Chapter 10
Yagura was being as obedient as ever, which was handy. All Obito had to do was sit back and wait for the moment the Daimyo and his guards let their guard down and place them under his genjutsu.
The young Alpha Kage was currently entertaining the Daimyo of the Land of Water, along with the Courtesan. Mei, Yagura's second in command, had been dismissed from the room. The Omega had been too agitated around the Courtesan, so Obito had Yagura send her away. The Daimyo's guards were lined up against the wall, eyes ever watchful, but missed Obito's presence hidden within the shadows.
"You are as beautiful as ever, Lady Courtesan." The Daimyo leaned closer, sniffing her scent loudly. "If I had known you were still so lovely I might have tried to visit years ago. It's a shame you moved away from the capital. I have missed your company."
"You flatter me, my Lord." The Courtesan smiled sweetly, brushing her fingers over his cheek. "To hear such praise from you makes my heart flutter."
The Daimyo gasped, shivering beneath her fingertips. Obito smirked. The fool had already fallen head over heels for her. The Courtesan leaned in, going for a kiss, but suddenly a kunai cut in between them. A guard instantly between her and his Lord. The Courtesan glowered at the guard who threw it, and the room slowly grew colder.
"She was creating a genjutsu-" the guard yelled.
Yagura knocked him to the ground, giving the Courtesan some space. She backed away, just as Obito stepped out of the shadows.
"Now, now," Obito teased. "You shouldn't attack the Courtesan of the Land of Water."
"They're so rude!" The Courtesan played along. "They threw a kunai at me and everything."
The guards lunged in, but Obito easily overwhelmed them and placed each of them under his genjutsu. The guards collapsed in an instant, out cold. The Daimyo cowered at the table, shaking like a leaf, and the sight made Obito snort.
"Look at you, one of the powerful Daimyos, shivering like a drenched kitten at the smallest of fights," Obito mocked. "Yet you happily send children in to do the dirty work for you whenever another Lord pisses you off."
Obito grabbed him by the neck, dragging him out from against the table. The Daimyo sobbed, squirming and clawing at his hands when he held him up in the air, choking him slowly.
"P-Please stop! I-I'll give you- Give you whatever you want-" he rasped.
"All I desire is to fix this ugly world," Obito growled lowly. "And you will be a very handy piece of that once you're under my control."
He allowed the Daimyo to suffer for a little bit longer before placing him under his genjutsu. Obito tossed him back down to the floor, the Daimyo limp and unconscious. The Courtesan kicked him, much to Obito's amusement, before going back to her tea.
Although Obito suspected that it wasn't tea, and was in fact alcohol. It wasn't steaming after all, and was lighter in colour.
The Village Hidden in the Mist was split by two leaders, in a way. Yagura, as the Mizukage, was the leader of the Mist, but the Courtesan lead the Omegas of the Land of Water. The Courtesan was the one all looked to for advice, the one everyone admired and wished to be. The title had been passed down to several Omegas for generations, their real name never revealed.
Until now. Obito knew all about Aina Yuki, and she knew him as Madara Uchiha.
She saw that this world was hell, just as he did, and supported Project Tsuki No Mi with every ounce of her being. Just as Kisame did.
When her Clan was slaughtered it had broken her heart. Aina had only survived because she had already been the Courtesan, and none knew their name, except the former Courtesan.
It made Obito's rule over the Mist that much easier, when he had the other leader of it on his side.
He knew Aina was loyal. When Ao, the Byakugan thief, had discovered that Yagura was under Obito's genjutsu, Aina hadn't hesitated. She stabbed her childhood friend in the back and took him prisoner. It did make Obito a bit more cautious that Ao hadn't been killed, but he couldn't blame Aina for not killing a member of her pack.
Despite the fact he did so easily to his own. Kakashi was the only pack mate he had left in the entire world.
Aina approached him, a fresh cup in hand, this one steaming hot. Obito took the tea she offered, and raised an eyebrow.
"You have questions," he mused.
"I am curious as to the next step of the plan," Aina admitted, before she smiled coyly. "I've also heard an interesting piece of news."
Obito raised a brow. "And what is that?"
"My little pups saw you with an Omega. Kakashi Hatake of the Leaf."
Obito frowned. Nobody should have seen him apart from the owner- But there had been girls and boys waiting after guests under the owner's service. Young children who Aina used to spy on others.
Obito smirked. "Clever."
"Thank you." Aina smiled. "But, I thought you only had one mate, and that was the First Hokage."
"It is rare, but not unheard of to have more than one mate," Obito said. "Hashirama had two mates. Who is to say I would not as well?"
"A fair point." Aina conceded. "Will you be bringing Kakashi Hatake here to join us?"
"No," Obito admitted. "He's far too loyal to the Leaf, just as Hashirama was long ago. A fate I seem to have been cursed with."
If Kakashi was ever brought here, it would be as a prisoner, and Obito would rather avoid that. No, better to let him be 'free' as long as he remained somewhat safe. If Obito needed to step in he would do so, as he had done before in the rare occasion.
"I know you bonded. Most wouldn't be able to tell, but I wouldn't be in my position as The Courtesan if I could not." Aina frowned heavily. "What will you do when Kakashi Hatake's heat returns? You won't be able to ignore it, your Alpha will fall into a rut-"
"You're concerned for Kakashi," Obito mused. "There is no need to fear for a fellow Omega. I do not bond to just anyone. Kakashi is now mine, as I am his."
Aina tentatively touched her own scent gland, and Obito barely repressed a wince at the sight of it. It was covered in scars, from when an Alpha, no longer alive, forced a bond on to Aina. Aina had erased his entire history in revenge for forcing himself on her. The man's name was in no history books.
Afterwards she had taken up a kunai and sliced her scent gland until it no longer bared the bond mark. She confirmed that she used the same kunai to stab the Alpha repeatedly.
Just the thought of it made Obito want to hurl.
Cutting apart your own scent gland was horrible. The pain would put most people out for a year, if not outright kill them. It could also ruin a person's personality afterwards. Aina seemed to be fine, but she was the perfect actress. She smiled as she poured the people who murdered her clan tea. She made love to them, made them feel special, and Aina always looked happy to do so.
"Konoha isn't always kind to Omegas," Aina said. "Omegas are one of the few people the Mist actually treat kindly, apart from when they were 'purging' the bloodlines. My point is, we're treated well, and are highly respected, so if you ever believe Kakashi Hatake isn't safe in Konoha I personally would be honoured to welcome him here as your mate until the day all our dreams come true."
Obito chuckled, but it was warm, rather than full of bitter amusement. "You're as kind to Omegas as always, Aina."
Aina smiled sheepishly. "It's a long tradition in the Mist. It's why we never returned any of the captured Omegas during the war. Most wished to remain with us. We're taught to respect Omegas during our younger years, and when you have The Courtesan themself show up in your class, it's hard to imagine doing anything but being bending over backwards to make them happy. I mean, he was beautiful, absolutely gorgeous and elegant and perfect, and I was just a pup who hadn't even met my mate yet."
Obito was slammed by a wave of overwhelming joy from the Omega's scent. He barely managed to calm himself, and not let himself get taken in by her excitement.
"Aina, you're scent-" Obito grunted.
"Oops," Aina laughed sheepishly. "I'm usually far more composed."
Obito rolled his eyes. Aina only ever lost her composure when it came to remembering her teacher. If he didn't know better, he would have thought they were mates, but Aina's scent never held that deep love mates did. Hers was more like seeing an old friend after a very long time.
"Anyway, what's the next step of the plan?" Aina asked, finally composing herself.
"How is the situation with Mei?" Obito asked instead.
"She has been suspicious ever since I captured Ao. She believes Yagura has killed or imprisoned him. Mei is still trying to cause trouble and has refocused her efforts on her coup, but so far I haven't seen any reason to kill her off yet."
"Is she still spreading those rumours about you?"
Mei had been trying to ruin the Courtesan's reputation for the past six months now, slowly but surely. Aina had been handling it well enough so far, but if Obito needed to kill off Mei to keep Aina in power, he would.
Aina smiled. "Of course, and I make sure the rumours about her spread too, for each new one I gain, she gains ten more."
Obito chuckled and stood up. "Good. The Akatsuki rule over both the Village Hidden in the Rain, and the Village Hidden in the Mist. We shall keep it that way."
Aina nodded. "Done."
"Now, as you have asked before, the next step of the plan is to use this one." Obito nudged the Daimyo's foot, who remained limp across the floor. "I shall become his advisor and control the entire population of the Land of Water. This will gain me a seat in meetings with higher ranking subordinates of other countries and manipulate them."
"Will you go to the Chunin Exams then? I heard Konoha has sent out the invitations. The Daimyo told me he was going to place his bets."
"I might accompany him."
"So the big plan starts in about a few months then, right?"
"Yes, it will take time for the exams to begin. They will have three parts to their exam, but there is always a fight at the end to entertain the Lords, and allow bets to be made. They always do like a show watching children trying to murder one another."
Aina huffed. "Yeah, how amusing it is to watch pups kill each other."
"As long as all goes to plan we will not have to worry," Obito reassured. "The world will be perfect once we're finished."
Aina smiled. "I look forward to that day, Madara."
"I'll leave you to continue handling things here."
"Sure, I'll keep the Mist busy until you get back with some orders for me."
"Send word if Mei becomes too much hassle. There are ways to deal with annoyances such as her without anyone becoming suspicious."
Aina smiled. "Mei will bark, but until she finds proof she won't put up a fight. And I just got rid of that proof by dealing with Ao."
"Good. I'll stay in touch." Obito nodded, then transported himself back to Kamui.
He paused at the sudden burst of joy he felt. No, not his joy. It was coming from his bond mark. It was coupled with worry and shyness- Ah, Kakashi felt hesitant about something good. Yeah, because that wasn't unusual at all.
Seriously, his mate needed to accept the good things in life too. They didn't happen often enough. Kakashi had been distraught just yesterday, probably because the elders of the village were giving him a lecture or something for failing a mission.
Seriously, the old bastards didn't deserve a place in the new world. They were the cause of most of this world's problems.
Obito decided to check up on his mate, because the joy was building up. His Alpha cooed, basking in the happiness, until Obito firmly pushed it back into its corner. The little shit was not taking over until Kakashi's next heat, and even then it'd be lucky if Obito gave in so easily to it.
His Alpha was a little brat.
He peeked through Kamui, making sure to mask his presence to any outside it. He could hear everything, and see, but none could spot him within his dimension.
Kakashi was being hugged by two pups, Minato's pup and a pink haired one. They were in his apartment, Kakashi's hounds were crowding the floor, only leaving a small space for the pups and Izumi. Izumi shoved Sasuke forward with the bouquet he had in his hands. Sasuke hissed at her, but she smacked the back of his head and gestured forward.
"Fine, fine," the Uchiha pup grumbled. "Oi, Kakashi-"
Kakashi blinked from the puppy pile hug, still baffled and hesitant. He was patting the pair warily on their heads. "Yeah?"
"Here." Sasuke shoved the bouquet into his hands. "It's from the Team."
"Don't just shove it at him, Sasuke!" Naruto scowled, pulling away from the hug. "Sakura said you're supposed to hand it to him."
"You're the one who said we should shove it at him in the first place, moron!" Sasuke growled.
"You're the moron!"
"Is repeating my insults all you're good for, Naruto?" Sasuke scoffed.
Naruto bristled. "I'll take you on any day!"
They grabbed each other's shirt collars, dragging the other close. Obito almost groaned. He and Kakashi hadn't been this bad thankfully.
Izumi chuckled darkly, and the pair froze. "It seems like you two still have so much energy after my training session yesterday. How lovely. I've been needing some target practise-"
Sasuke and Naruto immediately separated, and bowed to Kakashi. "We're glad you're back home safe, Sensei!" they both cried.
"They've been driving me insane, Kakashi Sensei, especially that Naruto!" Sakura huffed. "I'm glad you're back." She lowered her voice. "Izumi-san is a psycho and I'm scared of her. You're much better."
Izumi smirked. Clearly she heard that then.
"The guy who kidnapped you must have been strong!" Naruto gasped, taking on a battle stance. "Don't worry, Sensei. He won't get near you again. I'm going to be Hokage, so it's my job to beat his ass!"
Obito rolled his eyes. Hokage. Of course Minato's son would want to be the Hokage.
"You can't even take me on at rock paper scissors," Izumi said dryly.
"You don't use real rocks, papers and scissors to play that game!" Naruto snapped.
Sasuke blinked. "You don't?"
Obito winced.
"NO!" Naruto wailed.
Obito glanced over at Kakashi who smiled warmly. Pakkun had sat a jug on the table, letting Kakashi fill it with the flowers. Obito frowned. That was a familiar jug, with swirling patterns of flowers and petals-
Rin. It was Rin's jug. Kakashi had kept it.
It didn't matter. Rin was dead in this fake life. She would return in the next one and have her jug of flowers. She would be an amazing medic and Obito would find her mate and introduce them to each other just like she did for him and Kakashi.
Obito smiled at the thought.
Kakashi would have his parents, and his father would never have committed suicide all because of Konoha. His mother would never have died on her mission protecting Konoha. Nor would have Obito's parents.
Everything would finally be perfect.
Obito turned on his heel, allowing Kakashi's apartment to disappear behind him. The joy would be short lasting, but at least Kakashi could enjoy himself for a brief moment in time.
He had work to do.
