Chapter 6
Days later, Kakashi is discharged from the hospital, returns to his tiny apartment, puts his new book on the bedside table, visits the memorial stone and tells his friends about Orochimaru's defection.
With the escape and crimes of the once-respectable Sannin becoming public knowledge, things in the village became tense — as expected.
Several people who used to work with Orochimaru were interrogated by T&I, and some of the lab technicians were arrested for further investigation.
Orochimaru's house was also invaded and searched by ANBU. There they found scrolls from the Uzumaki clan that spoke of necromancy, kinjutsu, and the mysteries of the soul.
All of this indicated that Orochimaru was seeking a means to achieve immortality. (Kakashi will never forget - literally - the descriptions of experimentation with Edo Tensei)
Many diaries were also recovered, and the notes inside were about Mokuton recreation projects; there were also studies of the Sharingan, the Byakugan, and other bloodlines that clearly did not belong to Konoha.
To avoid a revolt by the clans, the Hokage decided to cover it all up because much of this taboo study material used by Orochimaru used to belong to Senju Tobirama – lent to the Snake Sannin by Lord Hizuren himself.
At that moment, Kakashi wavered a little. It seemed that he didn't know the true faces of those who ruled/ruled Konoha very well.
Of course, he had never been so naive as to believe that the world was just black and white, divided between heroes and villains. But this was... dark. Darker than the nature of the work of the ANBU and shinobi in general.
Necromancy, human experimentation on living and dead humans… how bizarre
Shinobi are trained to kill, torture and endure torture and violence, but necromancy and human experimentation for scientific purposes was a type of horror that ninjas did not normally receive training in – especially since most ninjas did not live to see what would happen with their own dead bodies left behind.
For Konoha to have used these methods since the time of the Nidaime is…
Kakashi didn't know how to feel about this. Certainly, his view of Konoha had changed a bit and he couldn't tell if that was good or bad.
(Internally Kakashi was divided. Unconsciously a part of him had built and idealized a certain image of Konoha in his head to represent his friends and justify the need for their sacrifices. But this here... this Konoha could not be associated with people who were idealistic, empathetic, dreamers and very human )
Disillusionment was a new and overwhelming feeling. It even had a bitter taste, but Hound was used to the horrors of shinobi life, so he did his job quietly and with his head down.
Unsurprisingly, Kakashi dreamed of Obito quite often. Sometimes the Uchiha appeared in the form of nightmares, other times in the form of wonderful AUs that soothed his wounded heart.
But lately Kakashi has been having these dreams – the same dream repeated over and over again – where Obito stands in front of the memorial stone waiting for Kakashi and they exchange normal conversations.
Secretly Kakashi has begun to yearn for these dreams; for these encounters with his teammate that his mind conjures so lucidly and so realistically.
It's still just a dream, Kakashi knows that. But by the Sage! These dreams were so good. They were like a little balm for his heart that always bleeds from all his past losses.
Of course, reality always caught up with him the next day, but when Kakashi woke up from these dreams, he felt like he had actually spoken to Obito himself.
It sounds crazy. Maybe it is, but Kakashi would rather keep having these imaginary encounters than not have any at all, or worse, dream the same bloody nightmares over and over again.
He liked seeing Obito outside of his nightmares, even if his appearance sometimes changed from a bright boy to a dark, blood-soaked thing, most of the time.
It was a little disturbing at first, but Kakashi got used to it.
Because it was Obito standing there. Because Kakashi was desperate to accept whatever version of Obito his mind imagined as long as it wasn't him dying over and over again under those rocks.
Understand better: The dreams started happening after a normal nightmare went off script.
It was unusual. Most of Kakashi's nightmares always revolved around his greatest fear: Obito arriving and seeing Kakashi killing Rin and then hating him for it; Obito seeing Kakashi fulfill his Black Ops missions and despising him for stooping below the level of trash; Obito despising Kakashi and generally criticizing him.
This was what Kakashi dreamed about frequently as his mind liked to torture him using the image of the Uchiha to punish him for his previous failures.
So the dream was just another recurring nightmare where Kakashi and Rin were running away and everything else unfolded exactly as it had before – every detail recorded forever by the Sharingan's perfect memory.
In the middle of the flashback dream, his disturbed brain liked to make things worse. His brain added Obito, arriving late, to see the exact moment in which Kakashi killed Rin.
Obito would then go mad (as Kakashi always thought he would) and kill everyone in the clearing. A truly violent and frightening slaughter that made blood rain from the sky.
Sometimes in these nightmares Obito would turn to attack Kakashi too, with the same violence he had unleashed against the Kiri-nins, but sometimes the Uchiha would ignore him as if he couldn't see him there even when Kakashi desperately tried to get his attention.
Every time this happened, Kakashi always , always tried to explain himself. Always begged for his forgiveness. Always tried to reach the Uchiha when he turned his back to leave. ( never worked; obito never looked back )
Then an atypical change happened: The Obito from the dream looked and asked why
Why? Why did you do that?
And Kakashi answered trembling, hoarse and desperate: I - I didn't want to! I didn't -
YOU KILLED HER! Obito roared.
Kakashi denied frantically: NO! I DIDN'T! She jumped, she -
LIAR! SHUT UP! I SAW IT! WHY ARE YOU LYING TO ME? – Obito shouted, looking at him furious like never before
Crying, Kakashi begged: Please, Obito, please believe me. I didn't want to… she jumped!
THEN SHOW ME! Show me the truth! Prove to me that you are not a murderer of friends – Obito demanded with a crazed (desperate) look on his face severely marked by ugly scars
His entire body was shaking badly, Kakashi absently noticed, and the Uchiha continued to hold Rin's dead body in his arms. Both of them covered in blood.
How? – Kakashi asked, a low whisper that Obito heard.
With the Sharingan. Like this! – the three tomes of Obito's Sharingan spun and spun and transformed into a mesmerizing vortex.
The dream world around them changed and restarted everything again.
Kakashi was a spectator now. He watched his own version rescue and escape with Rin. He watched as she asked to die and his other version said no. He watched his other version kill several ANBU Kiri-nins with Chidori. He watched as Rin came out of hiding and jumped in front of his other version's Chidori. He watched as his other version realized in horror that he wouldn't be able to dodge the girl in time.
Kakashi closed his eyes so as not to see the collision.
Strangely, Kakashi didn't hear Rin's broken whispers. He didn't feel her warm, sticky blood covering his arm. He didn't experience the sensations he normally felt when reliving this nightmare.
Why – Obito asked in a hoarse and broken voice – why did she do this? Why?
Extremely tired, Kakashi answered: To protect Konoha
And from what – Obito gritted his teeth, clenched his fists tightly and in a deadly cold voice asked: what did Konoha need to be protected from?
From the Three-Tails – Kakashi replied.
And since then, things have somehow changed.
Kakashi and the ghost Obito began to meet and talk more frequently in these lucid dreams.
Kakashi knew his mind was broken and falling even deeper, but he didn't care.
He had Obito and that was better than nothing. Better than nightmares of death.
Another new dream begins and stops being something nebulous and settles into a very familiar scenario – Kakashi immediately perks up.
He walks until he sees Obito's figure standing before the memorial stone, his back to him. Kakashi approaches him until they are side by side and then greets: "Hello Obito"
"Kakashi. You're late," Obito says without criticism, just pointing out a fact.
Funny how the world goes round. That used to be the phrase Kakashi said the most - before
Kakashi sighed. "It wasn't intentional. Things in the village are quite hectic right now."
"Ah, I heard. I imagine old Hiruzen is having the worst headache of all."
Kakashi agrees. "The worst, in fact. He's shaken, although he doesn't show it. Orochimaru ran away and left a lot of... problems," he says absently as he remembers the jars of human organs and small corpses in the morgue.
Kakashi trembles
Obito notices. "That bad? You didn't go into detail," he asks with interest, fishing for more information.
Kakashi shudders again. "Ugh. Very bad. He was doing research on taboo subjects in pursuit of immortality and conducting illegal research on bloodline recreation involving Mokuton and other kekkei genkai."
"Mokuton? Interesting. Tell me what kinds of taboo horrors Orochimaru was researching."
Kakashi provides Obito with a description of many topics studied or tested by Orochimaru.
"Edo Tensei… who would have thought that the respectable Senju Tobirama would have invented something as heinous as this? It's no wonder that the Uchihas of the past used to call Tobirama the Demon Senju." Obito commented. "Do you think he was already developing Edo Tensei even before the Founding of Konoha?"
Kakashi thinks about this and shudders.
"I don't know. It's likely, since a jutsu of that nature and level would have involved many tests and many years of research… The jutsu was never completed. Orochimaru had been trying to complete and perfect it."
Obito looks thoughtful and then turns to Kakashi with a frown: "It seems that the Snake Sannin was busy. Has no one ever suspected anything? Surely someone should have noticed something strange happening."
"Many people are being interrogated right now, including Anko, remember her? She's Orochimaru's apprentice," Kakashi says.
"I don't remember. I guess the prestige of being the Snake Sannin's apprentice has turned into a nightmare now."
"The clans are paranoid when it comes to the secrecy of their bloodlines. Old Hiruzen might even be deposed for this," Obito points out. Kakashi frowns. "Hn. Yes. He's... controlling the situation."
Obito smiles crookedly and scornfully. "Of course he is. He doesn't want to be blamed for easing Orochimaru's path and letting the other clans find out that he and his Council sanctioned bloodline research using public money and didn't inform anyone else about it. You should know that this could easily be classified as robbery of various types, right? Punishable by imprisonment or death, depending on the severity of the situation."
Kakashi sighed. "Yes, I know," oh how Kakashi is well aware of the politics surrounding bloodlines.
When he returned from Kannabi Bridge with a Sharingan in its socket, the Uchiha clan - particularly the Elders - did not want to believe his story that Obito had donated the eye as a gift.
Everyone knew that Obito was eagerly awaiting to awaken the Sharingan.
Furthermore, donating a Sharingan to a stranger "never happened before" and they wanted further interrogation, which Kakashi agreed to, of course.
It was a nightmare. The Uchihas were divided: some wanted their precious doujutsu back and the other part was in favor of honoring Obito's final wish, but to do so Kakashi must follow some type of very ancient ritual/tradition of the clan.
If Kakashi didn't accept, then the Uchiha clan would pull out a ton of old laws (still in effect) and current laws to persecute Kakashi.
Minato-sensei tried to act as his defense lawyer and in the end the Hokage intervened on Kakashi's behalf when the situation went on too long. Hiruzen really shouldn't have done that.
Legally speaking, the acting Hokage cannot interfere in the internal affairs of the clans - unless it means active sedition, which was not the case with Kakashi and the Uchiha clan.
The Hokage can only be a mediator and act with partiality and neutrality. (And that was not the case)
Needless to say, the Uchiha clan was very unhappy about this.
(Kakashi never had his formal ceremony to get his Sharingan. He just signed several papers, took several of Obito's belongings, and promised to return to complete the rites when the war was over, then he left and never set foot in the Uchiha Compound again.
Kakashi swears he wanted to do things the right way, he would respect the Uchiha tradition, but then Rin did that, and Kakashi felt like a total fraud for breaking his promise to Obito. So he didn't return to the Uchiha after the war.
Because of his cowardice, many Uchihas still whispered about him being a Sharingan thief for not following the ghost marriage tradition.)
Obito continues: "So you also know that because of this the Old Man will abuse his status as Hokage to sweep the whole case under the rug? He does not rule with justice.", Obito pointed out.
Kakashi is silent, but he knows Obito is right.
"He's going to shelve this case, you'll see" – Obito insists
The silence persists
"Walk with me," Obito asks trying to contain his frustration.
They leave the memorial stone and begin to walk through the dreamscape. There is no one else around, just the two of them.
(and kakashi in the company of his turbulent thoughts)
"Are you okay? You've been quiet," Obito asks.
Kakashi shrugs. "Just thinking hard."
"Does this have anything to do with Orochimaru trying to steal your eye?" he unexpectedly asks.
Kakashi stopped abruptly and stared at the other. "How—how do you know?" Kakashi didn't tell him. He didn't mention it to anyone other than the Hokage, Master Jiraiya, and Elder Danzo.
Obito glared at him. "I saw it happen."
What?
"What? How?!" Kakashi asks in astonishment and internally cringes because –
"I saw through you. Our eyes connect us and our visions overlap."
What? – Kakashi thinks a little scared, or surprised, or whatever. He didn't expect to hear that
He never considered that
Oh for the Sage! He saw Kakashi killing Rin! He saw—
"Can you see...through me?", Kakashi asks, half green with thought.
Oh gods. Obito saw -
"Yes. Sometimes." Obito adds seeing the other man's strange (and quite understandable) reaction.
He tries to lighten the mood.
"I don't know how it works or why it happens, but when you're in a very dangerous or high-stress situation, I can see a little of what you see at that moment," he softens his voice. "Don't be like that, Kakashi. It doesn't happen often and it's not the end of the world either" – he tries to be blasé about it.
It's not really the end of the world, it's just a bit of an invasion of his former teammate's privacy, but okay. It's not a big deal.
Obito didn't completely lie because really his overlapping visions don't happen often and Obito can't control when they do.
Kakashi just didn't need to know that Obito (very much alive) was also watching him in real life beyond the dreams he could manipulate.
"The Sharingan was a promise, remember?" Obito asks softly. The effect backfires a bit when Kakashi retreats
"I failed my promise," Kakashi says lowly and doesn't look at him.
Obito snaps with that attitude again
"It wasn't your fault! The world is a cruel place and I don't blame you anymore." He snaps.
Kakashi looks at Obito – the Uchiha is sincere. There is no hint of dark feeling on his scarred face. There are no pursed lips, no dark frowns, no hard look on his face – things that Kakashi is slowly starting to get used to seeing on this Obito's face more often.
There is no trace left of that bright, smiling, loud, clumsy boy from before – before the Cave. Before all the losses suffered
Kakashi regrets that the ghost Obito is not the representation of what he used to be in life.
(Kakashi wonders if he is the main source of contamination for the ghost Obito. If he didn't share - unwittingly - visions of his missions with Obito, perhaps then the ghost wouldn't be as broken and tainted as Kakashi is.)
"Hey, bakashi, focus on me," the Uchiha asks and places his hands on his shoulders.
Kakashi stares at him - red Sharingan eyes staring at each other together.
"It's not your fault the system is rotten," he says. "It's not your fault the Village fails to protect its children. It's not your fault! You're simply another cog in the system's bloodthirsty machine. You're trapped in this cycle. We all are."
Obito's hand slowly reaches up and a thumb gently traces the scar that cuts across his eye.
"Don't be like that. I'm here now. I'm always with you," the voice fades to a distant whisper, the surroundings melting and disappearing into white smoke as Kakashi finally wakes up.
Kakashi can still feel the phantom touch on his scar .