They had known each other for years. They were soulmates, their tattoos matched. Obito hadn’t meant to see it, Kakashi had been barely conscious for it, bleeding out with Rin desperately trying to save him. They were still newly chunin, and the mission had gone horribly wrong and they didn’t have their sensei to save them in the nick of time. Obito knew he should be watching for more enemies, and Kakashi had left a bloody trail leading right to them that even a civilian could follow. However, he couldn’t look away, he found them, and they've been by their side, protecting, training with, and saving them for years.
They were young and it was rare. Rare for shinobi to find their soulmates. Rare for teenagers to find their soulmate. Rare for both of them to live. Obito knew why the last one was so rare as he glanced at Kakashi's unconscious body, his mask taken off. Obito knew he should focus on the deep gaas Rin was attending to on his neck, but he was drawn to the tattoo on his neck instead. Rin realized he was in a trance and barked out an order,
“Obito! Stand guard! There’s still five of them left!” This put Obito back into Shinobi mode, his discovery could wait until they were all back at Kohona safe and sound. He activated his sharingan, and discovered movement to his left in the trees. Mid range fighting it is then. He summoned a fuma shuriken with his staff, and flicked it at the hidden figure in the foliage. He heard a shout and a thump as their corpse tumble to the ground. Four more to go. He saw the shurkin before they were even thrown, he spun his staff in a fan motion to deflect them. Obito grinned, they had just given their position, he used a searing katon that destroyed the whole section they were in, he saw the figure leap right, with a partner. Two had given away their position. He prepared his own version of the chidori, dual flaming fists. He had burnt off and melted his flesh, leaving rugged scars on his right side developing it. He lunged at the duo piercing the first one through the chest, her eyes budingen shock and pain as she went limp and her charred remains slid off his arm.
The second one tried to flee, her flowing red hair starting to burn due to proximity filling the air with an awful stench. He strangled her and burnt her head off, morbid but efficient. He flickered back to Rin and Kakashi. His head pounding from overuse of the shriagan but they needed every advantage they could get during this battle. Two to go. His panting was sure to give him away but he couldn’t maintain a hidden presence and his sharingan. This needed to end fast, he pumped chakra into his staff, eight lighting bolts shooting out of it with a corresponding ninken,
“Hey what's big deal?” Pakkun said lazily scratching at his ear before realizing the situation and hopping into a battle stance. Obito informed them,
“Kakashi’s unconscious, Rin’s vulnerable healing him, Bull and Bisuke guard them, Pakkun stay with me, the rest of you find the enemies, two left’ Obito said leaning heavily on his staff. One of them had gotten a solid kick on his midriff the adrenaline wearing off, weakening him due to pain. He took one more glance at his teammates with their dog guards before racing off.
He grunted in agony, although the poison had been hit with earlier wouldn't kill him he could feel the bile rising and the exhausting pull him down. He was having trouble tracking things, his head felt like it was split open with the mind numbing pain from using more chakra than his body should make. There would be hell to pay when he was hospitalized.
Pakkun shot him a worried look, the piercing howl from one of the pack filled the air along with tension. Obito could hear the snarls and the low rumble of growling in the distance and charged after it, when he arrived the two remaining enemy nin were dead and clamped in the jaws of Kakashi's summons. He bid all of them but Bull farewell, their departure relieving the drain on his chakra. He hobbled back towards where Rin and Kakashi should be, his vision even more hazy with the deactivation of the shriagnan. Using his staff was a walking stick he trampled gracelessly through the forest. Leaving large uneven indents as footprints. When he passed out in relief upon seeing Rin and only heard her scream his name before the world became dark.
He woke up with stench of a strong cleanser in his nose, he bleartily opened his eyes, only to wince and shut them in pain at the blindingly bright lights and the bleached white of the room he was in. Then he tried again hoping to take in his surrounds. It felt like the world’s supply of cotton was crammed down his throat as he hoarsely asked the void for water. He heard a commotion somewhere near him but couldn’t make out what they were saying or what they were doing as they were shapeless blobs of colors.
He felt a cool glass press against his lips and he nearly cried in relief as it was tilted slowly and water was poured into his mouth. He greedily gulped until his throat wasn’t completely parched, but still dry and sore. He let out a raspy plead for more when the glass was taking away. The person tending to him complied, bringing the glass to his lips once more, he grabbed their arm out of reflex. He still hung on even when the glass was empty.
His vision started to be able to define shapes, he didn’t recognize the nurse assisting him, but they looked completely uninterested in him, almost through him, they weren’t kind in any manner, but neither malicious. They asked him something,
“What?” he weakly said, they gave him an impatient look,
“I asked if you could talk, which you can, which means my job here is done. Another nurse will be with you shortly,” With this said she briskly turned around and left Obito alone with his thoughts. The memories started to trickle back after he sat up and got used to being back in the realm of the living. He remembered the mission, the organization after Kakashi had sent in the fake mission to lure him out. However approved that for authenticity was going to go through hell. They had nearly succeed Obito noted dismally. He’d need to notify people of the corpses he left behind for teams to take care of, or perhaps Rin already had. Rin. He clenched the sheer blanket he had, God he needed to apologize. She must've been terrified when she didn't know how many enemies were left and one teammate dying of a highly efficient poison and the other passing out or potentially dead for seemingly no reason.
He groaned and threw his head back, god there was too much going on. Kakashi was his soulmate. Their tattoos matched, it was a rather simple tattoo compared to others, just a small swirl, not that unlike to the Uzumaki symbol. Others had complicated patterns that nearly covered half their body and others had lines that intertwined and tangled as they progressed over their body. Obito wish he could see his own without a mirror. The center of his back wasn’t the ideal place, but for a Shinobi it was easy to hide.
He needed to find Kakashi. Did he know? If he did why didn’t he tell him? Obito let his mind wander towards the negative, what if he didn’t want him? Found someone else? Most people didn’t find their soulmate, maybe he didn’t want to be tied down. Obito pondered why on his newfound soulmate had hidden it, and everything else about the mark until a nurse with a bright smile walked in.
“Hello, you must be Obito! I’ll be your nurse, first I’m going to check your vitals, is there anything you need at this moment?” Obito tried to comprehend what she was saying, his mind muddled, after staring dumbly at her he realized what he was doing and stopped,
“Water,” He managed to get out, she nodded and told him to wait before leaving him. When he returned she came back with a pitcher of water, and she filled the glass still on the stand next to him and asked if he could hold the glass on his own, he nodded his his throat aching too much to verbally respond. She did her routine as Obito numbly processed it as the speed of molasses. She told him he was cleared to go, and gave him an order to take a break, and to avoid training with jutsus that required a decent amount of chakra.
When he arrived home he flopped on his bed and didn't bother to get comfortable and promptly passed out. He woke up with awfully stiff neck and intense hunger. He winced as he crawled out of his bed, and shuffled towards the kitchen in a sleepy daze. He was thankful for the slightly stale and plain cereal had, the milk was nearly expired but the label said it was still safe. His upset stomach was making him nauseous but he grit his teeth and ate, knowing if he didn’t he’d only feel worse. After finishing he decided a shower was a must and washed up, just as he is finishing getting dressed he heard the knock at his door,
He heard his door unlocked and the wards shimmered slightly as they accepted the intruder. Obito snatched a kunai and was about to peek when he heard a familiar voice yell out,
“Obito? Are you home? The hospital said you were checked out,” Rin’s footsteps quick and fairly loud for a ninja as she searched his home for him. He intercepted her in the hallway when she was on her way to his bedroom. The pity in her eyes when she saw him made Obito wish he actually looked in the mirror, immediately her caring nature shone,
“Are you okay? How are you feeling? Have you ate?” Obito gave in,
“I’m fine, yes I ate, How’s Kakashi?” She nodded then solemnly informed him Kakashi was in the intensive care units for poison treatment still. The corners of Obito mouth felt a tug downwards at the news but he nodded and a tense silence filled the air, neither knowing what to say.
“The medics say we can visit him in a couple of days…” her eyes trailed along his slightly dusty kitchen and anywhere but Obito’s gaze. Obito told her that’s good. He normally filled up empty silences with endless chatter but he was just so tired. Rin kept opening and closing her mouth before deciding on saying,
“I’ll let you rest,” and she slunk out of his home silently. Obito sighed and put his head in his hands and took a few calming breaths. Then as he lifted his head out of his hand she let out a shuttering one and found his bed again and attempted to rest. He laid on the bed and hoped for Kakashi to recover.
He felt restless and reached over the side of his bed to grab a discarded vest and shuffled through the pockets before finding a ration bar. He ripped the packaging opened with his teeth and started munching. It wasn’t the sweetest comfort food but it would do. Its bland combination of an oatmeal and dehydrated berries didn’t do much for him emotionally but at least he was gettin some nutrients.
He huffed and kept changing positions, unable to get comfortable. Stupid kakashi. It’s his fault…
Obito felt his eyes start to water and he rubbed them hoping to dry them but only making it worse as he let out a choked sob. Then he aat up and covered his face and started to bawl. Fucking Kakashi. He was hurt and he couldn't do anything. Except wait, and he didn’t even know if Kakashi knew they were soulmates and if he had rejected him already. He shuddered and heaved. He wiped his runny nose with his arms and laid back down and stared a the ceiling until sleep consumed him.
The next morning he felt moderately fine physically, but exhaustion took over his frame due to his emotional state. He started morning stretches and was stiffer than he had thought. He’s need to work on it over the next couple of weeks. He might even do light training with Gai. Despite his love for extreme challenges he was also great for more regular exercises and was an excellent motivator.
He decided to put off train with Gai for when he didn't feel like crying at just the mention of Kakashi’s name. Gai was sure to ramble about his rivals success and achievements and Obito didn't think he could handle it at the moment. He had stale cereal again for breakfast and decided to go by the hospital to see if he could visit Kakashi. When he arrived, the attendant told him Kakashi wasn’t allowed to have visitors. She gave him a soft pitying smile, that Obito scowled at and stomped out of the hospital.
He went home full of restless energy. He paced around his house, shuffled through every book and miscellaneous item he had. He searched his junk draws, he wanted to do something but he didn’t want to do anything. He decided the training grounds were his best bet, at least he’d be doing something productive. The weather nearly matched his mood, a gloomy bitterly cold day with a light drizzle, he took a calming breath and check the request sheet, to make sure he didn't take someone’s claimed spot.
He scribled his name on field 23, blessedly empty. Some shinobi were repulsed and avoided training due to the weather and others actively searched it out. On his way to his field Obito noticed a genin team forced to train with an amused sensei. Obito could remember his time as a genin, his poor sensei…
He knew he could practice anything with his summoning staff, but he had brought it with him anyways. Summoning didn’t take up as much chakra as a jutsu, but summoning staffs used more than paper seal. However, they also summoned more powerful beings, and it looked cool. The staff didn't require a different seal for each thing, but the summoning could be unpredictable. The lack of restrictions that were normally on seals meant the staff could summon the wrong thing if the user is not experienced enough which made them stigmatized. Who would want a weapon that you couldn't control?
Obito could control it fairly well, besides it was one of the few things that messing up with could actually benefit you. He remembered when he had meant to summon a smaller lighting hound, something Kakashi had mentioned to him, and ended up sending a wolf god of thunder at an enemy. He’s been trying to figure out how to do that one again.
However he wasn't here to practice summoning. He pulled out shuriken and started to chuck them at the non-moving target boards. Hitting them all almost perfectly, accuracy wasn’t a strong point of his, even genin could hit it perfectly he glumbly noted. Rin was incredibly accurate, one of the reason Minato had wanted her be a medic, she always paid attention to detail of all kinds, like someone’s birthday or the exact space between chakra points.
Obito huffed unhappily, he was still weak link of the group, Kaakshi was an impeccable fighter, and Rin was sure to be Tsunade’s apprentice. He was still clumsy, and not even close to Kakashi's strength. He sat down on the muddy ground and glared at his imperfect aim across from him. They weren’t even moving he mumbled under his breath. He heard the footsteps behind him and ignored them, probably someone who was on their way to their field.
Then he heard the familiar voice and winced, he really didn’t want to see Minato right now. He didn’t even bother to give him a fake smile.
“What do you want?” he asked not even turning around to face him. Which his sensei solved by walking in front of and squatting down so they were almost face to face. His sensei’s bright hair contrasting with the desaturated environment. Minato had always tried to deal with his moody fits but Kushina way better with this kind of stuff, he should probably bring Obito to her. He put on a wide smile and scold Obito,
‘You’ll get a cold if you stay out here you know,” Obito mumbled something, but went over to snag his weapons from the board, Minato noticed the legathic way he held himself. Obito had always been the emotional one of the group, even overly so. It was something Minato actually hope he kept as he grew, it was rare to see a ninja with such strong emotions. Rin was rather passive, she was amazing in her own way, always nice and kinds but not nearly as fierce as Obito. Kakashi… Minato knew he was going down the wrong path, he had hoped Obito would rub off on him, but it seemed the opposite had happened.
Minato noticed Obito gathered his supplies and started a transportation jutsu. He quickly grabbed Obito’s hands, effectively halting the jutsu,
“Why don’t you come over?” Minato saw the hesitation in his pupils eyes, “Kushina hasn’t seen you in a while I’m sure she’ll love your company,” he cheerfully added, hoping Obito would say yes, he really sucked at comforting others. Obito told him he wasn’t in a good condition to be company,
“Nonsense! Come on, she hasn’t seen you in over a month!” Minato knew he sucked at subtly guilt tripping people, Kakashi picked up on it before he could even start, Rin was nice enough to play along, and well, it worked on Obito….
Obito gave in, Minato could feel his chest tighten, Obito was never this gloomy. He was always so full of energy, he’d probably be a better rival for Gai if they got along better. Minato decided the sooner Obito was with Kushina the better. He told Obito to hang on then performed a transportation jutsu of his own until he popped outside the gates of his home, with a puff of smoke dissapaiting around them.
The heavy warding due to Kushina's fascination with fujitsu warmed them as they passed through. Kushina was enthralled when Obito started to be interested in it. She was disappointed at his preference for the staff, but he still used numerous seals, just not summoning ones which appeased her.
When they entered Kushina looked shocked at Obito’s childish sadness, he hadn’t been this bad in awhile so something must've happened one the mission. She felt her lip twitch in irritation at the muddy trail the duo was starting to make,
“Obito you’re all dirty, take a quick shower, you know one your spare uniforms are already in the bathroom,” He agreed numbly and with a heavy heart headed towards the bathroom.
When he was out of earshot she demanded,
‘What the fuck is going on Minato? He hasn’t been like that since he was a kid!” she yell-whispered. Minato struggled to find to what to say, and confessed,
“I don’t know, you’re better at this kind of stuff…” Kushina sighed, Obito was always tough, she loved him dearly of course. He was better than Kakashi who locked everything away, she dreaded the day he would snap, he refused to have a weak point and she was scared for him. Obito was the opposite, which made it hard and easy. Seeing him so reclusive and quite a few moments ago made her sweat run cold and her heart hammer.
Minato told her what he say at the training field, how Obito had been sitting there for almost half an hour before Minato talked to him. They was a tense silence as they heard the shower turn off and they waited for him to come out.
Kushina asked as motherly as she could,
“Obito, honey, what’s wrong? Something happen on the mission?” She gave a soft smile and Minato awkwardly stood to the side, unsure if he should talk or stay silent.
Then Obito stared at the ground and rubbed his arm then told them,
“I think Kakashi’s my soulmate.”
Kushina could feel her thoughts halt. Minato’s jaw had literally dropped in shock. She gulped and tried to wipe the surprise off her face, with wide eyes she asked Obito,
“You think?” This was probably the wrong thing to ask but,
“I haven't been able to talk with him, he’s been in the hospital, I’m sure he knows... “ He looked up and bore into her eyes, “Why didn’t he tell me?” He sounded so small, so vulnerable, Kushina took a small breath. It was as if she said the wrong thing Obito would shatter. Before she could respond, Minato burst out,
“I’m the Hokage, you can visit him with my permission, let’s go now,” Kushina glanced at Minato with worry, with how unpredictable Kakashi could be he could break Obito’s heart and not even care. The shock on Obito’s face was evident, Minato had always been strict with them and refused to use his power as Hokage to make things more convenient for them, if anything he made things harder than other senseis. She smiled weakly and nodded,
“Please tell him I hope he gets better soon,” Obito was silent, it hurt Kushina to see the normally brash teen so scared. She mentally cursed the gods for pairing Kakashi with Obito. She knew he was going to reject him and she winced in sympathy for Obito.
She watched the duo leave with a jutsu, and when they were gone she dragged her hands over her face, this wasn’t going to end well. She should talk with Kakashi before he stomps on Obito’s heart, but they were probably already there.
Obito recovered from the pull of the jutsu, Minato’s always felt a bit harsher than others. Especially with his nerves on edge. The walk to Kakashi’s room felt like walking down an endless highway. He subconsciously listened to Minato talk to a nurse to get permission to enter, too focused on the possibility of talking to Kakashi.
Minato walked in with him, then Obito took in Kakashi. He had dull yellow spots under his eyes, and a thousand yard gaze. He was softly clutching the sheets. Despite the obvious exhaustion in his frame he was alert and aware of their entrance.
Minato put a comforting hand on Obito's shoulder and looked at the both of them,
“I believe there’s something you two need to discuss,” he smiled softly, squeezed his shoulder, then left. They were alone and had the whole world to talk about. Kakashi looked annoyed and expectant, waiting for Obito to get over with it. Obito took a shuddering breath then asked,
‘Why didn’t you tell me?” Obito pointed to his own neck, the spot where the mark was on Kakashi’s. Kakashi eyes widened, he clutched harshly at the sheets and recoiled. Then he snarled,
“Why did you take my mask off?” the fury in his voice clashed with the sheer betrayal in his eyes. Obito stood his ground and bite his lip,
“I didn’t! Rin did! To save your life you idiot!” Kakashi spat back after being insulted,
“Maybe I didn’t want you to fucking know! Maybe I didn’t want to be bound to you! Maybe I didn't want a soulmate!’
“Shut up!” Obito shouted back and grabbed Kakashi's hospital gown,
Kakashi leaned forward, they were now inches away from each others face, “You always come back, no matter how many times I push, You just keep coming back, LEAVE ME ALONE!” Kakashi had tears streaming down his face. Then he recoiled again and avoided Obito’s heated gaze and said in a small whisper, “Just leave me alone…” Obito let go of Kakashi's gown, then turned around and spat,
“Fine.” He stomped away, with wet eyes and a heavy heart. When he was sure he was gone Kakashi took numerous breaths in an attempt to calm down and stop the sniffing. Then he heard a rapid and hard knock.
“Go away,” he weakly demanded. Kushina marched in with raging fire in her eyes and a deep frown,
“Kakashi what the fuck was that?” she motioned vauguly with her entire arm, and Kakashi curled slightly and shifted his eyes to avoid her intense gaze. She had obviously eavesdropped. He could feel her boring into him and she sat on the bed and faced him. She softened and patted the fluff of hair that constantly defied gravity and started to stroke it. He tried to futility shuffled away, attempting to reject her affectionate action. She sighed and looked directly into his eyes,
“Will you explain?” Kakashi stayed silent. Kushina let out another breathe, “You can’t run away from others forever Kakashi,” She watched Kakashi shift, still avoiding her gaze, She decided she needed to be more specific,
“Why didn’t you tell Obito?” This was going to be a long night for everyone involved, he seemed to consider answering her before remaining silent once more. “I will have Minato order you as Hokage to tell me, you know I will,” She had before, it wasn’t an empty threat. Kakashi was glared at her and reluctantly answered monotony,
“I don’t want to have a weakness,” Kushina wished he would accept being less than perfect, “I can’t have a weakness” he mumbled to himself, seemingly forgetting her presence. She saw the wetness built up in his eyes, he started to sniffle again. She shifted so she was facing her and motioned for him to come closer and he complied. The teen felt Kushina's arms wrapped around him firmly and he rested his head on her should. He clutched onto her desperately, and just let the tears fall and sobbed. Guilt tugged at him about getting her shirt wet. He tried to shuffle away but her grip was solid, he forced himself to relax in her hold.
“Kakashi, everyone has a weakness-”
“But,”
“No. You need to accept it, and you need to apologize to Obito,” Kakashi stubbornly gave her a dirty look, “You don't need to accept him, but that was harsh Kakashi,” he looked properly ashamed and she asked,
“How long have you known?”
“Since he was a genin,”
“Just,” she paused, “give him a chance okay? I think he’d be good for you…” Kushina trailed off and she took her leave apparently satisfied with his answers. Kakashi watched her leave, and was left to his own devices. The majority of the time Kushina’s advice worked, he didn’t want he to be right. He tried to sleep for hours and when he did it was fitful and left him even more tired. The nurse came in a bid him a good morning that he didn't respond to, she told him he was allowed to leave and gave him a bag of his medicine with instructions. She gave him a puzzled look when he didn’t respond again but left him nonetheless.He didn’t feel like wasting his limited chakra on an teleportation jutsu, but he dreaded seeing others at the moment even more.
When he arrived at his home it took him a moment to fight the urge to vomit. The jutsu was hardly gentle on his already hurt body. He entered and was bombarded by his dogs affection and concern. The snarl that escaped Kakashi made them back off, except for Pakkun who waddled after him when Kakashi was making a beeline to the shower. Kakashi removed the gown and stepped into the cold stream of water, just wanting to be clean. Pakkun was probably waiting for him in his bedroom. Once he had scrubbed himself down with a neutral smelling soap and all the greasiness was removed from his hair he dried himself and walked into his room just to face an expectant Pakkun,
“What happened pup?” Kakashi ignored him and got dressed, careful to apply his weapon pouch properly. Pakkun was lazily watching him, then When Kakashi plopped on the bed he walked on top of his chest, making sure to walk on the most sensitive spots causing Kakashi to groan and flinch.
“What happened?” Kakashi mumbled something incomprehensible, and pushed Pakkun off. Pakkun snorted then left. Kakashi was once again left to wallow in self pity. Pakkun returned with three rationbars in his mouth and plopped the drool covered packages onto Kakashi's arm. Which he did start to eat, while Pakkun started to lay on his legs waiting for him to be more sociable. Kakashi could feel Pakkun sniffing him, his wet nose pressing onto his legs.
“Does this have to do with the Uchiha?” Pakkun could smell him on Kakashi at the moment. The loud brat was part of Kakashi’s genin team, he didn’t seem to like dogs that much but he also summoned them which had saved their boss numerous times which made Pakkun like him neutrally.
“He’s my soulmate.” Pakkun ears twitched at the news and he grumbled,
“Why is this a problem?” Kakashi sputtered and choked on his bar,
“I can’t have a such an obvious weakness!” he declared, Pakkun snorted and stuck his freezing cold nose on Kakashi's exposed midriff, which made him squeal in surprised then shove Pakkun back to the spot on his legs that he had crawled away from.
Pakkun grumbled that the Uchiha had saved his life multiple times and at this point was the opposite of a weakness. Pakkun started to gnaw on Kakashi’s leg out of boredom, why was his boss so stupid? Kakashi seems to shrivel at this announcement. Pakkun drool on his pants wasn’t pleasant and he shook his leg in an effort to get him stop.
Kakashi slid out his bed gracefully, leaving Pakkun with nothing to gnaw on, and slid open his window and jumped out. Landing on his feet without a sound, ready to find Obito.