Revamped Series Edit Completed: 31 July 2017
Toying With The Past Is What We Do
Chapter Nine
Do I Deserve To Be Here?
He knows this stuff.
He knows this stuff.
Why does he have to go over it again?
And having Rin beside him all the while- just, why?
Obito tangles his hair around his fingers, staring down at his desk with a stressed expression. His last moments of Rin flash before his eyes, the sight of her dead on the ground, bleeding out with Kakashi unconscious next to her. His two most treasured friends, one without a chance to enjoy the rest of her life, and the other abandoned to suffer under the guilt of a broken promise and a friend killed by his own hand.
And it was all his fault.
Because the only way Madara found worth in him was with a Mangekyō Sharingan, which had resulted in Rin's death and Kakashi's self-hatred. If he hadn't always been late, to save Kakashi and himself, or to stop Rin from committing suicide, then perhaps the future would have achieved true peace, one not involving a world war bringing the nation together.
How can he sit between these two and pretend his past never happened?
Of all individuals to be sent time travelling, he doesn't deserve to be-
"How lucky we were to be sent back here together."
The gleeful whisper breaks through his depressive state.
Obito jolts from his scrunched position and turns to Kakashi. The other boy is inches away, close enough that Obito can see his optimistic smile outlined by the mask. Kakashi taps his shoulder and adds, "It's like a second chance, you know?"
With that, he faces the front of the room where the Chūnin sensei is warning them with a glare.
Obito doesn't bother stifling his own smile as he returns the friendly gesture, patting the other boy's back. He glances leftward with his smile widening, just short of a grin. Rin reciprocates the quirk of lips, albeit with a touch of confusion.
He had forgotten what it was like to be even remotely happy, the genuine pull at his cheek muscles a testament to that.
It felt, rather nice, actually.