Naruto Oneshots + Imagines

Against His Better Judgment (Kakashi Hatake x Obito Uchiha)

Obito Uchiha has been 'dead' for years now- at least according to his last surviving teammate and the poorly done carving of his name on the memorial stone that sits in the middle of the village. Tonight, however, he's very much alive, stalking aforementioned teammate to bide the time. Why he's been doing it, he isn't quite sure.

Most days, Obito's feelings for Kakashi alternate between hatred and indifference. On nights like this, however, he wavers. He remembers the way Kakashi protected him when they were young. He remembers soft silvery hair grasped between his fingertips when they'd get into particularly nasty fights; and hard gazes from beautiful charcoal eyes when Obito would show up late every day.

Worst of all, he remembers those things fondly... And he misses them enough to forget that it was Kakashi's arrogance that landed him in the clutches of Madara Uchiha. He forgets that it was Kakashi's chidori that Rin impaled herself on. He forgets that, at many points during their years together, he hated Kakashi with a passion that made fire burn in his throat when the man so much as looked at him.

Back then, though, they were mere children. Now, they're adults. Kakashi is in Anbu, consumed by the darkness of Obito's death and everything that has followed.

Obito lets out a small sigh and adjusts the orange mask on his face. Right now, they're a mere mile or two from where Minato and Kushina died. A few miles away from where they used to train together.

To reach his goal of unleashing the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Obito has to let go of his bonds. But until his plan comes closer to fruition, he supposes he can hold onto them, if only for a little longer. The only one he has left is Kakashi, anyway.

Minato and Kushina are dead because he killed them. Rin is dead because Kakashi killed her. And, his grandma and the many elderly in the village that he bonded with during his youth have been stolen away by time.

So, he lingers on the outskirts of Konoha often, clinging onto the one bond he has left. Every once in a blue moon, he hears whispers of the Uchiha trying to stage a coup; whispers of rebellion that he knows Danzo will hush before they can turn into full on screams. How Danzo will do it, Obito isn't sure yet, but he lies in wait for the details. He doesn't care if any of them die. They were never kind to him after his own parents died, anyway.

In the meantime, he watches Kakashi. The man trains near the border of the village every single night, close to where he used to train every day with Team Minato when they were still alive. Now, he and Obito are the only ones left. To Kakashi, he's the only one left.

Obito crosses his arms over his chest and peers at Kakashi with interest as he leans back against the trunk of the tree he's sitting in. The branch he stays on is high up, and the tree is lush with leaves, so he has good coverage. It seems as if Kakashi hasn't noticed him- at least not yet. He's been doing this on and off for a week now and Kakashi is none the wiser. Or, Obito thinks that's the case. Then again, Kakashi is always full of surprises.

Kakashi, the poor fool, keeps lifting the heaviest rocks and small boulders he can find and throwing them as hard as he can across the forest. He crushes patches of healthy grass and wildflowers in his wake.

"Come on out," Kakashi says after chucking a boulder almost as big as the one that crushed Obito all those years ago, apparently aware of Obito's presence. Obito knows he should leave, but he doesn't. He waits to see if he can convince Kakashi that he's simply imagining someone watching him by lowering his chakra and remaining quiet. Kakashi, however, doesn't drop it. In fact, he's looking right towards where Obito is hiding as he raises his forehead protector off of his Sharingan- off of Obito's Sharingan. "Why have you been following me?"

"So you noticed me, hm?" Obito asks, hopping out of the tree and smoothly landing on the ground.

Thankfully, he looks much different. He's masked, his hair is longer, he's taller, and he's learned to impersonate Madara's voice perfectly. If he plays his cards right, even someone as astute as Kakashi shouldn't be able to identify him, especially while under the impression that he's dead.