THE MONSTROUS MACHINE glared back at him, a stark contrast to the darkness that hid the face he could still recognize. the first time he’d heard that voice, kakashi had been sent into a panic, muscles clenching with nostalgic pain. his fingers were clasped tightly around the shield which was poised to fly from his hand. he’d stopped abruptly as the assailant turned back to him after a precise shot had knocked his mask askew. kakashi was frozen, years of cold sinking back into his bones as everything reenacted in a flash in his head.

          ❛          OBITO...          ❜

HE’D WATCHED IT: the tears had dropped from his eyes along with his best friend, so far down that nothing could be seen. the world had stopped turning until obito was lost to the darkness which swallowed him ravenously. then it all came crashed down around him, informing him life would not wait any longer.

AS THE FIGHT raged on, kakashi was forced to remit those images, to cast aside his longing for a time which was much more innocent. he played his guard fully, unwilling to strike back since the reveal. the clash had suddenly gotten much closer than kakashi anticipated, and he was forced to stare into that eye which was a twin of his own. obito’s words struck him harder than any punch thrown. he didn’t believe it, wouldn’t believe it.

          ❛          YEAH, YOU’RE right. it’s not fair, is it?          ❜

HER FACE NEVER ceased to haunt his dreams, the terror within her dull eyes robbed of life so young. he was the thief, a cold-blooded criminal cursed to a life rampant with lost and despair. despite the destruction and desolation that had lain waste to the village that hundreds of people called home, nothing had felt more personal to kakashi than the resurfacing of old ghosts from a life he’d left behind.

OBITO HAD DUG up a toxic seed he’d buried long ago, his appearance only serving to prove that the seed had taken root deep within his mind. he himself had said the same spiteful, self-loathing words years before. nothing was left for him to understand, no scraps of truth remained to give him closure of that horrific night. just the blood that forever stained his hands would serve to remind him that everything he cared about would eventually vanish before his eyes. he would live the life of a monster doomed to feel the sting of scrutinizing stares, to hear the venomous rumors whispered as he passed.

HE HAD TO live with it. he had to live with both of their deaths on his hands, which was arguably as brutal ( if not more so ) than dying along with them.

               ‘ Hurry and destroy my Rinnegan.. ’

   ⌠⦾⌡—— Although she knew she had to, it didn’t make the act any easier. Her fists closed desperately around the kunai’s handle willing her hands not to shake, her eyes struggling to not betray how much she didn’t want to do this-- How she couldn’t even look him in the eye-- She knew! God’s did she know she had to, and had it been earlier in the fight she may have,but she hated when enemies showed their human side to her, this man more so for more reasons than just saving Naruto’s life.

              ‘ I can’t hold off black Zetsu much longer. ’