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Chapter Text

His father is dead and, for a long time, all he can do is stare.

He has seen blood before, has even shed it more than once, both in the controlled environment of training and in the sheer danger and speed of battle, in one of the many missions he has undertaken. He is used to violence, to gore and to the stench of death. A lot of shinobis are, and he isn't the youngest of them, Kiri nins have it much worse.

But still. This time, it's his father laying on the ground and not a random stranger, and he can't find it in himself to pretend like this is normal, like this is what he is supposed to do, what he's supposed to live with everyday. He forgets about the Academy lessons, about his headband and about his duty to his village and, for a few minutes, a few hours, he feels like a normal child, small and weak and so so lost.

He cries.

His hands find his father's face and he flinches at how cold it is. The man had probably been dead for several hours when he found him in the morning. Soon, he will start decaying and the smell of blood will be replaced by one of rot, the kind that never really went away once it had impregnated a place.

Kakashi realises quickly that he doesn't want to see what his father is going to be become once death takes away whatever humanity his body has left and makes a decision. He gets up slowly, glances at the corpse on the bedroom's floor one last time, and leaves the house to go warn the Uchiha police of what has just happened. Some part of him wants to believe that his fellow shinobis are going to be respectful and take care of the older Hatake's body but he remembers the sneers and the hateful looks and, deep inside, he knows that it isn't going to be the case.

He doesn't want to think about this.

He tells again and again the story of how he found the corpse and is almost relieved when he realises that no one really seems to care. They take to Hatake Sakumo's death without showing any emotions and he is coldly informed that he's going to have to pass a test to see if he's going to be allowed to live on his own. No one presents him wih any condolences of any kind but no one looks happy either. He is left alone to grieve.

There is an empty feeling in his chest, he feels detached, absent.

Kakashi passes the test without any difficulty whatsoever. Even before this morning, he has always been used to looking after himself. These last few weeks, his father had been irresponsive at best and he has had to learn how to cook his own food and clean the house if he wanted to be in good health enough to keep on training with Minato-sensei. He is clever and motivated enough that he became proefficient at it in only a few days. Being a genius has some perks after all.

Thinking of Minato almost makes him cry right in front of the bored-looking chunin that has to make him go through his quick cooking test but he manages to blink back the tears and keep on the brave and unemotional façade he managed to have all day. His jonin-sensei will not be back until a month later, at least, and he feels incredibly lonely but that doesn't mean that he should ridicule himself in front of a fellow chunin. He has standards.

Shinobis are supposed to be strong.

He goes home hours after he left it and the corpse is gone but its smell, however, stays. He tastes copper and steel and, as he bends down to grab his father's katana, its blade and handle covered in dried blood, it's so overwhelming that he gags and almost vomits right there, on the floor where Hatake Sakumo died, the night before.

In the end he straightens up and puts the sword down on Sakumo's bed because he can't see what else to do with it. After a few minutes of absolute emptiness and of trying to figure out what he's supposed to do now, he decides that it's getting a little late and that, maybe, he should just go to bed.

He ends up lying on his back in his futon, staring at his ceiling and listening at how silent the house is now that he's the only one living inside of it. He thinks about all the other orphans the war is going to make and wonders if, maybe, his father did really have it coming. Kakashi has always been taught that teammates and bonds won over everything else, including orders and hierarchy but now he doubts it. Sakumo showed weakness, chose his team over his village and now he is dead and there is a war about to go off.

He falls asleep with a bitter taste in his mouth and his eyes hurting from all the tears he has been holding back during the day.

Strangely, he doesn't dream of Sakumo.

There is no nightmare, no shame, no pain. And, when he opens his eyes in his dream, because he just knows that it's one, he's alone and naked inside of a big white room and there is a distinct lack of cold, blood or anything of the sort. Kakashi doesn't really know if he is supposed to be relieved at this or disappointed.

It's not that he feels like he deserves the pain but he has been so empty since his father's death that it would be good to feel something, anything.

He is drawn away from his dark thoughts by a sparkling blue light that, slowly, starts to expand in front of his eyes, quickly forming the shape of a large rectangle, a bit wider than his face, in front of which it is currently floating.

What a weird dream. And how strange it is that he's having it now of all moments.

Words start to form on the rectangle and he leans closer. Curiosity is in his nature and even what happened earlier that day couldn't take that away from him.

[New player registered]

Kakashi stares blankly at the three words and notices distantly that there is something looking a bit like a white bar slowly filling up below them. Right next to it are numbers, a percentage that is rising as the white of the bar is slowly taken over by a bright blue. Once it reaches, a hundred percent, it stops and, for a moment, everything is still.

Then the world explodes.

He cries out in surprise and tries to protect his face with his bare arms. He has not yet the reflex of calling up his chakra to enhance his defense but it doesn't seem to be an issue since, despite the room dissolving (and quite violently at that) in front of his eyes, he appears to be completely unharmed by it.

The day just keeps getting weirder.

The room he is now standing in is now a little smaller and a lot darker, its walls a dark gray and a lot of strange blue symbols running over them, moving and twisting in a way he has never seen before. As he looks around, bewildered, he notices that he, himself, has changed as well. He is now wearing is standard shinobi gear, with his mask and the gray and black clothes Minato-sensei helped him select a few months ago, after his chunin promotion.

Well, this is a dream after all. It isn't really that surprising that he's able to change clothes like that.

He turns around once again and is greeted by the sight of another rectangle, this one much larger and bigger than the first one he read. A bit surprised by the sheer size of it -it's currently taller than him-, it takes him some time before finally decides to see what it's about. Once he does, he reads this :

[CHARACTER CREATION – BACKGROUND

Current background : Child genius

Change background ? Y/N]

Under these three lines was a list of a dozen or so strange association of words such as "Orphan of war" or "Dead last" and it takes him a few minutes of frowning and trying to figure out what he was supposed to do with the writings before he, completely by accident, taps it with his hand and watches in astonishment as it changes once again.

He has apparently touched what is described as his 'current background' and, as it expands and as he starts to read it, he feels a cold feeling of dread start to pool up in his stomach. And there he thought he was having a nightmare free night. It seems like there is no way for him to escape what just happened to him and to his father.

[Child Genius

Hatake Kakashi, son of the famous White Fang and last heir of the Hatake clan, is defined by his intelligence and by his talent for the ways of the shinobis. A genius amongst his peers, he seemed destined to shine until his father's disgrace and, later, death left him all alone. Now, he has to use his cleverness and the few resources he still has to try and live up to his potential and redeem his family's name.

Bonuses :

+50 Intelligence

- 10 Charisma

-100 Reputation with [Konoha civilians] and [Shinobi Corps]

+100 Reputation with [Roots] and [Anbu]

Equipment :

Mask (Status effect [Mysterious])

Standard shinobi gear

Kunais x100

shurikens x100

Scrolls x20]

He doesn't bother trying to make sense of the second part of what was written on the rectangle, focusing on the story. Being remembered of his new status as an orphan makes his throat hurt and his heart sink. He taps the rectangle again and watches as the description disappears, leaving him once again with the strange list.

Kakashi still feels as if he's about to cry so, to keep his mind off of the evergrowing emptiness in his chest, he taps one of the strange names, reading it calmly and pretending that everything is fine, that it's just a normal, innocent dream.

[Hopeless Romantic

Ever since he was able to read, Kakashi has been fascinated by love and by the idea of romance. Despite being born in a shinobi family, he has no real love for the art of war and would rather spend his time trying to find his true soulmate at help other people find theirs to. He is known in Konoha for being gentle and a little naïve but is still loved by many, including his parents, for his enthusiasm and his optimistic approach to life]

He blinks slowly at the description and tries looking at a few more before finally coming to the conclusion that the rectangle seems to be proposing alternate versions of his childhood, each and every one of them more different from his own than the last. Weren't he in a dream, he could have considered it seriously, he thinks quite often about what he could have been if he wasn't born in a family like his, but, as it is now, he has no wish to entertain such a fantasy. This dream is becoming more and more real by the minute, this has to stop.

Even if he's sleeping, he can't allow himself to be weak. His life is what it is and if he stops and starts living in a fantasy world made of 'what if' and how 'if only", he's never going to become a great shinobi and surpass his father.

His father ...

Kakashi shudders and, quickly, taps the little [No] right next to the [Change background ?] question.

The rectangle blinks out of existence and, when it comes back, it has separated in a few smaller boxes that float a little higher than it used to. Each one of them has a single word written on it and, next to them, are a few lines that aren't contained in a box or in a rectangle.

Hatake Kakashi

Level 23

HP : 60/60

CK : 55/55

He frowns at the words, wondering what [HP] or [CK] even mean and what it says about him that his 'level' is at twenty-three, before turning his attention to the small boxes above his head, taking them in with curiosity, for once overpowering the emptiness and he uneasiness he seems to be feeling almost constantly now.

[Profile]

[Skills]

[Inventory]

[Quests]

[Library]

[Achievements]

[Settings]

Still utterly confused, he tries to stand on his toes to reach the rectangles, tapping them with the tip of his fingers. His size is something he tries not to get too upset about, he's only six after all, he'll probably have a growth spurt later in his life, but it doesn't stop it from being a little annoying in situations like this.

Father always used to catch stuff for him when it was out of his reach.

Kakashi briefly closes his eyes and chastises himself. This is his dream, he doesn't have to think about Sakumo. Not now and not ever, if he can help it.

[Profile

Name : Hatake Kakashi

Age : 6

Race : Human

Affiliation : Konoha

Rank : Chunin

Level : 23

Title : -

Statistics :

Strength : 7

Agility : 19

Speed : 25

Intelligence : 62

Wisdom : 4

Charisma : -18 (+10) : -8

remaining points : 0

Status effect :

Genius : -20 Charisma, +50 Intelligence

Mysterious : +10 Charisma, people might want to discover your secret]

Reading this, he quickly understands that his so-called "statistics" are supposed to be an assessment of some of his physical and mental abilities but, considering that he has no frame of reference and no way to know if they are high or actually rather low, he isn't sure what to think about them. The only thing he can definitely think is that he is apparently not a charismatic person.

Well, he always did have some trouble making friends with the other kids. Maybe that's why.

He ends up looking over his skills, that are pretty much exactly as he expected them to be, with a fairly full [Shinobi Skills] and a much smaller [Civilian Skills] which, curiously, contains a level 2 out of 20 cooking skill. He does know how to boil an egg and cook a steak, but his culinary talent doesn't go much further and he wouldn't consider himself especially "skilled" in the kitchen, this dream is definitely strange.

Kakashi would probably have spent more time reading what was written in the other boxes, but he doesn't have the time. Just as he was reaching for the [Inventory] rectangle, his vision starts to blur and, suddenly, he's laying in his bed and there are birds chirping at his window.

He stays still for a moment, listening to the low whistling of the wind passing through the trees in the garden and smelling the faint metallic smell coming from the room right next to his own. By reflex, he tries to find the sound of someone's breath, slow and sleepy, but only the creaking of the floor and the walls answer him and he has to come to the conclusion that this is his reality now.

His father is dead.

He's an orphan.

He's alone.

No one will take care of him now, he has to deal with things on his own like the adult he has become when he had passed the genin exam, a year earlier. He's not a kid anymore, he's a ninja.

Kakashi takes a deep breath and sits up, ready to go prepare himself for a long day of training and trying to forget just why exactly his chest is feeling so strange.

Then, he sees something.

Something blue.

Something bright.

Something that is hovering just above his eyes.

Chapter Text

It takes him a few weeks to get the hang of his new ability and it's only after reading the whole [Tutorial] section of the [Library] that he finally manages to understand what all the strange words and terms used in the rectangles mean and what he's supposed to do with them.

At first, he takes it as a rather strange reaction of his mind trying to cope with the truth of his father's death but, when it doesn't go away after a few days, he comes to the conclusion that he's either completely crazy, which would be sad considering he's still only six, or that he's actually able to see blue boxes that no one else seems able to detect.

It's only when he goes out again, one week after his father's death, that he realises that this, whatever it is, is real.

And that Sakumo has had it before him.

And now there he is, trying his chance a third time in the streets of Konoha, ready to test the limits of what seems to be some sort of Kekkei Genkai no one even knows the Hatake clan has. He isn't really confident in his ability of figuring all of it our by himself but, for now, he has no one to turns to, and he knows he's clever enough to at least understand the basics of his powers.

"What're you looking at, brat ?" growls a civilian, snapping him out of his thoughts.

The man must be about fifty of age, with thinning black hair and small beady eyes. Apparently fooled by Kakashi's casual attire -he's only wearing shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt-, he has not yet noticed he's talking to a shinobi, and a chunin at that. Even during wartime, civilians have always been afraid of the ninjas living with them. How can they not be ? With a few hand signs or even a simple punch, even the weakest of genin could kill them.

"Nothing," lies Kakashi calmly, because he doesn't want to get in trouble, "have a good day sir."

The man snorts and turns away from him. The young chunin watches as he resumes walking, seemingly still a little angry about his encounter with the Hatake.

Above his head, are a few shiny red lines of words.

[Saito Ryouta

Level 4

Civilian

Relationship : Neutral]

Since the first time he came out of his house, pushed by hunger and by his need to buy himself new shinobi supplies, Kakashi has figured out a few things about statistics and about the words written above a person's head. First of all, he has noticed that, while most civilians have levels below seven or eight, every shinobi has one above ten, with the jonin being around 60 or 70 and the chunin being at least at level 25. This makes him, of course, more than a bit annoyed that his own level is currently the same one as some genin. Strong genin, sure, but still genins.

He's a chunin not a genin dammit.

The second thing he remarks is that everyone, everyone, seems to have some sort of relationship statistic related to him. This is in fact the presence of this little line that makes him realise he isn't the first Hatake to have this strange gift. He still remembers the way his father's face fell when he met his teammates for the first time since their failed mission and how the man had kept insistantly looking above their head, staring at what he had thought, at the time, was only air.

While the civilians all have a [neutral] relationship with him, most shinobis have their relationship line colored in dark red and going from [Disliked] to outright [Hostile]. It seems that, even with his father dead, they can't forgive him and have to turn their anger towards someone else. Deep inside, he knows it's not his fault if these men and women are about to go to war again but he can't help but feel a bit depressed at how hated he seems to be in his own village.

However, he's a shinobi and shinobis are strong so he helds his head up high and trains twice as hard to make-up for Sakumo's failures. His father caused the disgrace of his family and he will redeem it, even if he dies trying.

He flinches as someone bumps quite violently into him and as a hand clenches around one of his shoulders. 

"Look where you're going Hatake." spits a chunin almost ten years older than him.

Mori Jyushiro, level 32, passes him by with a glare and hate burning in his eyes. Kakashi, only a level 23, young and alone, keeps his face still, clenches his fist very hard, hard enough to draw blood, and keeps on walking. He can do this. He's a ninja. He can do this.

By the time he reaches Training Ground 25, he's feeling both lonely and incredibly angry and he's pretty sure that he's going to unleash his strongest raiton jutsu on the next person that tries to call him out on anything. The only reason he doesn't run back to his home is that he has come out for something and that he has to see it through. Annoying shinobis aren't going to make him stop experimenting with his new abilities and, as long as he doesn't show that he's bothered by their constant whispering and insults, everything is going to be just fine.

"Ah, Hatake you're here."

The tone of the person speaking to him is completely blank but a quick look at the relationship line floating above their head is enough to tell Kakashi that he's still not wanted there, not really. He will have to try to make this short.

"You've got my stuff ?" asks the kunoichi he's working for with a frown.

He nods and slowly takes out the herbs he has been picking up in Training Ground 44 all morning as well as the small bottle of chakra ink the genin has asked him to get for her. Being given small tasks like this one to complete is something entirely new for him. It seems to be linked to his abilities and he has been trying to see what would happen were he to complete one of these [Quests] for a few days now ...

He doesn't have to wait long to find out : as soon as the girl's fingers touch the herbs and the bottle, a rectangle pops up in the corner of his vision. He waits until he's out of the Training Ground and hidden by the shadow of the Hashirama trees around him to read what it says, curious as ever.

[Quest completed !

Gained : 30 Ryo

Gained : 200 exp

Sakamoto Hina : +10 Relationship]

Wait a minute ... he has gained ... money ?

Surprised, Kakashi opens his [Inventory] and discovers that he has, in fact, been given 30 Ryos despite Hina not handing any money to him. 30 Ryo is about the pay of a small D-Rank mission, which is more or less what he has been doing for the genin and it seems that his abilities, whatever they really are, consider that him finishing a similar task equates him gaining money through a mission.

But no. It can't be actual Ryos. There is no way his Kekkei Genkai, if this is indeed what it is, can do this to reality. No way ...

But, when he touches the little Ryo symbol in his inventory, he manages to take out his newly acquired three bills of ten and he feels almost lightheaded at all the opportunities that suddenly opened before him. His power is giving him cash, real cash, from doing unofficial missions. These [Quests] are worth much more than he thought at first.

It takes him a few minutes of breathing slowly and of staring at the bark of the tree he's leaning against before he feels calm enough to go back in town. Even if he's supposed to be a strong, unshakable ninja, even he can't help but be overhelmed by the fact that his Kekkei Genkai can apparently break reality. Maybe that is the reason why his father managed to keep their, admittedly gigantic, family estate despite them being only two and living off the salary of a shinobi which, while quite impressive, wasn't anywhere near what was needed to keep such a play functionnal.

Kakashi tries very very hard not to grin like an idiot as he walks home because this is just so awesome. He has a superpower that can give him money and informations on anyone he wants and, for a moment, he forgets that his father has died a few weeks ago and he forgets that everyone in his village hates him. For now, all that counts is that he has something going for him and that he has all the money he wants to buy anything he wants.

Then, he remembers that he's a shinobi and an adult and that his money would be better spent buying fighting tools than children's toys. In the end, he makes a deal with himself and only buys a few construction toys to train his creativity along with new kunais and shurikens.

Not spending the rest his newly acquired thirty ryos on candies is a hard fight but one he ends up winning because sugar is bad for the health and he has to be healthy if he wants to be strong.

Chapter Text

When Minato-sensei returns, there is a yellow [Relationship : Beloved] floating above his head and, for a few seconds, Kakashi feels as if everything is going to be alright.

They hug and he pulls away, embarrassed, after he remembers that adults and shinobis are not supposed to do this kind of things. Minato-sensei doesn't comment on it, though, and only smiles sadly before ruffling his hair and asking him if he wants to go train. Obviously, he says yes. For some reason, it's hard to keep himself from grabbing the man's hand as they walk to their attributed Training Ground. Once they get there, he quickly walks away from him, a bit confused by how vulnerable he's currently feeling.

They start sparring.

His teacher is level 87 and so much more stronger than him that it almost becomes ridiculously obvious just how much he's holding back when they fight. A single look at his statistics show that is [Speed] is well above 60 and that his [Agility] is more than six time higher than Kakashi's. But still, he keeps restraining himself and, with a few tries and a lot of determination, the kid manages to land a few hits on him.

By the time they are done mock-fighting, the young chunin is left panting, layng on his back in the grass and staring at the sky and at his newly acquired level 25 before Minato's head come into focus in front of him and he sits up, cheeks reddening as he realises that this is definitely not a very professionnal way of behaving himself.

"Sorry." he mutters.

The jonin frowns but doesn't say anything, helping him up silently and watching him with concern when he think he isn't looking, which is a bit annoying.

Kakashi is about to ask him what, exactly, is wrong with him before the blond suddenly asks :

"Do you want to come live with me ?"

The boy closes his mouth with an audible snap and takes a step back. His irritation bleeds out of him slowly until he's left only with surprise and the everpresent emptiness that just won't seem to leave him alone.

His hands are shaking. He closes them into fists. Hides them behind his back.

"Kakashi ? Are you alright ?"

Minato-sensei's voice is calm and gentle and this, above everything else, makes Kakashi want to cry. He doesn't like to be coddled, hates to be treated like a child when he's an adult, when he's been one for more than a year now.

But ...

But it's the first time anyone has ever said anything nice to him since his father died and he can't help but feel so stupidly happy that someone has noticed, that someone is caring for him ... That Minato's words are yellow and not dark red, like every other shinobi he's talked to these past few weeks.

No.

He's a shinobi, shinobis aren't supposed to be so sentimental. He isn't some kind of little crybaby, he can ... He can go through this. He just has to do like he has always done. As long as his emotions don't show on his face, it's alright, it's fine ...

He's fine.

"Oh no I'm so sorry!" yelps Minato, crouching down in front of him. "Please don't cry.

- I'm not crying !" he sobs.

He's pulled in a hug again but, this time, he's prepared and he pushes his sensei away. Violently.

"I'm an adult !" he screams, "Don't treat me like ... like a child !"

Minato opens his mouth but, before he can say anything, Kakashi turns around and run. He doesn't want to speak to him, doesn't want to see him, doesn't want to see anyone. He shouldn't have to be comforted like this. Being around his sensei makes him weak, makes him unworthy of being a shinobi, just like his father has been before him. He has to surpass the White Fang, he doesn't have the time for things like feelings and sentimentality.

He locks himself away in his house and washes his face with cold water, erasing all trace of the tears that had fallen from his eyes. His chest still heaves with the occasionnal sob but, apart from them and for the slight redness of his eyes, there is no visible clue of what just happened, which makes him feel a little better.

He's still angry with himself, though, and with his inability to act like a proper shinobi. He knows he isn't being fair but he can't help thinking that this is all Minato-sensei's fault. Until the man came back from his mission, everything was going perfectly fine and now, as soon as he's back into Konoha, Kakashi becomes unable to deal with the emotions he has had under perfect control before.

Frustrated, he punches his mirror and grimaces when his fist meets an unyielding, unbreakable surface. At the beginning of his downfall, his father had sealed all of the mirrors and reflective surfaces in the house to keep himself from breaking them after Kakashi had accidentally stepped on broken glass one night. The chunin, not knowing anything about Seals that weren't meant to explode or to hold his stuff when he went away on a mission, has not yet figured out how to take them off. He thinks that, with some time, he can manage it.

Until then, rubbing his hand and glaring at his own face in the mirror seems like an appropriate answer to the situation. He's six, not three. He's not a baby and yet ... He's completely out of control.

There is a noise downstairs, coming from the front door and he instinctively grabs a kunai. Even before the incident, no one entered their house without his father's express autorisation and after all that happened to him, he's absolutely sure that the first person to try it is not going to be friendly ... Which doesn't bother him at all, he knows exactly how to defend himself.

When he tries to plunges his weapon into his eyes, Minato simply raises his eyebrows, steps on the side, grabs his arm and holds him in the air, as if he is nothing more than a mere toy which, considering the fact that the jonin is level 87, is probably the case. To him, Kakashi is nothing more than an insect.

"Sorry," says Minato-sensei, not sounding sorry at all, "I didn't want to scare you.

- You didn't scare me, protests Kakashi, because he can.

- Still, I'm sor-

- You didn't scare me !"

His teacher sends him an unimpressed look which Kakashi is proud enough not to feel guilty about. Instead, he puffs his cheeks and glances away, clearly the picture of maturity and calm, as every shinobi like him should be.

"Don't sulk.

- I'm not sulking !"

Minato shrugs with the arm that is not currently holding him above the ground before gently setting him down and ruffling his hair, looking a little bit amused at their current situation. Then, his eyes grows wide and his expression becomes solemn. The man draws himself up to his full height and, his gaze full of worry and seriousness, asks :

"Do you want to come to dinner to my house tonight ?"

Kakashi frowns, still pouting, but considers it.

He has not talked to anyone outside of the shopkeepers ever since his father died and has been shunned from his fellow ninjas a lot earlier than that. Plus, even if he tries not to show it too much, he did miss Minato while he was away and eating with someone instead of spending his dinner alone in his big house seems so nice.

A ninja has to be strong but, maybe, going at Minato's isn't necesseraly weak. The man is his jounin-sensei after all, it's normal for them to spend some time together.

"Alright." He says.

The jounin brightens up and his smile is so genuine Kakashi can't help but smile a little in return.

[Namikaze Minato : +50 Relationship]

The yellow line beneath the jounin's name seems to shine just a little bit brighter.

Chapter Text

"Where the hell did you get this Bakakashi ?"

Kakashi looks up from his Oyako-don and smiles sweetly at Obito, enjoying the little twitch of the other boy's eyebrow and the way his teeth grind against each other. From his left, Rin sends him a worried look and, sitting a few meters away, Minato-sensei sighs loudly.

"What are you talking about Obito ?" he asks in an innocent tone, before taking a bite of his very delicious and very warm homemade meal.

The Uchiha's stomach rumbles loudly and the black-haired boy throws a dejected look at the ration bar in his hand before turning towards Kakashi once again, frowning heavily.

He's so easy to rile up, it's almost as if he's asking for it.

"You know what I'm talking about ! How come you get this and we get this ?"

With every word coming out of his mouth, Obito waves around his ration bar, his movements more and more violent until he's almost hitting Rin with them. The girls hisses at him and wacks him on the back of his head. The blow is enough to make the chunin drop his bar and they all watch with a varying level of interest as it slips through the cracks in the rocks they are sitting on and falls down the side of the cliff, out of reach.

Minato sighs again.

"Nooooo ! Look at what you've done Bakakashi!

- I didn't do anything." protests Kakashi, a bit offended because, this time, he really didn't.

For an incredibly brief moment, the pale yellow of Obito's relationship status flashes red but, by now, the white-haired boy is too used to it to have any other reaction than slowly raising one of his eyebrows (an expression he has practiced for a long time in front of one of is many undestructible mirrors) and, just as slowly, taking another bite of his meal.

"I hate you." states the Uchiha but, this time, his relationship stays yellow.

However, while Kakashi himself is able to see that his teammate isn't that angry at him, it isn't the case for Rin and the poor girl always had the tendency to feel guilty whenever her two friends started fighting. Once again, she sighs, looking displeased but still resigned to try and fix the situation because that's what she does and ...

And, for some reason, Kakashi doesn't want her to bother this time.

Maybe it's because he knows she's tired, sees it from her low [CK] pool and her less than stellar [HP], or also it's because of Obito's own low health bar and chakra. Maybe it's just that he packed too much food in his [Inventory] and he has to find a way to get rid of it. Whatever the reason is, the result is the same.

He clears his throat and helds his bowl of rice, eggs and meat towards Obito.

Everybody stares at him, he feels his cheeks heat up.

"Take it, he snaps, I don't have all day."

Slowly, a smile starts to appear on both Obito's and Rin's face and he knows he's screwed.

[Uchiha Obito : +50 Relationship]

[Nohara Rin : +50 Relationship]

Completely screwed. If he keeps acting like this, they might want to become his friends.

He doesn't need friends, all he needs is allies, just like the good shinobi he is.

Obito's relationship status turns from [Teammate] to [Friend] and he groans.

He knew their first A-Rank as a team wasn't going to go well, this is just proving him right.

oOo

They have been on Minato's team for almost one year now, one year spent between the village, their training and the battlefield. One year of growing stronger together and one year of taking missions after missions, all C and B-ranked with barely enough time between them for Obito and Rin to finally take the chunin exam and join Kakashi, who already had the rank. During that time, they formed a bond, not a very friendly one, but a bond nonetheless. Running away from A-ranked shinobis together did that to a group of person. Plus, when you were nine years old (like Kakashi) or eleven (like the other two), it was hard not to grow attached to the other kids you spent most of your time with.

So, by the time they took their first A-rank mission together, the members of Team Seven knew each other fairly well and, despite what they pretended when they were around each other (at least for the two boys), liked each other quite a lot. Of course, Kakashi knew that Obito didn't hate him because of his yellow relationship, but that didn't mean he didn't stop acting like the other boy was his worst enemy either.

Minato-sensei often laughed at him because of that but he didn't mind it. It was not like the older man could understand him anyway.

But now, Obito's status has changed and he apparently considers him as a friend, which is something that only ever happened with Gai, and the guy is probably the most openly affectionate shinobi Kakashi knows. This is completely unexpected and very worrying so, understably, the nine years old decides it's best to leave it alone for the time being and then, once he's back in Konoha, ignore it and pretend like everything is normal.

It has worked for most of his relationship problems until now so it probably will for this one too.

"Doton!" Yells Rin, jumping away from an earth spike that would have impalled her had she not moved. "Kakashi!"

The boy snaps away from his daydreaming and focuses back into what is happening around him, before nodding in understanding and quickly flowling through handseals, readying his techniques.

Minato-sensei left them a few hours ago to go take out their target, leaving them behind to serve as bait. They had all agreed to the plan at the time, thinking that they could easily take out whatever Earth Country could send at them but, now, Kakashi can't help but doubt a little in their ability to finish this fight quickly.

Kubo Arashi, level 71, easily dodges the lighting ball he sends his way, before twisting in the air and riposting with a few earth jutsus of his own. Not deterred and counting on the other two to keep his back covered, Kakashi slams his hands on the ground, pushing electricity into it and watching as the doton jutsus crumble and fail.

But the other ninja isn't level 71 for nothing and, as the white-haired boy finishes to deflect his attack, he springs into action and rushes towards him, wakizashi drawn and wow Kakashi didn't know Iwa still trained weapon masters.

Obito, level 45 and ridiculously overpowered in this fight, ump in front of the attack and meets the blade with a kunai of his own before twisting away just in time for his younger teammate to slam his left foot right into the Iwa's jounin solar plexus. As soon as the chunin's blow connect, the older shinobi's body explodes in a cloud of dust that makes them both groan.

"We aren't playing fucking hide and seek! yells Obito, frustrated.

- Language." says Kakashi, because he likes messing with him like that.

The Uchiha doesn't even have the time to make a rude gesture at him before the Iwa jounin is on them again, much faster than them both.

His [Speed] is 47, a little above Kakashi's 43 but it seems that even four points can make a difference. He reacts too slowly and, soon, a fist is burried in Obito's upper body, which makes him curse and jump away as quickly as he can.

The shadow clone with the face of the dark-haired boy explodes.

The enemy nin curses but, when he comes out of the cloud of smoke, he's mostly unarmed. If it wasn't for the significant drop in his [HP], the chunin would have thought he had managed to dodge the trap.

Kubo Arashi

Level 71

Iwa Jounin

[Relationship : Enemy]

HP : 340/520

CK : 122/230

"Damn, I hope he doesn't have any backup, mutters Obito, dropping next to him in a crouch, a kunaï in one hand and three shurikens in the other.

- Please don't jinx us," is Kakashi's only answer.

He jinxes them.

Just as the bright yellow of Rin's informations starts to move towards the position they have previously defined as the best one for her to start her assault once she had managed to get away from the fight, two other red names start approaching their position and, for some reason, Kakashi only feel a little irritated at that.

After all, if most of their C-ranks ended up becoming B-ranks and if all of their B-ranks were actually closer to A-rank level why shouldn't their first A-rank become a full-blown S-rank ?

"Two other jounin approaching," he sighs.

Obito stares at him.

"Are you kidding me ?" he asks before yelping and barely dodging a boulder that would have taken out his head had he not crouched in time.

Kakashi sighs again and, with a single thought, opens his [Inventory] to take out his latest creation, a beautiful little weapon he has gotten from mixing the [Hatake Chakra Sword] and the [Prime Quality Katana] Minato has gifted him for his birthday. The result is a longer, curved chakra sword with smoother edges and a frankly much prettier appearance. It also has the highest damage out of any of his weapons, so it's probably a good idea to use it now, even if he has never tested it before.

He blocks the wakizashi with his own blade, that his Kekkei Genkai, much to his distaste, seems to have dubbed [White Fang], and grins viciously at the surprise in the jounin's eyes.

He's clearly not going to last in a fight against a weapon master, he's still a pretty bad swordsman, but at least he has the advantage of surprise, which means he might still land a blow. With renewed energy, he throws himself into the fight, using all of the little sword-fighting experience he has to try and not die there.

If they manage to kill the first jounin before the other two arrive, they might have a chance of surviving.

"You're fucking crazy!" swears Obito from behind him.

Just as his teammates finishes his sentence, the telltale hiss of senbons flying through the air makes the Iwa nin look away from him for one second, which he uses by trying to stab him. This doesn't work of course, the jounin dodges both his attack and Rin's surprise senbons by jumping as fast as he can to the right.

And that's when Obito takes action.

The giant fireball of the Uchiha Clan's most famous jutsus catches the Iwa nin just as he was regaining his balance and, this time, he doesn't manage to avoid the blow. Kakashi watches, satisfied, as his [HP] drop from [122/530] to [80/530], then 60, then 50 ...

He doesn't leave anything to chance and jumps through the fire to plunge his chakra sword into the jounin's face, probably cutting his brain in half in the same movement.

[Enemy defeated : Kubo Arashi

Gained : +200 Infamy in Iwa

Gained : +10 000 EXP

Gained : Scroll Doton – Earth canon (B)]

[You have gained one level]

[You have gained one level]

[You have gained one level]

Kakashi turns his head towards Obito, who gives him a thumbs up, but they haven't got much more time to waste. From what he can see, the other jounins are seconds away from entering the battleground, they have to act, and fast.

As quickly as he can, he looks at both of their status, trying to come up with a plan of action.

Uchiha Obito

Level 45

Konoha chunin

[Relationship : Friend]

HP : 80/340

CK : 32/115

Hatake Kakashi

Level 54

HP : 140/270

CK : 25/88

Out of the both of them, he's the one with the more [HP] left and Obito is the one with the more chakra. From the corner of his eyes, he can see Rin, still hidden and ready to unleash a genjutsu or a ninjutsu should they need her to do so. Her staying hidden his vital for their survival, having an unexpected ally drop out on the enemy during a fight often is what can keep a shinobi alive, and all three of the members of Team Seven intend to survive this fight.

They promised to Minato-sensei that they would win this after all, and it doesn't matter that they expected three chunins like them and not three jounins. They're still going to kick ass, they're just awesome like that.

At least that's what Obito tells him when he informs him that he's going to be go fight the jounins in close range and expects him to cover him with ninjutsu.

As the Iwa shinobis enters the area, Kakashi quickly dumps the nine points he just gained from leveling up into his [Speed] stat, which is something he usually avoids to do because such a gap in ability is usually very noticable, and, with his [Speed] now over 50, which is approximatively the level of the strongest jounins and Anbus in his village, he is confident that he's at least going to be able to dodge most of the attacks coming at him.

At least he hopes so.

The two jounins that drop in the clearing in front of them are level 62 and level 65 respectively and they are both full on [HP] and on [CK]. When they see the mutilated corpse of their superior, their eyes cloud over with rage and, for one brief instant, the killing intent they emit is so strong that Kakashi forgets how to breathe.

Then Obito swallows a soldier pill and Gokakyu no jutsus them in the face.

A Gokakyu costs about 15 chakra, and a soldier pill restores 100 points of it. The Uchiha should have just enough energy to do four other big techniques like this one before having to fall back. Taking another pill in his state would be ill-advised. Even Kakashi, famous around Konoha for his complete inhability to take care of himself, knows that.

Not wasting any second of the precious time his teammate has gained him, the young chunin uses all of his newly enhanced speed to shunshin in front of one of the two jounin, the lower level one, while she's still dodging the fireball and try to impale her with his chakra sword. The woman twists in the air and manages to avoid most of his blow, his white blade still grazing her arm and part of her torso. Not wanting to be caught mid-air because he couldn't pull away from his momentum, the child kawarimis himself with his teammate.

Luckily for both of them, it's a move they have practiced lots of time before because, as Obito used to say (and Kakashi used to think but never admitted), it was really super cool and, as Kakashi himself said to justify himself, it could be really useful.

The truth is that it's both really useful and super cool and, when the Iwa kunoichi ends up facing a fire breathing Uchiha instead of the easily strikable Hatake kid, she doesn't have the time to react and ends up ... crispy.

"Get a grip Yuno!" hisses the other Iwa jounin, apparently not concerned that his partner is currently on fire, before high kicking Kakashi in the face.

The blow is incredibly strong and the chunin flies for a few meters before landing on the ground hard and rolling for a few more meters.

Well, there goes 30 of his [HP], he has only 110 left.

A knees lands in his stomach and now he can make it 90.

"Get off Bakakashi you fuck-..."

Both the male Iwa jounin and Kakashi look as Obito gets snatched in the middle of flying to his teammate's rescue and is violently slammed into the ground, losing 40 more of his [HP] and probably breaking a few bones in the process. Yuno stands above him, victorious, and with most of her hair burned away.

Kakashi's own opponent turns back towards him and smiles sweetly, viciously, no doubt revelling in their victory and about to taunt him mercilessly.

Then a jet of water hits him square in the face.

"What the ...

- Get off my teammates you psycho dirt bastards !" screams Rin before slamming her hand into the ground and summoning a two-meters high wave that goes crashing right into the two Iwa ninjas.

Kakashi sees his chance and stands up immediatly.

"Obito ! Kawarimi !" he yells.

Thankfully, the other boy understands what he means and moves away, landing next to Rin who doesn't waste any time and starts treating his more severe injuries. Feeling a bit calmer now that he knows his ... friend is out of the danger zone, the white-haired chunin goes through one more sets of handsigns and, once more, summons lightning to his fingertips.

He slams his hands into the wet ground.

There is a buzz.

Everything goes black.

-

When he wakes up, he's proped up against a tree and Rin is standing above him, looking tired but calmer than he has ever seen her. Still a bit confused as to what exactly had happened, he tries to sit up and maybe even stand but fails utterly and only succeeds in faceplanting on the ground.

"Hey! Bakakashi is awake!"

There are hands on his shoulders and, suddenly, he's sitting again and his face is burried in Uchiha Obito's neck. It takes him a rather long time to come to the conclusion that he's being hugged, which totally explains why he doesn't try to pull away earlier, and, when he finally does try to free himself, it's only for him to get smothered again, by Rin this time.

He really, really doesn't want to admit it but it feels kind of nice, being hugged by someone other than Minato.

"We totally killed them," Obito informs him once he and Rin are done trying to strangle him with affection, "like we beat the shit out of them."

He blinks and yes, when he looks up he has indeed gained another level and even more Iwa infamy and, now that he looks at it, both of his teammates seem to have higher levels too, which is strange since everyone except him seems to only level up when they gain statistics points naturally, unlike Kakashi who does the opposite and gains points when he levels up.

A rapid check of their status teaches him that they have both gained five points in [Wisdom] and he feels a bit disturbed at the idea that Obito, with his 16 in [Wisdom], is now above his own rather low score of 13. As for Rin, well the girl has always been a bit more perceptive than the both of them and now stands at a comfortable 26. Good for her.

"We defeated three jounins," intervenes said girl with a bright smile on her face, "three ! Can you believe it ?

- Not really ... he mutters, still a bit dazed.

- Hey I would have thought that you, of all people, would have been more confident than that."

He frowns at Obito but doesn't find it in himself to glare at him. And it's as he is looking at him that he notices that something feels ... off about the other boy. And it's not the increase in [Wisdom], it's something else, something about the way he holds himself, about the way he moves, about the way he looks at the world ...

Looks at the world ...

"Your sharingan !" gasps Kakashi.

It's Obito's turn to frown.

"Seriously ? Godammit Kakashi, I wanted it to be a surprise."

Then he drops all pretense of being irritated and his face breaks into a big goofy smile before his eyes slowly turn to red and his pupils are replaced by two slowly swirling tomoes.

Usually, he would not have bothered to congratulate his teammate but, this time, it's something so important, so integral to who he is that Kakashi feels obligated to force a smile and tell him he did a good job. And if the bright gold of Obito's relationship status influences his decision, well that's his problem and no one else's.

In another time, another world, the three teammates would have trusted each other less. None of them had the ability to see what the others really thought of them and so they all kept thinking that the others didn't like them. As a result, their teamwork during the fight against the Iwa jounin was substandard and they ended up getting kidnapped, which only served in heightening the tensions between them.

They could have come out of this trial feeling unsure about their abilities, Obito without his Sharingan, Kakashi even more closed-off than usual and Rin feeling useless and loss.

As it is however, Kakashi knows that his teammates trust and like him and he's starting to do the same, Obito has unlocked his family's Kekkei Genkai at a reasonnable age and not late like he could have and Rin has showed to her boys that she too could be a badass.

They come out of their fight proud of themselves and confident in their teamwork and fighting abilities, ready to try out new tactics and new ways of fighting together.

The Team Seven Minato meets with in this universe is different from the one the other Minato would have met in the universe that could have been, this version is stronger, happier and stands together with pride and happinness.

Two years later, all three members of the team are recommended for the jounin exam.
When they go, they go together.

Chapter Text

One week before the jounin exam, Kakashi invites his teammates to his house for the first time. They all know how important this seemingly unimportant decision is to him and to their relationship but no one is clumsy enough to mention it in front of him. The other two chunins accept, of course and, when they show up, the golden words above their head glow brighter than ever before.

"I brought cake ! says Obito, happier than ever, showing off his disastrous attempt at baking as if it was a work of art and not a strange brown blob that smells faintly of chocolate, tomato and curry.

- I'm not sure if I want to eat it, answers Kakashi, honest like he always is.

- I'll eat it", smiles Rin, even though it's clear by the look in her eyes that she would rather die than eat this.

The Uchiha thanks her, glares at his host and then enters the house without waiting for said host to get out of the entrance, which results in them bumping into each other rather awkwardly and in Kakashi quickly scrambling backwards to let him in.

"You deserve this, Obito tells him when he notice a bit of the chocolate-curry blob has landed on the other boy's shirt, you insulted my food.

- Maybe I'm just allergic to chocolate.

- You are so not allergic to chocolate, reacts Rin, entering the house as well. Don't lie Kakashi.

- Yeah Kakashi, don't lie.

- Well then maybe I'm allergic to curry."

Obito frowns.

"I didn't put curry in this."

Rin and Kakashi exchange a worried glance that doesn't go unnoticed by the Uchiha. The older boy glares at the both of them before stomping off to what he probably assumes is the kitchen (but is actually a bathroom), muttering about 'ungrateful brats' and 'white-haired asshole' all the way there.

His two younger friends end up standing silently in the entrance hall, waiting for him to realises his mistake and definitely not giggling when he comes back a few minutes later, his face red and his chocolate and not-curry blob still held tight against his chest.

They banter a bit more before the youngest of the three finally leads them to the kitchen and to the dining room, in which he has prepared them a dinner. The fact that Kakashi has cooked himself their meal is a surprise to neither of his friends and he knows it. While he might once upon a time have kept his love for cooking secret, it's no longer the case, at least not when it comes to Team Seven.

In truth, his passion for making up his own meals didn't start as a hobby or even as something he was curious about. It was purely practical and started once he found out that, unlike objects, food he mixed in his [Inventory] recquired some skill to turn out succesful: while he had had no blacksmith training to make his [White Fang], he could not for the life of him mix a correct meal together, everything he tried to combine ended up being disgusting and ugly.

Once he found out that homemade food could give some bonus status effect on [CK] and [HP], he had found his reason to start learning how to cook and, ever since he was seven years old, he had been practicing in the kitchen. By now, his [Cooking Skill] is the only one of his [Civilian Skills] that is really leveled up, coming at a 15/20, which he thinks is quite impressive for a boy his age.

Now, cooking is something him and Rin often bond over, the kunoichi being at a level 6 in her own [Cooking Skill], and it's also a hobby Obito keeps trying, and failing, to be a part of.

At least his attempts are funny.

They eat and, for the first time since many many years, the Hatake household is full of laughter, friendly banter and chatter. For one evening, they forget about the stress of their upcoming exam and talk about everything and nothing, feeling blessed that they have the friends that they have.

By the end of the night, Kakashi has revealed to them what he thinks is his Kekkei Genkai and Obito has confessed to liking both girls and boys, to which Rin answers by laughing that it's normal and that she feels the same way.

He, himself, is way to young to think about this kind of things so he just shrugs and thinks about other things when they talk about it and focuses back on the conversation once they reach the part where he's supposed to explain his strange abilities. Curiously, both of his friends are easily convinced by his explanations, which is probably due to the fact that, as strange as it might seem to him, they do trust him and trust his judgement.

They finish the night by talking about the exams and about their fear of it. Really, Kakashi doesn't think any of them have any worry to have. They are all above the levels of the common jounin, which is around 60, and they all have specialities along with their ninjutsu abilities, a shinobi art they all excel at.

Honestly, Rin is terrifying with her water/lightning combination and she uses poison and medical ninjutsu in a frankly scary way. As for Obito, he uses both fire and wind, which is something more than impressive to face, and has both his fully-developed sharingan and a solid mastery of taijutsu to boot. He, himself, is not any less strong since he has the ability to wield three different elements, lightning, fire and earth, and is recognised by many as a master swordsman in the making. All three of them are good at stealth and infiltration and, with their many years as Namikaze Minato's unofficial support team, they have more experience under their belt than many shinobis twice their age. If anyone passes the exams, it's them.

He tells them as such and they both look at each other before agreeing and telling him that all of this doesn't make the exams less stressful. To this, he can say nothing so he lets himself be hugged and tries to do his best to reconfort his friends.

As both Rin and Obito fall asleep, he remembers how, five years ago, in the very same house they are all in, he lost all hope of ever living a happy existence after the death of his father. And there he is now, damaged and weird but somehow still loved and trusted. He has two best friends and an overprotective sensei and he might be the last one of his blood family but, strangely, he doesn't really feel as if he really is without a family.

[You have recieved a new Achievement !]

[Achievement unlocked : Found Family

If you can't have a family, then make one. Love it, cherish it and you might get this achievement.

Reward : Title – Loved (+20 Charisma, +100 HP)]

He smiles and closes his eyes.

He's happy.

Chapter Text

Their little bubble of happiness bursts in the worst possible way.

They are all jounin by now, Kakashi is fourteen years old and the others are sixteen and dating. They also think he doesn't notice the way they stare at him sometimes but he's not stupid and he knows as soon as their relationship status changes from golden to pinked and the mention [Best friend] is replaced by [Interested] that something is going on and that, sooner or later, they are going to ask something he's not sure he's ready to give them yet. For now, though, they leave him alone and keep treating him as they always have : like he's their closest friend.

All three of them are hailed as the new Sannin by more than the Konoha force. Rin is A-ranked in the Kumo, Kiri and Suna Bingo-Book and has achieved S-rank in the Kumo one, Obito is, as well, a A-ranked ninja and Kakashi himself is only one Kumo S-rank away from achieving an international S-ranking.

And that's individually. When they're together, they have been assigned a S+ rank and a "flee on sight" of rder that had only previously been achieved by their mentor and sensei, the new Yondaime Hokage of Konoha.

All in all, they are a force to be reckoned with and are often presented as the symbol of the Hidden Leaf's rising power. When they are together, nothing can stop them, everybody knows that.

Except they're not together all the time.

Because, despite the fact that they are truly terrifying on the battlefield when they work as a team, they all have different abilities. Obito is a commander and a stratege, the head of a big portion of Konoha's military, right under the jounin commander, Kakashi is one of Anbu's most talented assassins and an amazing spy and Rin is the best combat medic since Senju Tsunade. They are bound to get separated but, when they do, they know that they will always get back together eventually.

Until they don't.

Until Rin gets kidnapped.

The Yondaime tries to stop them from going to rescue her, arguing that it may be a trap and that they are safer waiting for an Anbu operation to be deployed, to which Obito answers, quite eloquently, "fuck off", a statement Kakashi couldn't agree more with.

[New Quest !

Save Rin !

Rewards : ?????]

In the end they get an unofficial authorisation to go look for their best friend and immediatly hit the road, one of them running a little faster than the other because [Speed] has always been Kakashi's best ability and he intends to make full use of it.

They find Rin three days after she got kidnapped and the way they do almost breaks both of their hearts.

It happens in an empty field next to a forest and at the frontier between Fire Country and Water Country. Kakashi sees a flash of pink, small and almost unnoticeable, somewhere in front of him and he dumps all the five points he has saved into his [Speed], bringing it at a total of 70, above even Minato-sensei's score, and runs.

He lands in the clearing, his [White Fang] drawn and ready to strike and takes a deep breath when he realises what he has in front of him.

There is about twenty Kiri shinobis posted around his Rin, all of them wearing Anbu outfits and armed to the teeth. However, it's not their presence that worries him, despite the fact that they are all well above the level 70, when he is only a level 85 and probably not strong enough to hold them all back if they decide to attack him at once.

No.

What worries him is Rin.

Or, more specifically, the things that are written above her head.

Nohara Rin

Level 82

Sanbi Jinchuriki

Relationship : Interested

HP : 30/600

CK : 12067/450

He stares at the little [Jinchuriki], stares at the way her chakra levels seem so, so wrong and look as if someone has just stuffed an ungodly ammount of chakra in her system and trapped it there ... which is probably exactly what happened because, as he has just read, Rin is now a jinchuriki.

The only other receptacle Kakashi knows is Kushina, Minato-sensei's wife, and she has had her bijuu inside of her since she was a little kid. Implanting demons into adults, even young ones, is supposed to be extremely dangerous and very often deadly, and Rin only has thirty [HP] left ...

"That's the fucking White Blade." whispers someone, fearfully when his presence is noticed.

But fear doesn't seem to be the main sentiment amongst the Kiri nin and, even if a few of them look reluctant at the idea of facing him, others are now smirking and looking at him with something that curiously ressembles ... glee ?

He scans their description furiously, but comes up empty-handed, the only informations he gets out of it being their ninjutsu specialisations and the fact that a few of them were trained under the Swordsmen of the mist. Nothing about Rin, nothing about why they are smiling like that. Nothing about the reason they are looking like they have won when they haven't even killed him yet.

And why isn't Rin doing anything ?

He doesn't see any containment seal on her but still, she isn't moving. Perhaps they did something to the beast's chakra ?

In the end he doesn't have the time to ask himself more question because he suddenly gets jumped by half a dozen Kiri elite shinobis and has to focus all of his attention to not dying here and there.

Now Kakashi is undoubtly the strongest fourteen years old to live in the world, he's an S-ranked shinobi and only the Sandaime, the Yondaime and Jiraiya of the Sannin have a higher level than him in the village, but he isn't as strong as his former teacher, isn't on the level of a kage just yet and, while Minato would have had no trouble getting rid of the Anbus, he struggles. Because he's young, because he's strong but he's not that strong.

The first one to get him does so after he finished beheading one of his opponents while trying to fend off three others. He doesn't see the blow coming, too focused on avoiding the fire, water and acid that is being spit at him and it's only Rin's warning cry that allows him to twist and dodge the sword that would have been plunged into his neck had he not avoided it.

Instead, the blade nicks his shoulder and, while it doesn't touch the artery, there is still quite a lot of blood that spurts out of his body. It hurts.

[HP : 770/840]

He has lived through worse though, through much much worse, so he carries on and grabs his attacker by the hair before slamming her into the ground and viciously infusing his hand with lighting chakra. Her brain fries instantly and it takes him a fraction of second to jump away, dodging a sword swipe that could have been lethal.

He lands in a crouch and, in the same movement, slams both of his hands in the ground, summoning a dozen spikes that the Anbus manage to avoid. He's fast enough, however, to catch a few of them mid-air and slice their throats while they are still moving around.

He gets blasted by a bullet of water, parries a second one and slice the last one in two before sending back a few lighting bullets of his own.

[HP : 680/840]

A few of his ribs have been broken by the bullet and it's a bit harder to move now but still, he keeps fighting. He has killed five of them now, all between level 70 and 81, and there is still fifteen of them left, all in prime physical condition and with nearly all of their chakra.

He shouldn't have left Obito behind, they are always stronger when they are working together.

One of the Anbus tries to use an ice attack on him but he melts it away with an overpowered Gokakyu, the kind his teammate loves to use. But he's tired by days of running and injured from the fight and, for a few seconds, he lets his guard down, breathing out fire without looking behind his shoulder to see who might be there.

They make him pay his mistake dearly.

There is a flash of pain, a wet sound, a gasp.

[HP : 45/840]

W... What ? When have his [HP] gotten so low ?

He lowers his gaze and there is the tip of a sword poking out from his stomach.

His vision is blurring.

No.

He can't lose consciousness now, Rin still needs him!

"Kakashi!" screams someone.

He falls to his knees and is surprised at how calm he's feeling. It reminds him a bit of how he had felt after his father's death. Calm, detached, unfeeling.

In shock.

God, he doesn't want to die. He knows that, as a shinobi, he's supposed to be walking the fine line between life and death on every single mission he takes but he doesn't want to die. Not now, not like this, not when he hasn't got the chance to tell either Rin nor Obito how he feels about them yet.

Not when he still haven't saved his friend.

Someone above him is laughing, cruel, mocking. His visions is foggy now, even the blue boxes, his constant companions for the last eight years of his life, have disappeared. There is nothing but the laugh, the laugh and the pain.

Then the sound stops.

The man, the Kiri nin that impaled him, stops laughing and, in place of his glee, there is a strange ripping noise and then a surge of malevolent chakra that makes him gag and try to crawl away desperately. He doesn't want to be there, doesn't understand what is happening.

[HP : 22/840]

It's still dropping why is it still dropping ? Why is he dying ? Where is Rin ? Is she safe ?

What's happening ?

Where is Obito?

Chapter Text

When Obito comes upon the scene of the battle, most of it is already over but he can still clearly distinguish what has happened there.

The first thing he sees, the only thing he sees at first really, is the motionless body of Kakashi, lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. For a time, he forgets how to breathe and he almost runs to his friend's side, willing to do everything, anything, to try and save him, to make sure he is alive.

Then, he sees her.

He sees Rin.

She's standing in the middle of what seems to be a pile of Kiri Anbus corpses, all in various state of dismemberment. Her body is drenched in blood, and it is not hers. Her eyes are as red as the liquid that covers her body and there is a red bubbling something around her that swirls around, the shape of two strange tails moving slowly behind her back.

He recognises it instantly.

He has heard about it before.

They ... They have turned her into a jinchuriki.

Rin turns towards him slowly, except it's not Rin, it's an enraged jinchuriki and, before he can blink, she's standing right in front of him and it's only his reflex to instinctively activate his sharigan that saves him from death by decapitation. He throws himself on the side and tries to roll away but, when he tries to stand up again, there she is, above him with her hands drawn back, ready to strike.

He rolls again and watches as the red chakra surrounding her body extends and destroy the ground he had been standing on a few seconds ago and keep on a path of destruction for a few meters. He barely has the time to breathe before Rin, or the thing that used to be Rin, turns toward him once again and lunges at him.

He manages to duck under her arm and strikes her with a powerful kick but, as soon as his boot touches her skin, he feels the corrupted chakra around her move and suddenly, his foot burns.

Obito doesn't scream but he does pull away and Kawarimis himself with one of the corpses laying around. His foot hurts as if it has been burnt and he understands quickly that he will not be able to hit the jinchuriki unless he wanted to get hurt by it.

Ninjutsu it is then.

Not bothering with any names, he goes through a few handsigns and summons a wave of quick fireballs that he throws at her and enhances with a powerful wind technique right after letting them go. The result is impressive and absolutely destructive but Rin doesn't even try to move away. Instead, she crosses her arms in front of her and the red chakra reassembles in a shield, protecting her from his assault.

Obito frowns.

This is not going to be easy.

He doesn't wait for her to come in close-range again and instead throw at her another jutsu, a concentrated blade of fire and, thanks the Sage, this time he manages to cut through her chakra armour and hurt her on the shoulder. Injuring Rin feels terrible but he knows it's the only way he can get both of his friends out of this situation alive.

Except maybe Kakashi is already dead.

No.

He can't think like this.

Kakashi is alive, he has to be.

After all, Rin and him didn't even have the time to ask him if he wanted to ...

His thoughts train is brutally stopped by Rin who, once again, appears in front of him and tries to murder him. This is is honestly getting rather old.

This time he gets rid of her by slamming a ridiculous amount of wind chakra in her face and sending her flying away. This technique would never have worked with his real friend but, as it turns out and luckily for him, the Bijuu possessing her isn't really that good at fighting in a human body. Small mercies, at least he's not fighting the beast form.

He can almost hear Kakashi mutters an exasperated "you jinxed us again" when Rin doesn't get up right away and, instead, starts twitching like crazy before throwing her head back and howling.

Alright.

This is probably not good.

Maybe it's time to bring out the summons then.

Out of the three of them, Obito is the only one who has a Fighting summoning contract, Kakashi having a Tracking one, with his Ninken, and Rin not bothering with one at all. Like all Uchihas before him, his summons are all felines and are supposed to closely match his personnality.

It's not really the case but he finds them cool anyways.

The ninjutsu master summons the Boss of the panther contract just as Rin finally snaps and goes into her Bijuu form.

Then, the real fight begins.

Obito works closely with his three biggest summons, using them to distract the demon in close range while he stays away and harrasses it with a barrage of overpowered fire attacks strengthened by equally overpowered wind ones. The sky lights up and flames roll beneath the clouds looking like an incandescent, deadly ocean. The Bijuu riposts by raising water from the forest ground and throwing it at him.

He doesn't tries to deflect it and Kawarimis away instead. He's not going to fight a tailed beast on sheer chakra power alone or he's going to get flattened, he has to be clever about this.

Damn, why can't Kakashi be here with him ? He's the best when it comes to battle plans and improvising a strategy.

The Sanbi roars and regroups its body in something ressembling a ball before launching towards him, destroying everytthing in its path. Obito uses a strong push of wind to throw himself to the side and avoid the attack. The Bijuu passes him, apparently not able to turn around quickly enough to try and catch the human, something said humain immediatly uses, using another combination of Katon and Fuuton on the creature's back.

The monster screeches in pain and the ground starts to shake. Obito lands on it in a crouch and forms a cross with four of his fingers.

Five Kage Bushin appear next to him.

"Ok boys, let's go." he tells them in a light tone, acting as if everything is fine when it's obviously not.

Sage, he hopes his teammates are alright.

"Let's get Rin out of this, Boss." says one of his clones.

He nods and raises his right hand, bringing his chakra up to flare inside of it, twisting it, reshaping it.

In front of him, the Bijuu has regained its balance and is now slowly advancing towards him, its red eyes full of rage and of bloodlust.

"Fuck off you shit turtle!" screams one of his clone, jumping on it and slamming a Rasengan in its face.

For one moment, Obito is amazed at how stupid his clones can be, then he remembers that this is exactly why he doesn't usually use them. That and the fact that, in addition to being exhausting to deal with, they are also exhausting to make. Still, he needs them and, right now, there is not much his fire can do against this gigantic water oriented demon, so he has to fall back on his sensei's trusty rasengan.

At least, the technique seems to be strong enough to pierce the creature's armor-like scales. His wayward clone's jutsu has taken off a good chunk of one of the large spikes near the beast's mouth. A few more strikes like this should weaken it enough to ...

To do what exactly ?

He doesn't know how to make Rin turn back to her normal state and he doesn't know what would happen if he manages to kill the Bijuu. He has no idea of what he's supposed to do.

"Boss stop thinking and attack!" reprimands a clone and he must really have gone far into his own head if he has to be called out by one of them.

He steadies himself and tries not to think too much about the implications of what he's doing. For now, he has to defeat the Bijuu, he'll figure out what to do after this fight is over. Calming himself with a few deep breaths, he focuses again and makes the orb he holds in his hand grow and grow until it becomes as big as a canon ball. He isn't able to use Minato-sensei's giant rasengans yet, but he's getting there

Obito jumps in the air and one of his clones jumps after him, twists, lifts his legs so that his creator can put his feet on them and push.

He flies towards his opponent at a breakneck speed and casts a small wind jutsu with his feet (and if Kakashi hears about that, he's never going to stop making fun of him) to propel himself above the Bijuu's head, uses another one to pushes his body faster, and brings his rasengan behind his back, arm tense, ready to strike.

The A-ranked jutsu collides with the beast's face and there is a terrible crunching noise. Obito bites his lower lips and tries to find a footing on the tailed beast neck. He doesn't want to die by falling from such a high point when he has just survived running up to a monster and hitting it with a close-range technique.

The Sanbi roars and tries to shake him off, the armored parts of its face creaking and oozing a thick black liquid that smells like ozone and fear. Obito groans and presses himself against the creature's body, making his skin sticky with chakra and holding on desperately. He can't allow himself to fall, Kakashi and Rin need him.

He knows he isn't going to be able to walk or even crawl up to the Sanbi's face and he would rather save his chakra -that is quickly diwndling with all the techniques he has been throwing around- for now. Instead of trying to stand up, he reaches into his weapon pouch and takes out two kunais that he infuses with a sliver of wind chakra.

He plunges one into the thick skin he's pressed against.

Then he plants the other one higher, hoisters himself up, uses the first one to pull himself up again, and he progresses like this, planting the weapons again and again and slowly climbing up the Sanbi's neck, heart beating loudly in his chest and a metallic taste in his mouth.

Rin ... please ...

But Rin isn't there anymore, she's gone and only the monster remains and, when he finally manages to reach its head, one of its gigantic, malevolent eyes focuses on him, watching him with disdain and hate.

"Rin!" he screams, because there isn't much more he can do, "Rin! Remember me please!"

The Bijuu throws its head back and roars, the sound so loud that Obito's hears start to ring and hurt and he almost loses his footing. The skin he's holding on is slippery, drenched in the black gooey liquid that came out of the monster's injury when he managed to hit it. He's nearly out of chakra now, he doesn't even have enough left to do a Rasengan ...

"Rin ..."

The Sanbi tries to bite him and he barely manages to avoid its teeth, slidding clumsily down its shoulder and catching himself as best as he can on one of its remaining shoulder spikes. He's exhausted but he isn't going to give up. Kakashi is counting on him.

Kakashi ...

Please be alive.

"Rin! It's me, Obito!"

There is no recognition in the Bijuu's eyes when it slams his shoulder on the ground, no doubt hoping to crush it. Only a quick fuuton jutsu saves him, allowing him to propel himself above the ground and above the body of the tailed beast. He is in a perfect position to strike but, unfortunately, he hasn't any chakra left.

He falls.

With his reserves so low, there is no way he can make the landing smooth, no way he can hope to come out of it uninjured. He'd be lucky if it doesn't kill him.

No.

No, no, no.

"RIN!" he screams.

Just as he's about to give up, he feels himself being grabbed by the collar of his shirt and, slowly, his fall stops. Surprised and not sure as to what just happened, he stays hanging there, trying to twist and look behind him to see what, who, has saved him.

He manages to do it and come eye to eye with the Sanbi.

His first reflex is to grab a handful of shurikens and throw it at the creature but, just as he's about to attack it, something in its eyes makes him hesitate. Makes him stop.

No, it can't be ...

"Rin ?" he asks.

There is no answer, no verbal one at least, but, slowly, Obito is lowered to the ground and, even more slowly, the giant monster starts to shrink, shifting until its body is in a very different shape than the one it was only a few seconds ago. Until it becomes human.

Until it becomes Rin.

The Uchiha's face break into a smile, one that falls as quickly as it has come when he realises the state his girlfriend is in. She isn't hurt per se but her skin is white as a sheet and there are deep, dark circles under her eyes. When he sees the tears rolling on her cheeks, his heart skips a beat.

He doesn't think and runs up to her, discarding all notion of cautiousness and everything his ninja training and war experience has taught him. He doesn't make it far, however, since his teammate suddenly raises her hand, looking incredibly sad.

Her fingers are trembling.

"Obito ... please ..."

He whines and the sound is so pathetic it makes him want to cry.

"Rin ... It's okay ... we're okay ... he tries to say, tries to smile.

- No. I can't ... I won't ..."

The jinchuriki stops, lowers her head, closes her fists. Opens them.

She looks like she is in so much pain.

"Obito, I'm already dead."

Her eyes, usually brown and full of life, are now colored in a strange muddy combination of dark red and amber, and there is nothing but fear and grief in them. He's not used to seeing this look on her face, isn't used to watching her and do nothing when she's so clearly suffering.

"You're not dead, we've found you, we can go home now.

- I have no home ..." She mutters.

A sob makes its way up his chest and in his throat. He doesn't try to block it and, as soon as it comes out, tears start to flow freely out of his eyes.

"Don't do this to me, baby please ..." he pleads, "Don't leave us ..."

He tries to take a step forwards but is stopped again, Rin's arms are shaking violently now, and her face, her beautiful beautiful face, is twisted in pain. With his sharingan, he can see a red chakra mist slowly start to come out of her body.

There is nothing he can do to stop this, nothing he can do to help.

"Obito ... They haven't sealed it properly, it's ... it ... it's free now. I can't hold it back. You have to understand, my body isn't mine anymore, I..."

She stops talking and starts twitching, then trembling violently. Her mouth opens but no sound comes out of it, she isn't breathing anymore, her body twisted and turned in a horrible, unnatural way, with her hands looking more like claws than actual human hands and her back so tense it looks like it's about to snap at any moment. A growl comes out of her throat and Obito understands that this is not some sort of cruel jokes, that it is really happening to them. Right there, in the middle of a half-destroyed forest, not far away from the body of two-dozens Kiri Anbus and the unconscious (dead) form of their best friend.

"I don't want to become a monster..."

Her voice is nothing but a whisper but he understands her words as easily as if she had spoken them right next to his ears. He starts shaking his head, slowly at first, then more and more violently.

"You can't be serious. We can go back to Konoha, there are Seal masters there, sensei can...

- Obito!"

He closes his mouth with a snap. Frowns.

Listens to her.

"Konoha is too far away. Please, please listen. I'm going to die anyways but if the Bi... urgh ... if the Bijuu k... kills me, it'll get out and you... both of you ... will die.

- I'm not ... I'm not letting you kill yourself.

- I won't."

He blinks, confused.

"I can't," she continues, "the Sanbi won't let me."

And, suddenly, he understands what she wants.

"No. No way. I can't do this.

- Obito ! I'm going to die anyways ! Please ! Let me at least save you!

- What good is it to save me if you're dead ? I can't live without y-...

- Think about Kakashi !"

He flinches and she notices, looking at him with a sad smile.

"If you can't do it for me, do it for Kakashi. Save him, please."

He lowers his gaze to the ground. This is all too difficult, he can't choose, can't do something like this to the person he loves ...

But ...

But Rin is right, he can't leave Kakashi alone.

Why, oh why is this happening to them ? Everything was going just fine, why did Minato-sensei separate them ? If they were with Rin when she got kidnapped, nothing would have happened, they are unbeatable when they are together.

"There isn't much more time ! Cries his girlfriend. Please! Don't let me turn!"

He looks at her and, for the first time since she became human again, he sees just how far gone she is. There is not much left of the girl he loves, her gaze is mad, irises blood-red and pupils slitted, her teeth are sharp and her whole body is tense, shaking, her skin looking like it's about to crack open, looking like it's not even real anymore.

So, this is what a jinchuriki looks like.

He closes his eyes, tastes the few tears that made it to his mouth and makes a decision.

Obito wipes his face with his sleeves and, without any hesitation, reaches into his weapon pouch, takes out a kunaï.

"Thank you ..." smiles Rin, looking so grateful it makes him want to vomit.

He shudders, looks away for a moment before steeling himsef and walking forward.

This time, his girlfriend doesn't stop him, lets him get close, lets him put his lips on hers, lets him grab her chin and tilt it upward, lets him slowly brush out the hair that fall on her neck.

"I love you, she tells him.

- I love you too." He answers.

And then he slits her throat.

Chapter Text

[Save Rin! : Quest failed]

The little red rectangle is the first thing he can see when he wakes up and, once he finally gather enough brain power to read it, the horror he feels is so great he almost lose consciousness again.

The quest failed.

He failed.

He didn't save Rin.

What happened then ? Is she still a prisonner of the Kiri shinobis ? Did Obito manage to get her out ? Did she escape on her own ?

Or is she ...

No.

No she can't be.

She has to be alive, she has to.

He sits up slowly in his hospital bed, closing his eyes when the world starts spinning around him and taking deep, slow breaths to calm himself. He's working himself up in a panic over nothing. Oviously, Rin isn't dead. Obito is strong, he's only two levels under him after all, and, if they allied their strength, they would have defeated the Kiri nins without any trouble, Anbus or not.

Yes, that's it. They must have managed to get out of the situation themselves and his Kekkei Genkai recognises this as a failure, since he wasn't the one to do the saving but the one actually getting rescued by his friends. This is so simple he almost feels stupid at how quickly he jumped to conclusions upon waking up. He lays back down on the mattress and tries to relax for a bit, tries to forget about the anxiety clawing at his chest and the strange, wold emptiness that seems to stick to his heart.

He knows that everything is alright, but still, he can't help feeling a bit uneasy and stressed out. Something is wrong, he can tell. But he can't for the life of him find out what it is.

He has to get out of this bed, has to get out of the hospital, has to go find his team and talk to them.

Kakashi quickly looks around his room to check for anyone that might catch him doing what he's planning to do and, when he doesn't detect any shinobi or medic, he opens his [Inventory] and quickly strolls through the dozens and dozens of items he has stored away in it. He finally comes upon what he's looking for and, without any hesitation, presses the small icon representing a curry rice that is floating in front of his eyes.

For some reason, homemade curry always gives him an incredible chakra boost, especially when he uses quality ingredients to make it.

Food is one of the many aspects of his Kekkei Genkai that isn't really useful to him in a normal context. Only he seems able to infuse his cooking with the special chakra required to add bonuses to what he's eating, which means that nothing he can find in a restaurant, no matter how delicious it is, will ever be as useful as this is to him. Add that to the fact that no real shinobi would ever take a break during a mission to eat a cooked meal that smells strongly and can't be consumed in one bite, and he ends up with a pretty cool but ultimately unpractical ability.

At least, he can use the chakra boost the curry gives him to train longer, which is probably why it's his most practiced meal, standing proudly at a [S ranked Mastery], by far his highest.

Right now, he's grateful that he has leveled up his [Cooking Skill] so much. Getting back some of his chakra is enough for him to start feeling better and, after a few minutes of carefully checking out if he can still control all the parts of his body, he manages to stand up on his own and walk towards the small closet on the side of the room, where he knows his clothes are packed.

He quickly dresses in the plain black shirt and dark jeans that have been left out for him and, despite feeling a bit disappointed that no one has left him a note or even some flowers, he's still a little happy that, at least, one of his friends went through the trouble of breaking into his heavily protected house to bring him some casual clothes.

After making sure he doesn't look half-dead (which he kind of does, to be perfectly honest ... but there's not much he can do about this right now), he opens the hospital room's window and climbs on its edge.

Kakashi doesn't leave right away, preferring to take in the sight of the sun rise that he has apparently woken up to. Sunrises and sunsets have always been beautiful in Konoha, where they are reflected on the Hokage mountain and on the Hashirama trees all around the city. It's still early but the air is already warm and, in that moment, he feels truly at home.

The Land of Fire really is beautiful.

When he's done watching the sky and spying on the people walking in the street below him, he jumps in the air, fueling his body with chakra and landing on the other side of the road, satisfied by the fact that he, apparently, still is able to perform his usual ninja moves.

His [HP] may only be at [230/840] and his [CK] is barely above 75, but he doesn't seem to be too hindered by the fact that his vitals are lower than usual, he should have no problem going to Rin's place to check on her.

Then, maybe she is in the hospital.

He frowns and considers it. He has absolutely no desire to go back to his sterile white room, even if it means finding his teammate a bit earlier, so he ends up deciding that, if the medic really is in convalescence, he'll still try to look for her in places he doesn't hate as much as the hospital.

Seems like a reasonnable enough thing to do.

If Minato-sensei was here, he would probably be sighing.

Kakashi runs and jumps above the streets of Konoha, saluting the various Anbus and regular shinobis he meets on his way to his friend's place. Rin lives in the jounin/chunin district of Konoha, which means he sees more than a few familiar faces as he approaches her apartment and he greets all of them with a little sign.

Their reaction is what first clues him into that something is definitely wrong.

Most of them flinches when they see him, and he even notices a few of them trying to avoid his gaze, as if they were feeling guilty about something. By reflex, he tries to check their [Relationship] to see if he has accidentally done anything that might have degradated the way his fellow Konoha nins thought about him but it seems like nothing has changed, there is no new [Hostile], only a large majority of [Neutral] and some [Friendly].

He ends up breaking out into a full speed run, which is something he has always avoided to do in Konoha, considering that his [Speed] is so high he might murder someone by accidentally hitting them, but, right now, he's feeling too anxious to be careful about his capacities. He has to go to Rin's, has to check if she's ...

Has to see her and confirm what he thinks is the truth.

That she's alive.

Alive and well.

(She can't be dead)

(Please Rin, don't be dead)

He lands in front of her doorstep and doesn't bother deactivating any of her traps, dodging them instead, and catching the few kunais that come flying at his face. He almost breaks the door open when he realises it's locked but reigns in his first instinct and picks the lock instead. Doing so has him fighting off three different Seals wards, but it's worth it. He doesn't see himself waking up the building's owner to get a double of his friend's keys.

He isn't even sure chunin residences have building owners.

Kakashi enters Rin's appartment and, as soon as he steps in, he freezes.

Because there is a fine layer on dust on the floor and a pile of a dozen or so unread letters in front of the door.

His teammate is a clean-freak, there is no way she left her place grow dusty, no way she didn't pick up her mail and left it sitting on the ground like this.

What does this mean ?

What can this mean ?

He swallows and decides that Rin is probably at the hospital after all.

Or maybe she's with Obito.

Yes, that's it. She must be with Obito, they are in a relationship after all, a romantic one.

They are supposed to live together, this is normal, everything about this situation is normal.

He's not panicking. He's calm.

Kakashi almost kill two civilians and half a dozen shinobis running up to the Uchiha compound and, when he finally stops in front of Obito's family house, his momentum makes him skid on the floor for a few meters, his feet leaving deep tracks in the grass of the garden and without a doubt ruining all of the careful decoration the persons living here had planned for this place.

Ignoring all societal norms and rules of basics politeness, he barges into the house, so fast Obito's father can only blink before he passes him by and enters his friend's room.

It's empty.

He feels a deep feeling of horror settles into his heart and he sways a little on his feet, head spinning and breath shortening.

"Kakashi ? Is that you ?" a voice suddenly says.

He turns around and comes face to face with Obito's mother. The woman's face is set in a worried expression and he watches in disbelief as she enters his personal space and puts a hand on his shoulder. Her movements are slow and deliberate and it makes him want to cry, or run away.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the hosp-

- Where is he ?" he asks desperately, more lost than ever. "Where is Obito ? Where ..."

His friend's mother looks away for a few seconds and Kakashi uses that small reprieve to take a step back and free himself from the hand she has put on his body.

"He's ..." finally answers the woman a bit hesitantly, "You'll find him at the memorial stone."

He blinks.

"The memorial stone ?"

She nods.

Kakashi closes his eyes, breathes in, breathes out, slowly ... slowly ...

His carefully crafted fantasy-word of safety and friendship slowly starts to crumble around him.

It's the beginning of the end.

Chapter Text

When he sees him, Obito has a lever far higher than him and his [Wisdom] has gone through the roof.

By now, Kakashi knows that, unlike what it's name suggests [Wisdom] isn't about making good decisions, because, in the end, even idiots can make good decisions if they're lucky and even geniuses can make mistakes. What it's really about is experience, knowledge. It's a statistic that is about growing up and learning how the world really works. This is the reason why all civilians have extremely low [Wisdom] and all experienced ninjas have very high ones. In fact, it's mostly this statistic that allows shinobis to level up, since all the other ones requires great training and dedication to get better.

Maybe that's what his gift is really about, choosing how he wants to grow and not growing bitter like the other jounins he know. At fourteen, with more than eight year as a shinobi behind him, his [Wisdom] is only at 23, which is, he knows it, usually a Chunin's level.

That bitterness and the faculty to hardens ones emotions are a statistic is, in itself, quite strange. That its name is something so far away from what it truly is is even stranger. The thing is, Kakashi himself needs this stat, he needs it to be able to kill. He's not as emotionally strong as most of his colleagues, sure, and he often cries over stupid things like having to kill another child like him, but, at least, he knows he won't go crazy. People with very high [Wisdom], while being very efficient and ruthless warriors, tend to turn mad more often than people with a lower stat.

Orochimaru, for example, has one of the highest [Wisdom] in the village.

But then, so does Sarutobi.

And now, Obito is almost on their level.

He wonders what could have changed his friend so much but, inside his heart, he already knows the answer, he just doesn't want to accept it.

Silently, he walks up to his best friends and lowers his gaze to the Memorial stone, on which hundreds and hundreds more name are being engraved every day. There are several such stones in various parts of Konoha but, for this particular situation, Kakashi knew this one was the right one.

Because it's the stone where all of the younger shinobis, between 8 and 18, are put on. And, if Rin really did die, there is no other place her name would be.

He starts reading the last entries on the monument and, without any real surprise, he sees that he was right.

It's there.

Her name.

Nohara Rin.

She's dead.

She's dead.

She's dead. She's dead. She's dead.

It's his fault.

It's his fault, he failed his [Quest] and now she's gone. He couldn't save her. If only he had waited for Obito before attacking the Anbus, everything would have been different, if only ...

Someone grabs his hand.

"You're shaking." says Obito, distantly.

His friend turns towards him and, sure enough, there is a deep red [Cherished] above his head that Kakashi can't help but stare at. He feels confused, empty, lost. He doesn't understand what is happening to him, what is happening to all three of them.

All two of them.

Rin is gone, she's just a name on a stone now.

And where is Minato-sensei ?

Why are they alone, Obito and him ? Why are they the only one left standing ? Where is Rin now ?

It's his fault. His fault.

"Stop that," reprimands his friend, "you look about to collapse."

Suddenly, he's pulled forward and his face is pressed against the older boy's shoulder. He would probably have blushed had the circonstances been different, had they not been standing only centimeters away from their dead teammate's name.

"Obito ... he mutters, she's dead. Rin's dead.

- I know."

His friend pushes him away gently and smiles at him in such a sad way that it makes Kakashi want to cry again.

"I killed her." Obito says, still smiling.

Blood rushes to the fourteen year's old temples and the world starts spinning around him. He opens his mouth to say something, anything, but his tongue doesn't want to cooperate and he ends up desperately grasping for air because his lungs don't want to work either and he's panicking and Rin is dead and Obito killed her and they're alone now and-...

"Kakashi. Calm down. It's okay."

There is something dark in his teammate's eyes. Something crazy. Something dangerous.

"She made me kill her because she was afraid the Bijuu was going to escape ... But it's fine now, I know what to do."

His legs won't support his weight and, suddenly, Kakashi feels himself dropping on the floor, ending up on his knees, his head pounding and his hands shaking violently. Obito follows him down, crouching down next to him and still smiling.

"She gave me a gift before she died," laughs his best friend. "Look at it."

Almost mechanically, the white-haired teen lifts his head and watches as the other boy's eyes slowly shift from black to red and as a strange shape, very different from the usual sharigan tomoes, starts to swirl around in his irises. It's weird, it's foreign and, for some reason, he feels incredibly uncomfortable looking at it.

"I can go everywhere now. In ... In another dimension. I know it sounds crazy but it's true. Want me to show you ?"

He shakes his head no but Obito ignores him and grabs his arm anyways. The world starts to twist and melt away and, suddenly, they are ... somewhere else.

"Where ... ?

- I don't know ... But isn't this amazing ? I can ... I can go into other dimensions."

There is something strange about the way the Uchiha is speaking, Kakashi distantly notes. He looks almost possessed, speaking in a hushed but fervent tone and, even worse, there's a fire in his eyes that the younger jounin can't help but find a bit scary.

By now, he knows his friend better than he knows himself, and he can see that there's something on his mind, something he's not telling him.

"What are you coming at ?" He finally asks, because Rin is dead and he doesn't have the patience to wait for Obito to finish his little tirade.

His friend laugh and the noise sounds alien in Kakashi's hears. It's harsh and high-pitched, so far away from the older boy's usual warm and honest laugh that it could just as well  come from another person. In fact, right now, the Uchiha doesn't look, or sound, like himself anymore.

And his smell ...

He smells of blood.

(Rin's blood)

"This ... This is the Sage's eyes." Obito reveals with a smile, "It's the first stage ... It can get stronger, better ...

- The Sage ? Like ...

- Like the Sage of the Six Paths, yes."

The black-haired jounin lets go of his arm, that he's been holding since they left their original dimension, and straightens up. His face is still set in an unnaturally enthusiastic and happy expression, he looks as crazed as Rin had before she died.

"I met someone ... Obito laughs. He explained to me what our eyes ... What the Uchiha eyes mean, what they can do. The power they have it's ..."

He stops for a moment, his smile wavers and, for a fraction of a second, Kakashi can see the grief hidden deep inside his eyes.

"... It can bring back the dead."

What ?

He can't be serious ...

"Obito ... no ...

- Yes. Yes. I'm sorry, I promised Rin I would take care of you but this man ... The things he showed me...

- This is crazy, you know it!

- It's not!"

They are both screaming now and Kakashi's stomach, where he has been stabbed a few hours-days?- ago, is starting to hurt. He bits back a groan and fights to not let any strain show on his face. Obito doesn't seem to notice the difficulties he's having, though, and keeps on talking, a bit quieter this time.

"I have to go for some time. Maybe months, maybe years ... I'll come back, with Rin, I promise."

The fourteen years old shakes his head, tries to make his friend understands that this, whatever he has planned to do, is nothing but madness, that Rin won't be back ever again and that they have to live with it, no matter how painful it can be.

His cheeks are wet with the tears he can't hold back and, when he looks down to stare at them, his hands are shaking.

"Please don't go..." he pleads, "Don't leave me..."

He doesn't bother to raise his head again but he clearly hears Obito's sharp intake of breath. For one short, blessed moment, he thinks that, maybe, he has succeeded, he has managed to sway him, to make him stay by his side.

Then, the Uchiha starts to speak again, in a gentler but still firm, tone :

"I'm really, really sorry you know."

His teammate crouches in front of him and grabs his chin with his fingers, pushing his face up so that they can look at each other in the eye.

"... But, you know, we can't be whole if she isn't there, I have to go.

- We can try ... this ... We can help ... Minato-sensei can help."

Obito shakes his head, stands up again.

"I know it's a lot to ask of you but, please, wait for us. As soon as I manage to unlock my Rinnengan, I'll come back with Rin and we'll be together again."

It's at this moment that Kakashi understands that there is nothing he can say to make his teammate stays in Konoha.

[New Quest

Subdue Obito

Accept ? Y/N]

He lowers his head, sighs.

And, slowly, he raises a hand and taps the small [Yes].

He stands up.

"As a Konoha jounin, I can't let you leave."

Obito frowns, looking surprised by his refusal to let him defect. Maybe he thought that their friendship (and whatever their relationship could have become had Rin still been alive) would be enough to prevent Kakashi from trying to confront him. Too bad for him, if the younger boy isn't able to make him stay with his words, his rank and his duty to his Land forces him to stand in his way.

"You know that I'm the only one that can get out of this dimension ... right ?

- I don't care, I'll make you open the portal. You're a Konoha jounin, you can't leave or it would be treason.

- Fuck Konoha.

- It's treason then."

With a thought, Kakashi opens his [Inventory] and takes out two soldier pills that he swallows quickly before equipping his [Anbu Gear], his most resistant outfit, and his [White Fang]. In front of him, Obito has no weapons and is still dressed in a plain dark shirt and a dark pair of pants but he doesn't seem really worried.

"Kakashi, you're still injured, I don't want to hurt you.

- Well then don't leave.

- You know I can't do that.

- Then let's fight."

Uchiha Obito

Level 89

Konoha Traitor

[Relationship : Cherished]

Title : Friend Killer (Unlocks 'Mangekyo Sharingan')

HP : 900/900

CK : 452/452

Statistics :

Strength : 65

Agility : 41

Speed : 57

Intelligence : 35

Wisdom : 60

Charisma :44

Hatake Kakashi

Level 85

Konoha jounin

Title : Loved (+20 Charisma +100 HP)

HP : 230/840

CK : 275/380

Statistics :

Strength : 60

Agility : 68

Speed : 70

Intelligence : 62

Wisdom : 23

Charisma : 34 (-20) (+10) (+20) = 44

Unlike Obito, Kakashi always had the choice of where to put the points he gained and, as he reads his friend's statistics, he realises just how much of a difference that made. While a lot of the Uchiha's points are still in his physical stats, he has a lot of them in his [Wisdom], which, while helpful during assassinations missions or long, gruesome battles, isn't the best to level up if you want to fight someone one on one.

In a normal setting, he would have had no trouble defeating the missing nin in the making, but, as it is, he's still injured and doesn't have his full chakra, which might be enough for Obito, who is at full strength, to defeat him.

Well, it doesn't matter. He can't think about defeat, he has a mission to do. Stopping his friend before he leaves Konoha is everything that matters for now.

"Kakashi ... please ...

- Shut up." he hisses.

He lunges at the other boy's head, sword ready to strike. Obito, used to his style of fighting, barely has the time to jump backwards before the blade slices through the place he was in a few moments ago. They have a 13 [Speed] difference, and Kakashi intends to make it count.

Before the older shinobi has the time to steady himself and ripost, he strikes again, this time targetting his opponent's torso.

He's fast enough that his blow connects but, instead of drawing blood, his sword goes right through Obito.

"What the..."

Before he has the time to understand what's happening in front of his eyes, the Uchiha steps forwards, as if the sword currently embedded in his chest doesn't exist, and punches him in the guts.

[HP : 210/840]

"I said I didn't want to hurt you Kakashi, just let me go.

- There's no way I'll let a traitor escape!" growls the boy.

He wipes his chin, where a few drops of blood have dribbled, and unequips the [White Fang] to fall back on his second strongest arsenal : his jutsus. Crouched on the ground, he lowers his hands and focuses all of his lighting chakra in it. This technique is a rather recent one, he's still testing it and hasn't showed it to Obito just yet. Maybe the fact that the other boy doesn't know it will take him by surprise and allow him to strike.

At the same time, he discreetly creates two Kage Bushin that he transforms into kunaïs and stores in his [Inventory].

"This isn't going to work, sighs Obito, you can't touch me.

- We'll see."

He jumps on his feet and, in an instant, he's in front of his friend, right hand covered in sparks and lighting chakra, crackling and screaming like a thousand birds trapped between his fingers. He sees the other boy's eyes widden a little but doesn't hesitate before he slams his A-ranked assassination technique into said boy's body.

Once again, the attack goes right through him but, this time, Kakashi follows it by a second one. He releases his clones from his [Inventory] and watches as they pop into existence, Rasengans ready in their hands.

They strike Obito and, this time, the jutsu touches him.

So there is a time factor. It seems like, right after he has used his power, his friend has to wait a few moments for his ability to recover.

This is a very good news.

What is a bit less optimistic is the fact that his chakra has now dropped to only [151/380]. He'll have to finish the fight quickly if he wants to beat Obito. If it comes to endurance, he's finished.

"Sage, Kakashi ... Rasengan ... You're really taking this seriously ...

- Of course I am, and so should you."

Obito snarls and, slowly, wipes the specks of blood that have splattered on his cheeks. His clones' Rasengans have touched him in both the right and the left shoulder, one only grazing him and not making much damage, but one completely destroying his right arm, leaving it hanging limply on the teen's side, covered in blood and in fragments of bones.

Uchiha Obito

Level 89

Konoha Traitor

Title : Friend Killer

HP : 543/900

CK : 403/452

"You know what ?" starts Obito. "You're right. I should take this seriously. Let's end this fight once and for all."

The Uchiha moves his uninjured arm in front of him and to Kakashi's surprise and horror, the air around him starts shifting. Chakra starts to rise from the strange white floor of the foreign dimension they are currently in and it starts to form ... something ...

Something that looks a lot like a human.

A really, really big one.

"Meet Susanoo. I can't use him to his full strength yet but this ... this is more than enough to finish you off."

Distantly, Kakashi notices that Obito's eyes seem to be bleeding and that the traitor's [CK] has dropped from 403 to 103 with only this one technique and keeps on dropping regularly, losing one point, then another one rythmically. For now, he's too horrified by the giant chakra being in front of him to think about the implications of such a thing. He stays frozen on the spot, staring at the monster and wondering how the hell is friend has managed to get such a power.

"Come on Kakashi, don't just stand there." laughs Obito, a bit cruelly.

Only his high [Speed] allows him to avoid Susanoo's arm when it suddenly strikes at him and destroys a good portion of the ground they're standing on. As he's jumping around on the various blocks the dimension seems to be made of, trying to avoid at the best of his abilities the attacks of the being that just don't stop, he thinks as hard as he can to find a way to defeat it.

One thing is sure : its skin is made out of chakra, which means that it's probably extremely thick and hard to pierce. Since Obito is currently standing inside of the thing, he'll be equally hard to hit. To pierce that kind of armour, a long-ranged or regular jutsu won't do, he'll have to use one made specifically to hurt in one location and hope it's enough to crack Susanoo open.

So Rasengan or Chidori it is.

Chidori has the clear disadvantage of being easy to detect, with all the noise it makes, and it isn't quite as piercing as a Rasengan, which is more concentrated, but it's the one he can control the best out of the two. He has 151 [CK] left, he has to be careful.

As he's sliding on the ground beneath another one of Susanoo's strike, he brings his hands up to summon three new Kage Bushin. The after effect is instantaneous : he looses 90 points of [CK] and feels himself falter a bit but, still, he pushes on.

One of his clones goes to distract Susanoo by slamming a Rasengan in its face (and there goes another twenty points) and he uses the small reprieve to take out of his [Inventory] one of the meals he has cooked a long time ago. This one is a simple ramen recipe that doubles by two the ammount of damage made by the next attack used after eating it. He swallows it quickly, feeling absolutely idiotic, stopping to eat in the middle of a fight.

Apparently Obito thinks the same because, after using his giant chakra skeleton to kill off his clone, he stops to stare at him with a frown.

"W... What the fuck are you doing ?"

[Bonus gained : X2 damage on next offensive jutsu]

"You're not leaving," Kakashi answers.

He has [41/380] chakra left and he's going to use every point wisely. Signlessly, he kawarimis himself with one of his clones, who immediatly rushes at Obito, forming a Chidori in its hand as it runs.

At the same time, his remaining clone slowly creeps up one of the various block floating above Susanoo's head and, once it's ready, winks at Kakashi, who winks back because why not.

Then, he closes his eyes and starts readying a Chidori of his own.

"This is a bad idea. Obito tells him, looking a little worried for him but not backing up.

- You are the one going missing nin, you know that, right ?"

He launches himself at Susanoo and, right as he was about to get hit by one of its arms, raised in a defensive stance, he kawarimis himself with his last clone standing, ending up right above the being's head, his jutsu still chirping in his hand and his last clone's memories flooding his mind.

Not wanting to leave enough time to Obito to find out he hasn't actually stopped him, he immediately jumps into action, dropping on his friend and hitting his summon with all of his might, trying to make his jutsu as strong as possible.

For one second, he thinks it's working.

Where he hit it, Susanoo starts cracking, like a punched mirror or broken piece of glass and he feels his hand start to sink into the chakra the being is made off but, just as he's about to break through the skeleton, his jutsu starts to flicker.

Then it disappears.

No.

Shit, not now.

And sure enough, when he throws a look at his [CK] he has zero point left.

He tries desperately to control his body, to keep himself awake but it doesn't work. Chakra exhaustion falls on him, overpowering everything else and, suddenly, his limbs feel so so heavy.

He falls on the ground.

Before he loses consciousness, he feels the cold brush of fingers against his cheek.

Then, there is only black

Chapter Text

For the second time in less than one day, he wakes up in the hospital, to the sight of a blue rectangle reminding of his failure to save one of his best friends. After Rin, it's Obito's turn to leave him and the worst thing about this is that, unlike the kunoichi, the Uchiha actually chose to defect and to abandon him.

Well, at least now there's no risk of any more of his friends disappearing, since he has none left.

There is Minato-sensei, of course, but they have grown a little apart these last few years, as Kakashi got closer and closer to his teammates and as the man himself married Kushina and started having more and more responsibilities. Now that the Yellow Flash is the Hokage, there's no real time for them to see each other, and neither he nor his former student have made any real effort to keep in touch.

Now, however, it seems that the loss of not one but two of the shinobis he used to train is enough to push the head of the military to come and join him in his hospital room. Under any other circumstances, Kakashi would have been embarassed to appear so weak in front of someone who was not one of his two best friends but, as it is right now, he can't bring himself to care one bit.

Because they're gone.

Gone.

He couldn't save either of them, couldn't do anything but faint like an useless civilian.

He clenches his fists and Minato, who has not said anything since he woke up, slowly puts his own hands over his, a worried look in his eyes.

"We'll do anything in our power to bring him back," the man says gently.

Kakashi bites his lips as hard as he can, trying desperately not to let his distress show through his expression.

He fails, of course he does, he can't do anything right these days.

Angry at himself for being so emotional in front of his superior, he wipes the tears that have escaped from his eyes and grits his teeth under his mask.

"There's nothing you can do, Obito's S-ranked. The only other S-ranks you have in the village are yourself, Jiraiya and me ... and we all know that I can't defeat Obito."

Minato frowns.

"Don't sell yourself short, you weren't even cleared to leave the hospital when you decided to engage him.

- What was I supposed to do ? Let him leave ?"

His sensei starts at his violent tone before shaking his head, straightening up and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"No, but you could have called for back-up.

- Wouldn't have worked."

Seeing the perplexed expression on the man's face, he starts to explain Obito's new powers, how they had ended up in another dimension and how the older boy had summoned a gigantic chakra skeleton to try and kill him.

Strangely, Minato-sensei seems to have no trouble believing him. His only visible reaction is not one of surprise or of doubt but one of tiredness and sadness. The Hokage passes a trembling hand through his hair and, for a few seconds, Kakashi can see the man behind the mask, the one he used to know when he studied under him as a child.

And this man looks so exhausted that his heart, despite being so bruised he thought it wouldn't feel anything from it anymore, hurt for him. He feels so vulnerable and small, in the big hospital bed and, not for the first time since he started his shinobi carrier, he wishes he had put a little more points in [Wisdom]. If he had, surely he would be more shielded against these kinds of emotions.

"Kakashi, what you saw, what he did ... You can't tell anyone, it's an order. What Obito used is related to a S-ranked village secret.

- Who would I tell anyways ?" He laughs, even if he feels more like crying.

Minato lowers his gaze. They stay silent for a time, a long time, just sitting there, Kakashi on the bed and his former teacher on a chair by his side, until said teacher speaks again, using his 'official voice', as Obito used to call it.

"You'll have to report to the Uchiha Clan Head and tell them what you have experienced. This can wait until you are out of the hospital but not later. Understood ?

- Yes sir.

- Good. Very good."

They fall into silence again.

Minato, still a bit restless, breaks it a second time and Kakashi can't hold back a sigh when he does, a bit annoyed at the man's unability to keep calm and quiet.

"Do you maybe ... want to stay alone for a bit ?"

Oh.

Well.

He wasn't expecting this.

The jounin thinks about this and, quickly, comes to the conclusion that, yes, he rather would. He has nothing against Minato, and the man is clearly shaken up by Obito's defection and Rin's death, but he still needs some time to himself, to think about what has happened, about what he has failed to do.

He nods and the Hokage smiles, understanding and kind, as always.

"Alright, I'll come back in a few hours. Rest well."

And he's off.

Once he's alone, Kakashi spends some more time staring at his window before shaking his head and opening his [Inventory], taking his [White Fang] out of it without even having to look at it. He feels the press of the cold metal in his hand and the low hum of the chakra the blade is made of and, for one second, he can pretend that everything is normal, that he's still strong, still whole.

Then, he remembers that, as familiar as his weapon is, it was not powerful enough to stop his friend from leaving the village.

He wasn't strong enough.

Disgusted with himself, he puts his sword back into his [Inventory] hands shaking with anger, exhaustion and a whole lot of other emotions he has trouble controlling. His mind is bubbling with thoughts, and none of them are kind.

What good is it to have a Kekkei Genkai if you can't even use it to protect the one you love ?

What good is it to be a shinobi if you can't fight when it matters the most ?

What good is it to even live if everyone ends up leaving you in the end ?

He tries to calm his breathing, bringing his legs up against his chest and curling on himself, feeling more helpless than he has ever been.

He stays like that for what feels like hours, thinking about the way Obito and Rin had looked the last time he saw them and wondering what point there is in even trying when he clearly has nothing left to fight for. He does come out of this state but, in the end, it's not Minato who snaps him out of his own mind.

It's his Kekkei Genkai.

Kakashi glances with annoyance at the glowing blue rectangle that has suddenly appeared in front of his face. He wants nothing to do with this right now, doesn't want to hear it, to look at it or even to smell it, if that was even possible. Why can't his powers leave him alone for once ?

He raises his hand to tap the box away but, just as he's about to touch it, his eyes catch the words written on it.

He stops.

Hesitates.

Pulls his hand back.

[New Quest : Save Obito -SS Rank-

Rewards : Obito is back in Konoha.

Rewards : ???

Rewards : ???

Accept ? Y/N]

Obito is stronger than him and has proven it by defeating him. There is no way he can challenge him once more and hope to beat him, but ...

But he can train.

He can grow stronger, better.

He can try again.

Kakashi doesn't want to spend all of his life chasing a ghost but there's a part of him that knows he will never be whole again if he doesn't find his friend. Rin and him were his whole life and now that the medic is gone, they are only two. Unlike the Uchiha, he doesn't believe in resurrection and, even if it did exist, doesn't want to bring the dead back to life. It's too much power in the hand of one person, too difficult to control, to keep in check.

He can't bring back the dead, but Obito is alive.

Alive.

Maybe, maybe he can do this.

He looks at his hands, at Konoha, upon which the sun is now setting, and at the place Minato had sat in hours ago. If there's a possibility that he might be able to save his best friend, is he willing to sacrifice his life, and probably his carreer, to rescue him ?

Up until now his only goal had been to redeem his family name but now ... now there is Obito.

He closes his eyes and, when he opens them again, ten minutes later, he has made his decision.

Kakashi straightens his back and reach out towards the blue rectangle, pressing on it with his fingers and watching as it disappears into nothing before being replaced by another, smaller one.

[Quest Accepted]