Kakashi couldn't tell whether he was alive or dead, because there was no pain left in his body, no sound reaching his ears, no weight pulling him down, only a strange warmth surrounding him as if the world itself had forgotten to move.
His body drifted endlessly through a sky that was neither day nor night, an endless sea of white stretching in every direction until there was no horizon, no ground beneath him, no meaning to distance or time.
He tried to move.
He tried to open his eyes.
He knew he wasn't alone.
A presence stood in front of him, motionless and patient, its body no more than a white silhouette blurred by the endless light, as though it had been waiting there long before Kakashi had arrived, watching without judgment and without impatience.
He couldn't make out a face, couldn't recognise a voice, and yet something deep inside him insisted he already knew this figure, not by memory but by instinct, the same way a child recognises home without needing to see it.
It felt familiar.
Painfully familiar.
Who...
...are you?
The figure stepped closer. Each movement was slow, patient, timeless. When it finally stopped in front of him, it raised a hand and gently pressed it against Kakashi's forehead.
Warmth flooded his entire being.
Then the figure spoke, its voice calm enough to silence every thought inside Kakashi's mind, carrying neither kindness nor command, only certainty.
"It's time you...
..awaken it."
"It's time to stop looking only at yourself...and begin looking at the world."
The words echoed through the white sky as the figure slowly dissolved into countless fragments of light, each one drifting forward before disappearing into Kakashi's body, his chest, his heartbeat... and finally into his right eye.
Then the white world shattered.
Kakashi's eyes snapped open as he jerked upright, his breath catching violently while the world rushed back all at once, voices replacing silence, walls replacing endless sky, and pain returning to remind him that he was alive.
He inhaled sharply.
Again.
Again.
"...Looks like you're awake."
Kakashi turned toward the voice.
Minato.
Kakashi blinked several times, his mind still struggling to separate the dream from reality as the pain slowly settled back into his body, the warmth of the white world fading with every passing second until only the battlefield remained.
He looked around once more, making sure everything he saw was real before his eyes finally settled on the familiar figure sitting beside him, relief and confusion mixing faster than he could understand.
His lips parted.
"...Sensei..."
"How...?"
Minato smiled faintly, exhaustion clear on his face as dirt and dried blood covered his flak jacket, proof that he had only just arrived after fighting a battle of his own.
"I came as soon as I could."
Kakashi lowered his eyes for a moment before another thought forced its way forward, one far more important than himself, his voice becoming steadier despite the fatigue weighing on him.
"...The enemy?"
"...the mission?"
Minato nodded slowly.
"The mission was a success."
"You had already defeated every one of them before you collapsed."
A quiet breath escaped Kakashi.
"...Obito?"
"...Rin?"
Minato didn't answer with words.
He lifted one finger and pointed toward the other side of the camp, where a small fire burned quietly against the darkness, two familiar silhouettes sitting beside it, talking softly as if trying to forget everything that had happened.
Alive.
Both of them.
Relief.
A deep breath escaped Kakashi before he slowly looked back at Minato, guilt returning almost immediately as memories of the battle, the Sharingan, and everything he had hidden began pressing against his chest.
"...Sensei..."
"I..."
"...I'm sor—"
Before the words could leave his mouth, Minato pulled him into a firm embrace, holding him tighter than he ever had before, as though he was afraid letting go would make Kakashi disappear again.
"No..."
"I'm sorry too."
"I should've been there."
"When you were carrying everything by yourself..."
"When you were hurting yourself..."
"I should've been there."
Kakashi's body slowly relaxed inside the embrace, the tension he had carried for so long finally cracking as he lowered his head against Minato's shoulder, his voice quieter than it had been in years.
"...No, Sensei."
"You were there."
"I..."
"...I was just too blind to see it."
For a long moment, neither of them spoke, the silence saying everything words couldn't, until Kakashi finally remembered the one secret that could no longer stay hidden.
"...Sensei."
"...about the Sharingan."
Minato leaned back slightly, meeting Kakashi's eyes without fear, without disappointment, only calm understanding.
"It's alright," Minato said gently. "You used it to protect your teammates. We'll talk about it later. Together."
Kakashi shook his head.
"No. This time… It's on me. I made a promise.
And I want to keep it."
He pushed himself to his feet despite the pain still running through his body, steadying himself for a moment before walking toward the campfire where Obito and Rin waited, every step carrying a little less weight than the one before.
Minato remained where he was, watching Kakashi's back disappear into the camp before slowly lifting his eyes toward the night sky, where the moon hung quietly above the battlefield, marked forever by its scars yet refusing to lose its light.
Even with its scars...
It was still beautiful.
Kakashi walked slowly toward the campfire, every step reminding him how exhausted his body really was, yet somehow the warmth of the fire ahead made the distance feel shorter than it actually was, as though for the first time in a long while he was walking toward something instead of away from it.
Rin noticed him first, immediately setting aside the cup she had been holding as relief washed over her face, the worry she had carried since the cave finally easing the moment she saw him standing on his own.
"Kakashi!"
"Are you okay?"
"You should be resting."
Before she could stand, Kakashi raised a hand slightly, stopping her with a small gesture before lowering himself beside the fire, the orange flames reflecting softly across his tired face.
"I'm alright..."
"...Rin."
His eyes shifted toward Obito.
Obito hadn't looked at him once since he arrived, his attention fixed on the fire as silence stretched between them, neither of them rushing to fill it, neither of them knowing where to begin after everything that had happened.
The flames continued to crackle quietly, filling the space between them with a warmth words couldn't.
Several moments passed.
Then—
"So..."
"You came back."
Kakashi gave a small nod.
"...hn."
Another silence settled before Obito spoke again, this time without taking his eyes off the fire, his voice quieter than usual.
"The mission was successful."
"...hn."
Obito finally turned.
"...are you seriously going to answer everything with 'hn'?"
A pause.
"Are you ready..."
"...to tell me about your Sharingan?"
Kakashi looked into the fire for a moment before lifting his eyes toward both of them, knowing there was no reason to hide anymore, not from the people who had trusted him with their lives.
So he told them everything.
How he awakened it.
Everything he remembered.
Everything he knew.
And everything he still didn't understand.
Silence.
Only the fire remained.
Obito rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, trying to process everything he had just heard, every answer somehow creating even more questions than before.
"So..."
"...you weren't lying."
Kakashi shook his head.
"No."
Obito scratched his cheek.
"And..."
"...you're part Uchiha too?"
Kakashi simply shrugged.
Obito stared.
"ANSWER ME PROPERLY, BAKAKASHI!"
Kakashi answered with the same flat expression he always used, staring back at him without the slightest change on his face.
"...I did."
Obito groaned loudly.
"Unbelievable..."
Rin couldn't help smiling.
After calming down a little, Obito folded his arms and looked back at Kakashi, another question already waiting.
"...Who else knows?"
Kakashi answered without hesitation.
"You two," Kakashi said without hesitation. "Minato-sensei. Kushina-san. Mikoto-san." A pause. "...and Fugaku-sensei."
Obito blinked. "...Fugaku..."
"...sensei?"
Kakashi nodded.
"He taught me about the Sharingan."
"He told me to call him Sensei."
"....."
"....."
Rin looked from Kakashi to Obito, watching the way Obito's lips curled into an obvious pout, his arms folded tightly across his chest as though he had just suffered the greatest injustice in shinobi history.
She couldn't help smiling.
Then she shook her head.
"Obito..."
"Stop making that face."
Obito looked genuinely offended, placing a hand against his chest as he stared back at her with complete innocence.
"What face?"
"I don't have a face."
Rin answered him with nothing more than a long, unimpressed stare, the kind that said more than any words ever could, and Obito's confidence slowly disappeared under it until he finally looked away with an exaggerated sigh.
"...Okay."
A small laugh escaped Rin before she turned toward both of them, the smile fading into the gentle but firm expression they both knew meant she wasn't giving them a choice.
"Now. Both of you." Her eyes moved to Kakashi and stayed there a beat longer than the rest. "Get some rest."
"Especially you... Kakashi."
Kakashi opened his mouth. "I can still—"
Rin narrowed her eyes.
"...Understood?"
The answer came immediately.
"Hai."
The journey back to the village was not quite like before.
For the first time in a long while, the silence between them felt lighter. Kakashi, who usually walked several steps ahead or behind, actually stayed close. He even joined the small talk quietly at first, then with dry, cutting remarks aimed mostly at Obito.
"Oi, Kakashi!" Obito protested after yet another jab. "That's not fair!"
Kakashi's visible eye curved slightly in amusement. "You make it too easy."
Obito's face turned red with indignation. "Come here, you masked bastard—!"
He took off running after Kakashi, who dodged effortlessly, a rare, genuine laugh slipping out from behind his mask. Rin watched them with a soft smile, the sound of their chasing and bickering echoing through the forest path like old times.
When they finally reached the village gates, Minato turned to them with a tired but warm smile.
"Alright, Team 7. You three go rest. I'll head to the Hokage to give the report."
Before anyone could answer, Minato disappeared in a yellow flash, leaving only a faint gust of wind behind as the three of them watched the space where he had been standing only seconds earlier.
Gone.
Rin turned toward the two boys, her smile gentle, gratitude written plainly across her face as she looked from Obito to Kakashi, knowing that without them she would never have made it home.
"...Thank you."
"For saving me."
Obito's ears immediately turned red as he scratched the back of his head, trying and failing to hide the smile spreading across his face.
"It's..."
"It's okay."
"I'll always protect you."
Rin smiled gently at him, then turned to Kakashi.
He was looking down, head slightly bowed, mask hiding most of his expression.
"Kakashi…?"
He didn't look up at first. His voice came out low, almost broken.
"Rin… I don't deserve your thanks. I… I thought about abandoning you. Completing the mission first. I'm… worse than—" His shoulders tensed. "Your mother was right. I'm just—"
Before he could finish, Rin stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a quick, tight hug.
Kakashi froze completely, eyes wide with surprise.
"Rin…?"
"Please don't blame yourself," she whispered, cheeks faintly red as she pulled back just enough to look at him. "I'm really glad you came for me. That's enough. More than enough."
She smiled brightly, still a little shy.
"How about we have a team hangout soon? Just the three of us?"
Kakashi stared at her for a second, then gave a small, almost hesitant nod.
She waved before walking away, leaving the two boys standing together in the middle of the street.
Obito stared after her for a long moment.
Then he turned to Kakashi with the expression of someone who had just witnessed a personal injustice.
He said nothing. But the look said everything: the kind of jealousy that could burn a hole straight through a wall if given enough time.
Then he sighed, dropped his arm around Kakashi's neck, and started walking.
"You should come," he said. "Rin will be happy."
Kakashi knew exactly what he meant. He said nothing, but he sighed quietly and said, "Yeah."
They walked in silence for a moment.
"Hey, Kakashi."
"Hn."
"I want to ask you something."
"Hn."
"Stop that. That's my style. Listen seriously."
Kakashi glanced at him sideways. "...Okkkk."
Obito straightened slightly, his voice dropping to something more genuine. "How did you know? That I like Rin?"
Silence.
A few seconds passed.
Obito looked over.
Kakashi was already looking back at him, expression flat, with the particular quality of someone watching a person struggle to open a door that was never locked.
"What?" Obito said.
Kakashi blinked slowly. "I think... out of both of us..."
A pause.
"...you are a real dumb idiot."
"HEY—"
Obito's fist connected with the top of Kakashi's head, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to make the point. "That is NOT how you talk to your big brother!"
Both of them went still.
Kakashi's eye twitched. Something moved across his expression: confusion, offence, and a very specific kind of disgust, all arriving at once.
"...What."
Obito's mouth curved slowly into a smirk. "Isn't it obvious? I'm older and uchiha." He tilted his head. "I think you should call me Nii-chan. Or Obito-nii has a nice ring to it, actually—"
Kakashi was already walking away.
"Hey — HEY." Obito jogged after him. "I'm serious! Someone needs to teach my little brother some manners, and clearly that job falls to me—"
The heat that crawled up the back of Kakashi's neck was immediate and completely unwelcome. His mask handled most of it. The rest he handled by walking faster.
"Ahobito," he said, and disappeared.
"HEYYY—"
Obito's voice echoed after him down the road.
And somewhere ahead, moving faster than he needed to, Kakashi did not smile.
He absolutely did not.