was standing before him. Her Kekkei Genkei: Ice Release had caused Kakashi's legs to slowly freeze - leaving his only defence to be kneading chakra into the affected area. He was extremely vulnerable to any attack.
Kakashi had been able to talk sense into Kahyo, thank goodness. Together they had overthrown Garyo, but now they were at a loss as to how to land the damaged Tobishachimaru. The unexpected arrival of Obito had caused Kahyo to guard herself again: wounding Kakashi in the process, and he had no idea how he was going to talk her down a second time.
"I don't know what you're doing here Obito! You need to watch out for Kahyo's Ice Release. Stay on your guard or you'll begin to freeze!"
"The Hokage is willing to shoot this ship down, killing all on board. I was intrigued to see what Kakashi Hatake would do in his final moments." Obito retorted. Something about the way he mentioned Tsunade rankled with the Hokage-elect – it sounded very condescending.
Kakashi found himself sensing Kahyo's unease with Obito's sudden appearance. He watched as she studied him, time slowing down as she attempted to pinpoint a moment where Obito would let his guard down. Obito met her gaze and smirked – Kakashi's warning an unnecessary luxury.
"Are you an enemy of mine?" It was Kahyo who broke the silence, mock courage in tow.
Kakashi watched as Obito began to survey the room. He took notice of his Sharingan eyes darting around the remnants of the room, examining the broken furniture, chandelier and the numerous hostages as well as corpses of ninja who fought previously. He had made his way towards the other side of the room and now stood behind Kahyo, her gaze fixed on him. His Sharingan spun wildly as a large shuriken materialised in his hand.
"Maybe." Obito's reply was coarse, readying the shuriken in his hand.
"Kahyo look out!" Kakashi yelled.
The wall of ice formed instinctively, as she turned as the shuriken shattered the first layer, resulting in shards of sharp ice raining down on the ninja. Obito made his way towards Kahyo, her guard up once more. He bent down and picked up his shuriken, sending it back to his personal dimension. He slowly made his way over to the dining table, picked up an upturned chair and sat down. Kahyo regarded him suspiciously, her eyebrows furrowed.
Kakashi frowned at his old teammate before noticing that he no longer had to knead chakra. Kahyo had released him from her Kekkei Genkei. He met her gaze as she nodded at him, a sign that they were on the same team. A large explosion shook the Tobishachimaru, as the helium sack suddenly caught fire, resulting in the ships' rapid descent.
"We need to get rest of the hostages off of the Tobishachimaru." Kakashi steadied himself, took a deep breath and began to work.
"I have a plan. I can utilise my Ice Release to guide the Tobishachimaru towards the ground, soften the landing maybe? However…" There was a clear pause.
"What are you worried about Kahyo?" Kakashi questioned, the urgency notwithstanding.
"There isn't enough moisture in the air for me to create that amount of ice." Kahyo sighed, despondent.
Kakashi turned to see Obito now sitting cross legged on the floor, head resting on the chair. Kakashi sighed. Sometimes the current Obito and the one he lost were eerily similar – both stupid, too carefree. He could only imagine what had possessed Obito to come here in the first place. A half-chuckle escaped him as he hoped that it wasn't to witness his possible death.
Regardless of Obito's rude interruption and obvious reluctance to help, Kakashi felt somewhat confident in himself. He was the future Hokage after all.
"I have an idea."
Kakashi walked towards the open door of the falling Tobishachimaru and soon felt Obito's ominous presence behind him.
"What do you plan to do Kakashi Hatake?" Obito's tone was inquisitorial as he recklessly lent against the side of the open door.
"Kakashi is fine, Obito." Kakashi found it odd that Obito stuck to formalities after all of this time. He questioned himself why in such a time of crisis he found the use of his surname so irksome.
He considered whether or not to inform Obito of his plan. He wasn't even sure that the plan would succeed, and he couldn't imagine anything worse than failing miserably in front of Obito. Kakashi decided there was no such time for petty feelings. It was in the mission's best interest for everyone to be included after all.
The wind of jet streams howled around them both.
"As you know without the Sharingan I am unable to perform Chidori anymore. However, I have been working on a new jutsu to replace it with. That said it's a bit of a long shot - I'm not sure how successful it's going to be!" He shouted, finding his voice quietened by the noise of whirling air surrounding the cabin.
"Hmm, and you're hoping that this new jutsu will somehow create enough moisture for your new teammate to succeed?" There was the condescension once more: it irritated the calm Kakashi to no end.
"Yes." Abrupt, Kakashi wasn't about to play along with Obito's little game.
The Tobishachimaru groaned and creaked, as the fire spread to the cockpit. Kakashi grasped the doorway as they continued to nosedive. He was already beginning to feel lightheaded due to the sudden drop in altitude and increase in speed and worried that a second drop could cause not only him, but the other passengers on board to pass out. He managed to make his way back towards Kahyo and the remaining terrified hostages, stumbling and holding onto the walls as much as possible.
Kahyo screamed as she was tossed violently onto the floor as the ships' propeller caught fire. Kakashi steadied himself and noted that the ship was falling fast. They were running out of time.
"Kahyo! Do it. Do it now!" Kakashi ran to the door of the Tobishachimaru and jumped out.
"Kakashi what the hell are you doing?" Obito yelled, shocked and still aboard the sinking vessel.
Kakashi closed his eyes as he plummeted towards the earth. With a deep breath he performed the hand signs for his new jutsu – purple electricity, before passing out due to a mixture of exhaustion and lack of oxygen.
Kakashi awoke in the bleak yet familiar Kamui dimension. It had been some time since he'd been there but the sights and smells remained the same. As he slowly lifted himself up he could make out Obito's figure sat on a prism in the distance.
"Do you have a death wish?" Obito growled.
"My life is not as important as all of the lives aboard the Tobishachimaru."
In an instant Obito had vacated his seat and was stood before Kakashi. He grabbed Kakashi by the front of his worn flak jacket, bringing his face up towards Obito's. Kakashi could feel the rage building, unsettling him.
"Well, why didn't you tell me that before? You could have saved me the hassle of maintaining your wretched existence." The fact Obito said it so calmly upset Kakashi – was he really that worthless to him? No… It wasn't that simple. Perhaps the opposite, perhaps Obito actually cared – maybe he cared too much in fact.
Kakashi decided that he would let Obito win this one – just once.
"Thank you, Obito." He smiled – only visible in his eyes and the movement of his lips within the face mask he always wore.
Obito's eyes widened as his grip loosened around Kakashi's jacket. Kakashi stepped backwards, rubbing his neck and repeated himself.
"Thank you Obito, for everything."
The world around Kakashi started to spin. Kakashi closed his eyes as the Kamui dimension swirled into nothingness around him.
"Kakashi-sensei, are you hurt?" Sakura immediately worked chakra into his body. Kakashi was possibly most impressed by the growth in Sakura, of all of his former students – who had shown herself worthy of the inheritance bestowed upon her as a student of the legendary Sannin Tsunade. Her personal growth was something he took pride in.
"I'm fine, thank you Sakura." Kakashi brushed himself off and got to his feet.
He surveyed the area they'd landed in, the destroyed airship quickly catching his eye. He pushed through a mix of shinobi from every village – he assumed on orders from their own Kages to prevent the Tobishachimaru from flying over their borders. He noticed that Kahyo was now imprisoned by Hidden Leaf ninja, led by Tsunade at the front. He stood a few metres behind as he observed the situation.
"Your actions bring shame to the Hidden Leaf. The Armament Alliance has worked to discredit us and you want to be freed? Not a chance. You'll spend your life in the Blood Prison!" Kahyo was visibly dejected, and it seemed Tsunade had no sympathy for what had happened and no desire to learn either.
Kakashi knew that he had to say something. Only a few witnessed what happened in the ship. He had always believed in redemption and as he stood in the shadows of the Blood Prison an idea came to him that he believed even Tsunade would agree to.
"Lady Tsunade if I may, Kahyo is the reason that we are all standing here alive. Her actions, are the reason that the Hidden Leaf does not have to deal with the fallout of the Tobishachimaru entering the other village's land. It was her quick thinking that landed the ship itself."
"Be that as it may, do you have another plan for her?" The Fifth showed her displeasure to the soon-to-be Sixth. At first it was Obito, now another known felon? Kakashi seemed to have a soft spot.
"Her Kekkei Genkei is useful. It slowly freezes her opponent to death unless they constantly knead chakra into the affected area, meaning they aren't able to use their own jutsu. We have needed a replacement warden at the Blood Prison…"
Tsunade's ears prickled.
"I believe that she is more than qualified to replace Mui. Tailor-made, almost."
"Well! Who am I to act against the Hokage?" Tsunade's frown broke into a smirk, and she chose her words very carefully.
"I assume that as our 'leader' is calling the shots around here; he's ready to be inaugurated at least?" The nod from Kakashi was curt.
"Lady Tsunade told me that you disobeyed her direct orders by leaving the village today, Obito."
Kakashi was awkwardly perched at the far end of his couch. Across the room Obito sat – arms crossed, face scowled. Kakashi had hoped that the events of the day would have rekindled a semblance of Team Minato; or at the very least Obito would become a tolerable houseguest. Kakashi wondered if he would spend the rest of his days in the apartment in some sort of awkward silence. This wasn't the lifestyle he'd envisioned by allowing him to live there.
"I hardly think that matters? Tomorrow you will become the Sixth Hokage." Obito lent back against the chair and closed his eyes.
"Irrelevant. You should show some respect! I'm not the Hokage yet…" Kakashi trailed off.
Tomorrow Kakashi was scheduled to undertake the Kage Inauguration Ceremony. He wouldn't admit it to anyone but the thought terrified him. It was enough to keep him up at night. He still wasn't sure if he was the right choice for Hokage, but the councillors of the Leaf had ordained him as far past as the death of Danzo. He was fortunate that times had changed; the peace that existed within the five villages looked sustainable and lasting.
"Kakashi?"
Kakashi realised that he had been staring through Obito the whole time. He was amazed that Obito had not threatened his life for such an action. Maybe he was softening up after all.
"Kakashi, why did you save that woman?" Obito continued.
"Kahyo?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Obito's nod was barely a mark of acknowledgment, more passive than anything else.
"Everyone deserves a second chance, and especially those who save lives. I owe Kahyo, I would be dead if it wasn't for her."
"Not true." Obito dismissed.
For a moment Kakashi thought he saw what he could only explain as pain spread across Obito's emotionless mask of a face. He bit his lip as he struggled to think of a reply that wouldn't anger him further. Kakashi envisioned a conversation with his old teammate was much like walking on a mine-field while blindfolded. He ran his fingers through his hair as he struggled for something appropriate to say. To Kakashi's surprise it was Obito that continued the conversation.
"You will be Hokage tomorrow." Obito broke the deadlock with intent.
"It seems that way." Kakashi sighed.
Kakashi could feel Obito's scowl baring into him. It was only natural, Obito's childhood dream was to become Hokage and here Kakashi was, Hokage tomorrow and unenthused by the prospect. Something about that prospect upset Kakashi – after Obito's repeated attempts to destroy the Hidden Leaf, clearly he'd never let go of his dream, emotionally at least.
"Someone is coming." Obito stated blankly.
Kakashi silently thanked whoever was about to come to the door for ending such an awkward conversation. He jumped to his feet and swung the door open before the visitor had time to knock, catching his visitor by surprise.
"Err, hey Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto lowered his fist from the doorway.
"Oh, it's you Naruto." Kakashi said backing away from the entrance. He never saw Naruto as much as he would have liked, so the visit was pleasant.
"It sure is! Kakashi-sensei I can't believe that you went on such a super cool mission. You got to fly in the, what was it? The Tobishichi? Y'know that floating thing. Why couldn't I go on that mission? You know I could have helped you out!" Naruto looked visibly hurt.
"It was a top secret mission Naruto." He tousled his student's blonde hair reassuringly. Even after everything they'd been through, there still existed the boy that graduated bottom of his class and saw everything through naïve eyes.
"Then how come everyone else was there to help?" Naruto argued. Internally Kakashi smiled, realising that just from that sentence alone, Naruto's growth was evident. Self-awareness comes with time after all.
Kakashi didn't have the answer to that question. Once he was on the airship, it was difficult to communicate with the Hidden Leaf – even with Ino's brilliance with telepathy. He was not surprised to see that the Hidden Leaf had sent reinforcements to help out with, not only the hostages but the possible breakdown of the new-found alliances with the other ninja villages. At the end of the day Naruto was still the Hidden Leaf's biggest asset and not someone they wanted to risk recklessly.
Kakashi felt Naruto push his hand away as he walked into the apartment. He watched as Naruto threw himself onto the couch he had only been sitting on moments before.
"Oh, hi Obito-sensei!" Naruto regressed to his inner child once more, and had only just noticed the Uchiha's somber presence.
"Obito-sensei?" Obito questioned.
"Yeah! I've been lucky to have so many great teachers, with Pervy Sage and Kakashi-sensei… I thought maybe you could teach me some cool new jutsu. I wanna teleport too! Oh and especially how to control this new arm of mine." Naruto gestured towards his surrogate arm.
Kakashi watched the strange interaction between Naruto and Obito. He had never met someone as forgiving as Naruto. Naruto knew that Obito had killed his parents and was the sole reason he was a Jinchuriki, yet he was still here wanting to build a relationship with him.
Obito was completely mystified by the whole scenario, his face showing confusion and trepidation. He still didn't really know how to communicate with Naruto – they'd had such similar lives – but the divergence in their lives' paths resulted in very different outcomes. But this was a second chance. And even though Kamui required a Sharingan eye, he knew better than to be so confronting about that without any real point. Eventually he muttered something that resembled a positive response. It was enough for Naruto.
"YES! Thank you Obito-sensei! I can't wait to start training!" Naruto threw his fist into the air.
"What brings you to my apartment Naruto?" Kakashi questioned his student, bringing him back to reality.
"Well Kakashi-sensei, I was left out of the mission earlier today, but I am sure as hell not going to be left out of the celebrations! Everyone is coming out to celebrate the Hidden Leaf's victory. And I'm here to pick you up!" Even if the enthusiasm was infectious to most, Kakashi refused to bite.
"That won't be necessary, I need my rest for tomorrow." Kakashi smiled, waving him off half-heartedly.
"Oh man, Bushier Brows-sensei said you wouldn't come out." Naruto pouted.
"Why not go Kakashi?"
Naruto and Kakashi both turned to Obito in surprise at his suggestion.
"See Kakashi-sensei! Even Obito-sensei says that you should come celebrate with us!" Naruto started to pull at Kakashi's arm.
Kakashi's eyes flashed, and then narrowed. He'd stumbled upon the perfect solution to this conundrum.
"Have it your way then Naruto. I will go but only on one condition." Kakashi raised his finger on one hand to prove the point.
"Sure! Anything! What is it?" Naruto was already excited.
"I will go if Obito goes." Kakashi felt smug. Obito was completely nonplussed by the whole thing.
"Fine." Obito waved him off.
Kakashi spun around to face Obito who met his gaze with a sly smile. He would never have expected that response from him. The only reply Kakashi had for Obito was not fit to be spoken in front of his student. If there was nothing nice to say, perhaps it was prudent that he said nothing.
"Let's go then!" Naruto was already out of the door, in to the chilled night air.
To Kakashi's surprise he had found the evening enjoyable. He had even kept his well-loved copy of 'Icha Icha Paradise' safely tucked inside his jacket. He found that the hardest part of the night was feigning indifference to the night itself. He wouldn't want to be asked out more often if someone saw him happy to be there, so he maintained an air of indignity for the occasion. He did admit that it was nice to be surrounded by friends and student alike without the worry of a battle. Despite a well cultivated image of being a loner, Kakashi liked to be around people, especially those who had opened up to him and accepted him. He believed that probably had more to do with Obito than anyone else.
Once an obscene amount of sake was thrown in; the night got even better. From embarrassing childhood stories, to tales of their greatest accomplishments during missions, every person there had a story to tell.
"Here! Another sake for the new Hokage!" Tsunade smashed the glass down in front of Kakashi, spilling most of its contents. Tsunade's glee at being freed from the burden of leadership was there for everyone to see.
"Thanks Tsunade" Kakashi replied politely.
The event continued on in the same manner. Every time Kakashi finished a drink someone else would acknowledge his Hokage position and refill his sake. Kakashi was just glad that no one seemed bothered that he had brought Obito along with him. When they had arrived Sakura and Ino had already pushed multiple tables together for the group. Upon seeing this Obito excused himself and sat at a table in the corner. Kakashi felt a pang of guilt as he saw him alone out the corner of his eye. It seemed like after all of this time nothing had changed and he was still on his own. Time would heal old wounds with the village, but not enough time had passed just yet.
Kakashi felt Sakura nudge him in the ribs.
"It'll get easier." She smiled gesturing in the direction of Obito's table.
As Kakashi went to reply he was engulfed in a drunken embrace from a rather intoxicated Tsunade.
"Another round for tomorrow's Hokage" she slurred.
It wasn't until the night was over that Kakashi realised just how much sake he had consumed. He had waited until everyone had left the bar to leave himself. As he went to stand up, he felt his knees begin to give way. He steadied himself on the table and once he felt confident he walked outside. He hoped the fresh, night air might sober him somewhat. It didn't.
He closed his eyes as he lent against the front of the bar. It was late. The village was bare, the last of his friends had long gone home. This was his favourite time of day. He could be alone with his own thoughts; and he had many of those. His mind drifted to Obito. OBITO. Where was he? He didn't have to wait for long to find out.
"Are you alright Kakashi?"
Kakashi opened his eyes and was shocked to be met with two Obito's staring back at him. He furiously blinked until his eyes were back in focus. He pushed himself off of the wall and walked towards the direction of his apartment. He could feel Obito's curious stare as he followed, lagging behind him.
"People are going to start calling you 'Kakashi of the Sake'. The Leaf has already been represented by one drunken Hokage, does it need another one quite so soon?" Obito muttered sardonically.
A smile crept onto Kakashi's hidden face. He would have never found such a joke funny if he wasn't so drunk. Regardless of whether Obito was being condescending or not, Kakashi was happy that they were interacting. He slowed his pace down so that Obito could catch up with him.
"You didn't have a drink all night then, Obito?" Kakashi's face was full of a ridiculous frown.
"I've never tried it. I prefer not to dull my senses." Obito answered truthfully.
"Oh.." Kakashi said surprised by his honesty.
The pair continued to make their way through the dimly lit streets using the moon to light their path. The silence was amplified by the fact that there was no background noise. He could feel Obito stare at him as they walked and was glad when they walked past a stray cat, meandering on a nearby fence. It took his mind off his current situation as he focused on the cat instead. He wondered what it was doing up so late at night, did it not have a family to go home to? Kakashi was sure if he had a family to go home to, he wouldn't be out this late. He procrastinated on the life of this random street animal as long as possible, until he could avoid Obito's gaze no longer. There was no one who could make Kakashi feel as uncomfortable as Obito could. In his current drunken state he felt embarrassed by the unwarranted attention.
"What?" Kakashi groaned.
"I have something to ask you, Kakashi." A devious smirk lit the normally dulled countenance.
Kakashi could just make out his apartment up ahead. The building was illuminated by a lone street light. Kakashi decided that he would rather not have to deal with Obito's serious sounding question so late at night. He opened the building door and headed inside. As he made his way up the first step he realised that Obito had stopped following him. Reluctantly, he turned around to see that Obito had stopped at the entrance to the complex. Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he walked back towards Obito - he had always been stubborn and Kakashi was sure he wouldn't get any sleep until Obito had asked him the question anyway.
"I went to the Memorial Stone this morning..." Obito began.
"Oh, I see." Kakashi yawned as he steadied himself on the doorway. Immediately he was concerned as to the direction of this conversation.
"I wanted to go to see my own name. To try to remember the person that I once was. When I was there I met someone… They didn't tell me their name but they did tell me that you went there every day."
"Not every day." Kakashi mumbled under his breath.
"Hospital stays and missions don't count stupid Kakashi!" Obito teased poking him in the chest. The jab had some intent in it mind.
"It's normal to grieve people you've lost." Kakashi said matter-of-factly.
"He said that you went to the Memorial Stone daily to remember an old teammate of yours. One that gave you an important gift..." Obito continued.
Kakashi knew this was coming. He'd never expected to have to explain his grief process to anyone let alone the person he was grieving for, and wasn't prepared to answer. Kakashi frowned as Obito walked up beside him, his chakra brushing against his bare skin. Kakashi turned to walk up the stairs but was prevented by Obito grabbing his arm pulling him back.
"It's true then." Obito pressed.
"Not now Obito. I have one of the most important days of my life tomorrow and I really need to go to bed." Kakashi tried to pull away.
Obito lent in and examined Kakashi's face. It wasn't often he got to relish in the open annoyance of his old teammate. It was even better than his mask was doing little to shield his embarrassment.
Kakashi's head was spinning. He closed his eyes to break away from Obito's smug gaze. He blamed his current state on the tiring events of the day, the medicinal herbs, the copious amounts of sake, his fear of tomorrow's ceremony and now his unwilling closeness to Obito. As he opened his eyes he looked at Obito, whose hard features had begun to soften with actual concern, or at least had appeared to.
"Are you sure you're alright Kakashi?"
Kakashi wondered why Obito was being so nice to him all of a sudden. It was quite possible that he was imagining it due to the sake, or maybe Obito did truly want to reconcile their friendship. Whatever the reason, Kakashi liked it. He really liked it. It was almost as if he could close his eyes and live in his fantasy world where all of the awful events that took place throughout his life didn't happen. Kakashi chuckled as he realised the irony of his fantasy would not be lost on Obito.
Kakashi watched as Obito shrugged and made his way up the stairs towards his apartment. He sat down on the cool path and looked up at the stars. Everything in his life was about to change. His head was a mess. He didn't know how to feel about anything or anyone.
After what felt like hours he stood up, brushed himself off and walked to his apartment entrance.
Obito had to be asleep by now.