Fate Wheel | Naruto

𝟕𝟑| Paradise

"Even paradise could become a prison if one had enough time to take notice of the walls."
— Morgan Rhodes

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KAKASHI

Is this paradise?

Half-crushed beneath the weight of a giant boulder, rubble raining from the sky and piercing the ground like a meteor shower. He stumbled, gasped, cried, almost tripped over his feet, everything was distorted and dizzy, it was hard to breathe, nothing made sense- confused, everything was confusing. His friend, his rival, he had a smile on his face, yet his eyes bled with the same tears that trickled from his newly acquired Sharingan. Obito's Sharingan, it wasn't his, it could never be his. He didn't deserve it.

The clouds were grey, the rocks were grey, his face was grey and colourless. Why was he running? Why was he distorted? He abided by the rules, he was organised, punctual, law-following, strong, smart, prioritised his missions for a colourful future and the well-being of his Village. But why did it look so grey?

Is this paradise?

"O-Obito...?" Kakashi whispered, shell-shocked in realisation. His hands trembled, blood red hands, tainted. "Kei, Rin— Obito..."

The air was sucked out of his stomach, he felt like he was going to vomit. Coward. Did he not claim him as a coward for hesitating on the battlefield? For not eliminating the Iwa nin before they could compromise their mission? For not adhering strictly to the rules of being a Shinobi and eliminating your emotions before it could be rendered a hindrance? It didn't make any sense, a coward like him couldn't have possibly pushed him away from being crushed by the rubble and take the hit for himself.

His chest hurt, he gripped it, clawed at it. It shouldn't hurt, he shouldn't feel pain. He couldn't afford to, he was a Jounin of the Leaf, a soldier fighting in war on the front lines, death was expected— death of comrades was an inescapable outcome.

"Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Obito seethed venomously, staring at Kakashi with what he assumed to be immense disappointment.

Scum? He was scum? Was that why it hurt? Because he was scum or because he was worse than scum? He prepared for this, he trained for this, he dedicated his time reading and writing and stretching and fighting and fighting till no end— shaping himself into the perfect soldier, the perfect Shinobi his father failed to be, a rule-abiding machine who killed and killed for the sake of his Village and washed his hands to ensure he had a restful night of sleep. But he couldn't sleep, he never slept properly, he had to be ready to leave the moment he was commissioned to war once again.

And Obito knew that— the fool, the fool who tried to surpass him despite all the odds being against him. And in the end, it turned out that despite sleeping restfully, despite being late, despite having terrible habits— he surpassed him in every imaginable aspect. He had always been the better person.

Is this paradise?

Kakashi gasped awake, his eyes blankly staring into the darkness of his house, skin drenched in sweat and body trembling like a leaf.

He could still feel it, electricity dancing around the tip of his fingers, forming a sharp powerful blade. The next thing he knew, his hand thrusted forward, Rin jumped in front and his mind went blank. He hurt her, didn't he? She lost her will to live the moment she was made a Jinchuriki of the three-tailed beast, a weapon certain to wreck havoc and bring upon inevitable doom to the Leaf. This wasn't right, she was a healer, Rin was a healer who saved others and soothed wounds, her hands flared green similar to the delicate touch of a mother comforting their child and evoking smiles from whoever was around her.