Masked Man
Chapter Eight: Masked Man
They told me to "keep an eye on Kakashi" over and over again. They didn't honestly care if I lived or not, only to make sure Kakashi did.
I spent most of the beginning of my life listening to the lights. Ever since my eyes turned red, I could see them. They were everywhere. They told me things that needed to be done.
So I stayed with Kakashi as he grew up. I protected him from anything I could. He grew to be my friend.
Then one day I couldn't find him. I couldn't use the lights to move, I was stuck. My hands were bound and I had no idea where I was. All I knew, was that I was visible. For the first time in my life, other people could see me. They were so gleeful to see my body, to see I was real. Their looks of delight frightened me.
I wasn't sure why I couldn't see the lights right now. I couldn't function. I couldn't even talk.
They brought Kakashi in and I felt the air leave my lungs. Why was he here? Who brought him here? I would kill them.
I WAS MEANT TO SAVE HIM.
Kakashi didn't know it was me. I couldn't even tell him. My mouth was shut and I couldn't open it for whatever reason. All I could do was apologize to the child with my eyes. We looked to be the same age, but I had a few years on him. Angels age differently.
They told Kakashi I was a Nephilim. I'm not. I'm just an angel. They could say what they want, I don't care. I just wish I knew why they chose that lie over any other one.
Nephilims are powerful creatures, they don't have the same powers as angels do, however. And they're more prone to be seduced into the darker side of things.
The lights were something only angels could see. Nephilims didn't have the brain capacity to comprehend the lights. The lights looked like flecks of debris after an explosion. They were surrounding the air at all times and floated around without a seen reason as to why. They just were.
The thought that they wanted to take my eyes to put one in Kakashi to see what would happen was deplorable. I couldn't even argue with them and tell them the dangers, as I couldn't speak. Kakashi was strong, I could tell. His aura nearly engulfed every room he was in like blazing blue flames. He was powerful and he'd continue to get stronger. He couldn't handle this. At least, that's what I thought.
Grace is different than a soul. Grace runs through your entire body like blood. It circulates. If someone were to find the correct flow of the Grace they would be able to take it out with a syringe. Luckily, humans didn't know that.
When they took out my eye, it hurt. When they replaced it with Kakashi's human eye, it was strange. Almost as if they sewed a dead arm the area where my working arm was and thought that would be okay. I couldn't see out of Kakashi's eye but I doubted they cared enough for that.
Kakashi screamed.
He screamed so loud for so long. I was afraid of this. Even though there isn't much grace in an eye, there was still too much for Kakashi to handle. It was a lot.
My ears were bleeding by the time Kakashi was done screaming.
Just like that I was done. They didn't need me anymore. At least for this project.
They brought me down to a different lab where they continued to run tests on me.
I couldn't say how long I was down there. Only that it was long enough I grew and could tell. It felt like forever.
They one day, I was free. Being in and out of consciousness for the years I was strapped down and tested on, I wasn't even sure if I was breathing at all. Was this living? I wanted to go home.
"You are home." My eye opened wearily to be met with a red eye. "Welcome home, Obito." He said and I looked around. I was in a house, it was nothing I remembered. This wasn't anywhere I'd been before but the person in front of me was an angel, I could tell. He had the eye. When I checked his aura I almost threw myself off the couch. It was an interesting shade.
The inner part of his aura was a blue but as it got to the very outer edges of his aura it faded to black. It seemed that at heart he felt he was good but he was jaded and... evil. I've never seen anything like it.
"How do you know my name?" I asked and he looked at me curiously. I could only see one eye, the other was covered by a blanket of black hair.
"It's my superpower." He said blankly and turned around to finish doing what he was working on. I got up and stood behind him, trying to see what he was doing. He jerked his head in my direction and scowled.
"I hate when people are behind me. What do you want?" He asked and I took a side step.
"I want to know what's going on." I said and he sighed.
"I thought you might..."
***
"Congratulations. I'm impressed." Obito frowned at the teasing tone. "You managed to set a whole species on a crazed rampage."
"You said we needed the orb." Obito argued with his mentor. "I got it. We'll be fine. We need it soon anyway.
"You couldn't have done it... quieter??"
"How do you expect me to quietly sneak into a heavily guarded sanctuary?" Obito argued sighed. "I'm sorry. I'll do better next time."
"That's very heartwarming. Thank you for that."
They sat side by side and Obito ran his fingers through his hair. He was so frustrated.
"You saw Kakashi, didn't you?" Came the flat tone.
"Yes. What's it to you?"
"You always get this way when you see him. Why do you care about some human brat, anyway?"
"He's not a brat, he's an adult man." Obito argued half-heartedly. "It must just be my eye. He still has it.
"Yes, unfortunate indeed. We will need to get that back before too long." Obito frowned. He really didn't care much about his eye. He was able to figure out how to use Kakashi's just fine eventually. "Don't tell me you're having second doubts about the plan."
"No. Absolutely not. It's a great plan." There was enough truth in the statement to placate the older male.
The problem was that for the first time in a very long time, Obito was starting to see the lights again. This wouldn't ordinarily be a problem, but why on earth had it taken over 20 years for it to happen? They were so small and faded at first, Obito didn't realize he was seeing anything. Over time they got brighter. Did this mean Kakashi was using the lights? No. He couldn't. How would he know how?
The guy was a genius.
"Do you see the lights?" Obito asked and received a grunted no as an answer. Was it something only he saw?
"What lights?"
"They're floating around the room." Obito said and the flare of energy coming from the man next to him was enough to wind Obito.
"You see the lights?"
"Yes?"
"Do you even know what they do?"
"They talk to me, usually."
"You idiot, they're portals." Obito blinked. "Have you ever tried to piece them together?"
"Uh, no. Can't say I ever have." Obito said quietly.
"Don't. Not unless you really need to."
"Where do they lead?" Obito asked.
"Depends on the portal you open." Madara said dangerously.