Chapter Text
Kakashi's head swam before he could even open his eyes. Groaning, he let his head loll back limply. He felt sick to his stomach – like he'd just been churned through an intangible maelstrom. In the haze, all he could really register was the strange buzzing of his body. The sensation of floating in the void.
Where was he? What had happened?
Everything felt so blurry, so thick.
Was he sleeping? Dreaming?
Had he gone to bed and… no. That didn't feel right. Disoriented as he was, the sludge in his stomach was real. He struggled to focus, pushing himself to recall his last memories.
Sakura.
He'd been with Sakura, hadn't he?
They were on a mission.
…
Their travel had gone better than Kakashi had expected. Sakura had been training intensively under Tsunade, that much he knew, but he hadn't expected this kind of improvement so fast from Sakura. The past two days, she had kept up with his pace without breaking a sweat. If he wanted to push her, he would have to push himself as well. But that was beyond the mission description. Unnecessary. The mission was too easy for either of them. No, the true goal was simply to get Sakura out in the field under his protection and supervision so she could get first hand experience.
Kakashi chuckled to himself. He doubted there would be any protecting to do if the rest of her skills had grown proportionally to her speed and stamina.
Sakura turned to him from where she was washing her face in the stream. “What's funny?”
With a smile, Kakashi flicked water from his wet fingers to her face. “Nothing, nothing, Sakura-chan.”
That did not suffice for her though. She half pouted, half glared. An expression that had come to unnerve him a little.
“I was just thinking,” Kakashi started. He ruffled her hair. “How much you've grown. I'm impressed.”
Sakura instantly beamed. “You mean it?!”
Kakashi nodded.
…
He remembered wanting to say something more. Maybe a joke, a quip, a jab of some kind. Or maybe more praise as she seemed to have loved it so much. He hadn't seen her smile much in the last couple of years. Not since Sasuke and Naruto left.
Swallowing against his dry throat, Kakashi tried to right himself and open his eyes again.
His heart sank as his surroundings solidified.
He was chained up – clearly chakra-cuffed – and unable to move much beyond his head.
Worse than that, when his vision finally focused enough, the first thing he saw was Sakura in the same predicament.
At the very least, she seemed unharmed. As he was. Exactly in the same state.
That did not cool his dread in the least.
Where were they? Why?
“Welcome back to the world of the living,” a voice greeted. Just mocking enough to raise the hairs on the back of Kakashi's neck. “You've kept me waiting. Rude.”
The voice felt eerily similar.
“ Very rude, Kakashi.”
His eyes widened. No –
Kakashi's head whipped around towards the voice and he found exactly what he expected.
“Obito.”
Obito laughed, clapping. “Sharp as ever, aren't you?”
Fighting the tremor in his muscles, Kakashi fixed his glare on him. The very sight of him was enough to short circuit his brain. He could not be alive. Yet there he was. His crushed half distinctive and right. Everything about him was right . Even the smell. Everything except the fact he was breathing and the cruelty that rolled off him in waves powerful enough to rattle him from a distance.
Obito only smiled – a stranger's vicious smile. Predatory. About to pounce.
Unfazed, Obito turned towards Sakura instead. Kakashi fought his every instinct begging him to scream and do anything to keep him away from her.
Stay calm , he reminded himself.
Don't rile him up. Don't encourage him. Don't show weakness.
Don't, don't, don't –
“What have we got here?” Obito grabbed her chin and turned her head from side to side, inspecting her. Sakura whimpered under his grip. “Your student. The medic.”
Obito stared into her still bleary eyes. Cocking his head to the side, he ran his free hand through her hair. Lifted her chin and looked down at her lips.
“She's a pretty one, isn't she?”
Kakashi kept his mouth shut.
When Obito ran his thumb over her bottom lip, Sakura finally jolted back to full consciousness. She recoiled violently, straining against her chains.
Obito laughed, still holding her chin firmly within his grip.
Sakura's eyes landed on Kakashi and latched onto him. He could see the questions in her mind, the panic, help me .
“You're here because of Kakashi dearest over there,” Obito said. Sakura frowned, collected enough to no longer fight her restraints. “That's right. It's all his fault.”
Kakashi swallowed thickly. This couldn't be happening. Not with Sakura. She had nothing to do with them.
Obito’s hand slid down her throat and lower.
“Get your hands off of me!” Sakura roared. With shocking force, Sakura kicked against the chains. “You –”
Her voice cut off to a gurgle as Obito closed his hand around her small neck.
“Shush,” he warned. “Be a nice girl and stay quiet.”
Sakura's eyes burned with rage but she complied.
“You have soft skin,” Obito murmured. He dipped his hand lower into her collar. Sakura shuddered. “You smell quite nice, too.”
For a moment, Obito stilled, as if contemplating.
Whatever conclusion he came to, the smirk that took over his face left no doubt in Kakashi's mind that they would not like it.
“Let's see,” Obito said, low and to himself.
Taking the zipper of her vest gingerly between his fingers, he tugged it down. Sakura gasped as he pried it open, revealing the mesh shirt she wore underneath and the bindings under it. Kakashi held his breath as Obito observed her. When he slipped his hand under the mesh and stroked the flesh of her abdomen, Kakashi's heart raced. Growling, Sakura resisted again.
“ Quiet , I said,” Obito barked. His Sharingan swirled wildly and Sakura's limbs relaxed. She cast her eyes down, fighting tears. If Obito had used a genjutsu, it at the very least wasn't of the sort Itachi had used on Kakashi. “Good.”
When Obito bent down to lick her cheek, Kakashi couldn't help it.
“Stop!” He screamed. “Don't touch her. Leave her alone. She's not the one you want.”
Obito turned a wicked grin on him. “You're right, Kakashi.”
His hand returned to Sakura's throat and squeezed .
“She's here because I have a bone to pick with you .”
Obito stared into her eyes as Sakura began choking for breath.
“She means nothing to me. She's of no use to me, unlike you or Naruto and Sasuke.”
Panic spread through Kakashi's chest.
“She's here because of you. She's nothing more than a tool, a means to an end. But you. ” Obito smiled at Kakashi. “ You are here for my own entertainment. For my amusement. I never thought I'd stumble onto such a chance,” he laughed. “It's too bad she just so happened to be with you, hm?”
Kakashi's pulse went haywire, as did his brain. What could he do?
“Just one more happy coincidence for me, though,” Obito laughed. His hold on her throat relented and Sakura took in a sharp, broken breath. “She's going to make things a lot more fun for us.”
“Obito,” Kakashi snarled, pushing against the chains, muscles twitching to rip his fucking throat out. “Don't you dare – “
But Obito was on him in a flash and it was Kakashi's throat in his grasp now. Kakashi grit his teeth. He just needed one opening, one opportunity.
“Weigh your words carefully,” Obito warned, eyes wild. “Cross me, and you'll regret it. Her life lies in your hands.”
His heart stopped dead in his chest, his eyes going wide as reality sunk in. He slumped into his restraints. No. No, no, no.
“You'd do well to remember that.” Obito pushed away from him. “ Friend killer .”