Love Scars

Hey darlings, just a note before we begin, I'm making Kakashi and Obito be only two years apart in age instead of four. Got it? Yay

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Obito was at the young age of ten when he met Nohora Rin. He decided he loved her kind demeanor and soft words. It wasn't until he graduated and got sorted into his team with Hatake Kakashi and-to his heart's delight- Rin, that something truly spectacular happened. He didn't particularly like Kakashi, but Rin was there with him. The day he met his team for the first time, a thin pink line appeared on his wrist. He'd seen others with a similar scar before, none from his clan, of course. Those who had it in his clan were either married or hid it very well. He knew for a fact that the Inuzuka wore the bands as their pride, showing it off to the world as if saying 'look! I'm happy and in love!' And if they were lucky enough, those that they loved shared the feelings.

Obito wasn't confused when it appeared.

'It's for Rin!' His mind shouted. And if his eyes happened to linger on Kakashi a little longer when it appeared, well, it was unrelated. So he spent the first year and a half of his career as a genin nurturing his love for the brown-haired girl he'd known for so long. He didn't feel upset when he realized she didn't have a mark. He didn't feel bothered when she never expressed anything more than familiar love to him. He was content loving her as he was. What did bother him was that the shallow scar never deepened. Was his love not enough?

One day, Rin came to their morning meetings a lot happier than usual. She was giddy and looked anxious about it. On her wrist was her own pink scar. It was deeper than Obito's, he noticed sullenly. As soon as their missions were done for the day, she announced that she had to go for additional taijutsu training with someone named Genma. Still, Obito remained happy for her. It was strange. Shouldn't he be angry? Upset in some way?

"Hey, Bakashi, you up for a spar?" He asked once after a day full of D-rank missions. Kakashi stared at Obito, fully prepared to reject him. "... sure," he said against himself. Hatake Kakashi had just turned twelve when a very light pink scar formed against his wrist. Like most of his emotions, he ignored it. Both Kakashi and Obito have barely noticeable scars now. Obito's has turned paler, which apparently could happen.

Maybe he'd resigned himself to forever being a brother figure to Rin.

Oddly enough, Obito found himself wanting to spend more time with Kakashi. He tried to block his feelings for Rin, his mind reasoned. They sparred nearly every day for the next year. The scars grew just a bit darker.

Obito was thirteen and six months old when he saved Kakashi from a falling boulder- which really, Bakashi should have been able to dodge. Kakashi's scar grew in depth when he saw Obito get crushed. And when Obito's eyes got implanted into his empty socket, he understood why he had the scar. It was red and bright around his left wrist. He didn't doubt that Obito had an identical one on his left wrist now. Kakashi cried for Obito that day. But still, he moved on. He took Rin and ran as far as he could get them. They set camp and allowed themselves to recover for a week. Kakashi asked Rin to wrap his arm, not wanting to see the scar that would no doubt fade away into a jagged line.

Then, Rin confessed to Kakashi that she had forcibly been turned into a Jinchuriki. She didn't want to return to Konoha. Kakashi's eyes widened at the confession. 'Two days' he had said. 'Let's wait two days and think about this.' When Rin didn't budge, two days turned into two weeks. Minato was out in the front lines now, expecting his team to be back in Konoha by now. He spent six months in the front lines. Kakashi and Rin spent five in a cave, arguing about what to do.

Obito spent five and a half in the clutches of White Zetsu and one Uchiha Madara. The only thing that gave him sanity was the dark red scar on his wrist. Rin loved him just as much as he loved her! A dull ache in the back of his mind reminded him of Kakashi every time he thought of Rin. It kept him hopeful nonetheless.