Chapter 3
Hours had passed since the masked man began to enjoy torturing his victim. Kakashi, still in chains, stripped to the waist and with a torn mask on his face, fought off the pain as long as he could, but his tormentor played with him. Occasionally, even at the worst, he would stop to prolong the pain and trauma further. New scars and open wounds that were still bleeding now covered Kakashi's body.
The masked man tried not to cause any significant injury. Nothing permanent or lethal. He wanted to make the most of his new toy. And he couldn't do that if he killed him. But as he tried, the ninja was a tough nut to crack. He resisted as much as he could, and it just wasn't the same without moans and sounds of pain.
„Why are you doing this? Who are you?” Kakashi said through the pain. His tormentor stopped for a moment and looked at him.
„Why? You're still asking why after all this?” he said indignantly. This time he went for the metal bar.
„Your arrogance... your rules...” and with each word, he ran the rod over his body. So far, it had been mere stroking, a cold metal that was gradually warming. He waved it around before getting red hot. He didn't want to burn him right away. He relished it.
„It was your decisions that cost your team death. You left your partner to die in a cave...” every word spat at him like poison. „Remember Rin? You killed her. In cold blood, like she means nothing to you. Then what about Minato? Ones that trusted you most and relied on you died because of you,” and with almost every word he stabbed him or slammed him with the hot end.
„Who are you?” he asked through clenched teeth, trying hard to suppress the pain.
„Heh, you really are a clueless case, Bakashi,” and he put particular emphasis on the last word. He tossed the rod aside and took hold of his mask. He removed it in slow motion. Still, he put it in front of his face for the dramatic so that Kakashi couldn't see it until the last minute. „I always knew you were a fool, but I never thought you'd forget your friends," he put the mask aside and finally revealed his identity.
„Obito?” he couldn't believe his eyes.
„Yes, Bakashi. It's me. As you can see, that boulder didn't kill me. And truthfully, sometimes I even prayed for my life to end on that day. But I lived and waited for you to come back for me. How naive I was. You left me there to die,” he raged.
„We wanted to go back, but we couldn't. They wouldn't let us. They told us there was no body,” said the ninja. „We mourned you."
„I saw that. You went there regularly to complain about life and ask the dead for advice. How pathetic,” he scoffed.
„You've been there?” he asked, remembering the shadow he sometimes saw in the cemetery.
„You know, I was going to go back originally, but when I saw how easily I was forgotten. How you easily replaced me with someone else. Plus, Rin was gone, too. There was no longer room for someone like me,” he frowned.
„How did you get out?” Kakashi finally asked.
„It was Madara. He used his minions to get me out and save my life. He gave me a power you can't even imagine.”
„Why didn't you come back?”
„Why should I come back after all this? Nobody cared about me. At least this way I had a chance to become someone powerful,” and snapped his fingers to demonstrate his strength. Fireballs and assorted weapons appeared all around him. For a while he just manipulated them around the ninja, creating fake lunges and a few thrusts that hit him. Not terribly.
Kakashi had never seen such power... well, maybe once. When their old team was still alive. They were against genies. Creatures were so powerful they controlled all the power of the universe. They were formidable enemies, and nothing could stop them. Even the spirits had problems with them.
He knew that Obito came from a powerful family, with the blood of these mythical creatures coursing through their veins, but none of them had that kind of power. Their blood was so diluted, mixed with human blood, that it simply wasn't in their power. Moreover, if they became true genies, they would have to be bound by the shackles of power. It's hard to say if his ex-friend had them. It was impossible to tell through his long coat.
Kakashi wanted to ask him so many more questions and explain how it had all been, but a man, also wearing a mask, burst into the room and said something to Obito. He merely frowned, nodded, and sent him off.
„Looks like you're in luck. I have a business to attend to. But to make you feel less alone, I'll leave you the company. Someone who will continue my work” he sneered.
„You mean someone who can tell me more about you?” he teased, knowing that this wasn’t the case.
„Nice try. No, someone to torture you. I hope you enjoy it. Though I'll be a little sorry it won't be me,” and with that, he put on his mask and walked away.
This gave Kakashi time to relax. He relaxed his stance slightly and tried not to think so much about the pain he felt. He had to be strong and save Naruto before it was too late. God knows what they're doing to that boy. But his calm didn't last very long. After about ten minutes, someone new came into his room in white clothing and a white mask. His new tormentor.
As soon as Obito was released, he immediately went to his prisoner. He wanted to have some more fun with Kakashi. But when he entered his cell, he was greeted with a ghastly sight. The ninja's body lay limp on the floor, bleeding profusely. His substitute was just cleaning one of the tools and preparing what he would use next.
„What have you done?!” he thundered at his subordinate.
„What you said. Tortured him,” he replied innocently as if he didn’t understand what he had done.
„But not like this! How was he supposed to last as long as possible in this condition? He'll die first!” he ranted.
„Isn't that the point of this torture?” he asked, cocking his head slightly to one side.
„OUT! Before you end up like him!” he raged, slamming the door behind him. How does someone like him even afford to break his toy?
Once alone in the room with the ninja, he relaxed a little. He had things under control again. When he looked at Kakashi, he saw the wreckage. The same as he once was. He can't keep tormenting him like this. He would have killed him. And he didn't want that. He wanted to take his anger out on him, but not kill him.
„What with you now, Bakashi?” he asked himself, rather than him. He sighed, removed his shackles, and took him in his arms. If he leaves him here, he can't help him. If he fixed him, he could destroy him again, couldn't he?
He used his skills and, without leaving the room door, the two of them beamed into Obito's bedroom. There he laid the ninja in his bed and sat down beside him. He was never very good at healing. That was more of a Rin speciality. But even he knew the basics. And the basics should be enough to keep Kakashi from dying in front of his eyes. That would make their former team truly dead.
He clapped his hand and a faint green light appeared in his hands. Subsequently, he placed his hands on the ninja's chest and concentrated on closing the deepest and most serious wounds. He could feel them slowly closing and the bleeding receding. After treatment, he covered him with a blanket and continued to sit by him.
He rested his head on his hands and thought. He wanted revenge, but he didn't want to kill him. At the same time, he didn't want anyone else to hurt him. Was he that selfish? Why not just kill him? All his problems would be solved. But if he kills him, what difference does it make? It won't bring Rin back. And Kakashi was the only reminder of his old life. Or at least what he could call life.
What was he now? A tool of destruction that had to take other people's orders. As he thought about it, he had no idea whether it was his goal, or Madara's, for which he was merely a tool. He had never thought about it before. He was only chasing his revenge, and he didn't care how he got it. Now he had Kakashi in his clutches, and the destruction of the world didn't seem like the best idea. The world was not evil itself but the people in it. He could spare Kakashi and keep him as a punching bag to vent his anger on.