"An Uchiha being in the Sand Village does not mean that anyone knows you're here. I'm in the village after all." Obito reasoned as he walked to the grocery store with Madara. Apparently Rin was craving cheese and marshmallows. Obito found the prospect of the combination disgusting. Madara hadn't even batted an eye, apparently used to the weird pregnancy cravings.
He was currently telling Obito about having seen one of the Uchihas in the village a few days ago and expressing his concern. He hadn't shared this with Rin because he was worried about stressing her out, and now Obito was trying to keep him from stressing out over it.
"And you do know that I'm here." Madara pointed out.
"True, but I was in the Sand Village for a mission anyway, not just visiting. That's probably what they were doing as well. It is part of our job, as I'm sure you recall. You got here because of a mission to the Sand Village too."
"If I saw them, they may have seen me." Madara protested.
"Were they looking at you?" Obito asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not that I could see, but that doesn't mean that they didn't see me. You'd be out of your job if you couldn't observe people without them knowing, so they might have been doing that." Madara said, which was a valid point, but Obito still wasn't sure it was as big of a deal as Madara seemed to think.
"Even if they did see you, they probably would just assume that you're me." Obito told him. "After all, who looks at someone and thinks 'that's definitely that dead guy'? Especially when there is someone who looks exactly like them still walking."
"I guess." Madara said, but he didn't sound convinced.
"Look, if you're really worried about it: leave. Take Rin and go somewhere else. You guys have moved before." Obito said, because he didn't want Madara having this worry weighing him down, just waiting for someone to show up trying to get revenge.
"No, you're probably right. I'm just making a big deal out of nothing. I'll keep an eye out for any activity, but we can't just run away every time things get even a little worrying." Madara decided after a moment of thought.
They let the subject drop, slipping into regular conversation. Mostly more catching up since they hardly got to see each other. The topic slipping both of their minds as they both reasoned it away.
"So, I think I've got an idea." Obito said as he and Kakashi got close to the Sand Village, walking closer to each other than they had been the day before.
"Tell me quick, before it gets away." Kakashi replied.
"You're expecting me to try and run off by myself to find him, right?" Kakashi nodded in confirmation, looking ready to grab Obito if he decided to make said escape at that moment. "Well, what if we did separate? Maybe he'll be willing to come out of hiding and talk to me, but you'll be tracking me by chakra so that you won't be far behind." He suggested.
Kakashi looked like he was actually taking the idea into consideration, which was more than Obito had really expected.
"Alright. Try to be careful since I won't be right there to help you out if you find him and he tries something."
Obito was more banking on the idea of Madara being the one to find him if he was alone. Or at least appeared to be.
He wanted to say that Madara wouldn't try anything, but a week ago he would have said Madara wouldn't kill the Uchiha clan. He had no way to know what Madara would and wouldn't do. "I'll be careful." Obito promised.
Not careful enough. He was wandering through the only foresty part of the Sand Village. Madara always said the forest was the worst hiding place because that's where everyone looked first. Which made it the best place for him to hide since no one would look for him there.
Which seemed to be a good line of thought since he ended up with Madara standing in front of him about three hours into his wandering. So, he'd been right about Madara finding him.
He was also dressed like Obito: A simple blue shirt, black pants, and orange goggles. Meaning he'd known Obito was here and probably Kakashi too. It was a good plan. The logic that Kakashi wouldn't know which one to arrest.
"So, who's the guy following you like a puppy?" Madara asked, watching Obito for a reaction.
He looked the same as when Obito had last seen him, besides the clothing, not like a serial killer.
"You like him." Madara said with a smirk. Still able to read Obito like a book then. Just the mention of Kakashi and he could figure that out.
"You want to talk about my love life after you killed our entire family?" Obito said, sounding repulsed at the situation.
"Not the entire family. You're here right now. Itachi and Sasuke are alive. They got there late. I figured I could take Itachi if his attention was divided between everyone needing help, but he and Sasuke were out late, so with him only having to protect his little brother, and after I had used so much chakra to kill the others, he was too much of a risk to fight. Shame he saw me though. I wasn't planning on you getting in trouble." Madara said flippantly, as if they were discussing the weather instead of genocide.
"You killed people! Do you not understand that?" Obito exclaimed.
"I understand it perfectly well." He looked almost board.
"Good. Then explain it to me, because I don't. Why the hell would you do that?" Obito asked.
"You're not as stupid as the goggles lead people to believe. Think about it. What was I worried about when you were last here?"
A sense of dread filled him as he remembered dismissing Madara's worries. "Madara, where is Rin?" He asked slowly.
There was a glint of something dark in Madara's eyes as he answered that. "Dead. The Uchihas don't take well to having their plans thrown off. They're pretty good for revenge. They killed her. And true to Uchiha way, I avenged her. They can't kill anyone else or spread their killing ways to others now." He said, sounding triumphant, a touch of something unstable in his voice as well.
Obito had so badly hoped that Rin hadn't been involved. That she and the baby were safe. The news of her death was devastating, but he couldn't break down now. He'd have to compartmentalize.
He quickly wiped his eyes, and for once Madara didn't mock him for tearing up.
"Either way, I've got to bring you back to the Leaf Village, and they don't care if you come back dead or alive." Obito said, pulling himself together and standing up straight, shaking fists and sad eyes the only indication that he was barely holding himself together.
"You won't kill me." Madara said with certainly.
"No, but Kakashi might if you don't come quietly. Don't make me lose you too." Obito all but pleaded.
"I don't think Kakashi would kill me either. Because he won't know which of us to kill." Madara said, smirking. "Speaking of . . ."
Madara tilted his head, as if listening for something. "Kakashi! I found him! Hurry!" Madara suddenly yelled just as Kakashi arrived on the scene.
"He's lying. Kakashi, that's Madara." Obito said.
"Ask me anything. I'll prove I'm Obito. The real one." Madara said. He knew Obito better than just about anyone. He could definitely form believable answers to anything Kakashi asked.
Kakashi was looking between them for any discernible features. Obito knew he wasn't finding any.
"Explain the Steve and Paco thing." He decided on, probably hoping one of them would look confused.
"Can't. Trade secret." Madara said while Obito said, "You don't even have an explanation for that. I could easily lie."
Naming things when he didn't know what to call them was a habit Obito'd had for years, and so of course Madara knew about it.
"What happened last night?" Kakashi asked.
"Sure, just talk about that in front of my brother then." Madara replied sarcastically.
"Oh fuck you." Obito said, rolling his eyes. What kind of question was that?
"He did." Madara told him, smirk gracing his features.
Kakashi seemed to think through what to say next. "Kiss me," were not the words Obito had been expecting.
"Okay." Madara agreed without hesitation. He was probably assuming Kakashi was hoping to be familiar enough with kissing Obito that he would be able to tell the difference. Madara might think simply going for it would be good enough, and that Kakashi would think Madara wouldn't do it since he was supposed to be straight.
"You've got to be kidding me right now. This is not the time to fulfill some kind of weird twin fantasy you have. You actually will be kissing a serial killer this time because I want no part in this." Obito said, giving Kakashi an annoyed look.
"That one's the real one." Kakashi decided, before Madara could kiss him, pointing at Obito. "Being his usual pain in the ass self, arguing instead of complying."
"You sure about that?" Madara asked, arching an eyebrow at Kakashi. "Sure enough to risk it?"
"Sure enough to take you back to the Leaf Village." And that was how the fighting started.
As soon as Kakashi had lightning in his hand Obito and Madara had their sharingans ready.
Kakashi went straight for Madara, but Obito was watching. He wanted to get an idea of Madara's improvement instead of just going straight in against a guy who could kill an entire clan.
Madara jumped up over Kakashi to avoid the attack, which is when Kakashi revealed he had a shadow clone that was jumping from a tree branch to get Madara from behind with the lightning blade.
Madara grabbed onto a tree branch, using it to swing himself out of the way and hit the clone in the face with his foot, effectively getting rid of it, before letting go of the branch and sending a fire ball Kakashi's way.
As Kakashi dodged Madara took the distraction to call down to Obito. "You're not going to join us? Afraid that you still won't measure up?"
Obito didn't look impressed with the taunt. "Not at all. In fact, I have no problem joining in if you want." He replied, knowing it wouldn't matter if he had a problem or not. As soon as Madara spoke to him he knew his observation time was over. Madara only gave someone the time of day when fighting if he was planning on fighting them.
"Obito –" Kakashi started, but Madara was already moving.
And then moved right into the tree behind Obito.
"What the hell?" He heard Madara mumble, picking himself back up and looking at Obito as if he were seeing him differently all of a sudden. "What did you do?" He asked.
"Trade secret." Obito replied.
The fireball that was aimed at him went right through him, and he showed no damage taken for it.
"You're right. I can't kill you. But, I can trap you." Obito told him, face grim as Madara seemed to disappear into a spinning spiral.
"Obito. What was that?" Kakashi asked.
"I wanted to be better at something. I picked the sharingan." Obito replied before his legs gave out on him.
"Obito!" Kakashi was by his side in an instant, wrapping his arms around Obito to keep him from face planting into the ground.
"I'm fine. It's just that I've never tried to do both one after another, and never on a person. It takes up a lot of chakra, and I only recently started getting good at it." Obito explained.
"Where did Madara even go?" Kakashi asked.
"Different dimension. It's complicated and I'm about to pass out. I'll explain it to you latter."
And it really didn't take long for him to go unconscious.
Obito woke up in a Leaf Village Hospital with Kakashi in the room.
"Oh thank God. Please tell me you can get Madara back, because everyone thinks I was just under ginjutsue."