The Kidnapping - KakaObi

3

"So the only reason you wear a mask is to hide a mole?" Obito asked Kakashi as they both picked up their covers. It was a conversation they'd had before. 

"Who said I was hiding the mole?" Kakashi shot back. 

"Well, you wear a mask all the time and your mole is near your mouth, so...," Obito replied, shrugging. 

Kakashi straightened the covers on his side of the bed. "That's not why I wear a mask. You see, my father had abandoned a mission to save his comrades' lives and they shunned him for it. The whole village did." He leveled his gaze at Obito. "I was 4 years old at the time. I didn't want the village to hate me too, so I started wearing a mask."

Obito was stunned to see tears in Kakashi's eyes. He knew he shouldn't keep pushing, but he asked anyways. "So why do you wear a mask now?"

Kakashi's gaze was intent, almost deadly. "To honor my father, who deserves more praise than he had back then." Then his eyes softened. "Plus, it's an old habit I can't bring myself to break."

"Seriously? One of the biggest mysteries in Konoha is what's underneath your mask and all you're hiding is a mole?! Just because it's an unbreakable habit!?" Obito shrieked. 

"Jeez, you make it sound like I murdered your family," Kakashi responded lazily. "No need to get so worked up about it, you crybaby loser."

"Well, you murdered Rin, you beauty-marked asshole!" Obito retorted without thinking. 

Kakashi instantly froze, Rin's dying face coming back to haunt him with his own name. 

Obito gasped, realizing what he just said. "No, sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine," Kakashi replied flatly. Sweat beaded on his forehead and tears stung his eyes. He felt himself hyperventilating, seeing Rin reach out to grab his eye-

"You're definitely not fine," Obito said, crawling over to comfort Kakashi. In what he thought a caring tone, he added, "You know, I'm always here for yo-" He didn't even finish his sentence. He didn't have to. 

Kakashi barreled into Obito's arms, burying his head into Obito's chest as tears streamed unchecked down his face. Obito was stunned. He'd never seen Kakashi cry, let alone like this, so of course he didn't know how to react. Almost on impulse, Obito wrapped his arms tightly around Kakashi in what he hoped was a loving embrace. 

Kakashi felt a bit embarrassed to break down on Obito like this. The mention of Rin's name, however, had sent him over the edge and tumbling into the dark, endless pit alone. He needed someone - anyone - to help him onto his feet again. He crushed Obito with a death-like grip while sobbing uncontrollably, Obito whispering words of comfort in a feeble attempt to calm him down. 

Somehow, Kakashi must have cried himself to sleep because when he opened his eyes, he could see bright rays of light shining through the windows and hear children outside playing Ninja. 

He glanced over his body tucked into the sheets like an overgrown child. Obito must have tucked him in again. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. Even when Rin's death was fresh in his mind, he hadn't reacted quite like this. What happened to him? 

Well, he couldn't stay cooped up in bed forever. He slid out of bed and headed to the bathroom. He washed his face and brushed his teeth, not bothering to mess with his hair. When he walked into the kitchen to fix himself a cup of tea, he noticed that Obito had left a plate of food sitting on the table. 

His gaze landed on their team picture and he felt a pang of melancholy. Rin, Minato-sensei... he swore, from the bottom of his heart, that he and Obito would change the shinobi world for the better so no-one had to die like they did. 

He glanced over at the plate of food, a slight uneasiness building up inside him. Kakashi couldn't remember the last time Obito had prepared food for him. But this time he'd actually had a full-blown meltdown on Obito this morning so hey, anything was possible. He shoved his doubt to the side and started on the food. 

Only a couple bites in, Kakashi paused, his eyes drooping. Was there a sedative in the food? He yawned unwillingly. Yes, definitely a sedative. He tried to reach up and smack the sleep out of him, but his arms felt like leaden weights. His body slumped forward onto the half-eaten food, aching. 

Wait, why was he aching? Was the food poisoned as well? His vision blurred and he couldn't feel his fingers. Just as he slipped out of consciousness, he heard: "Target acquired. The boss'll love this."