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He'd fucked up. On a mission no less.
The distinct awareness of failure settles under Kakashi's skin, regret throbbing in his chest. He should have known better than to go against his biology. Careless.
It'll be quick, he thinks, frantic, as the haze in his head grows stronger; cognition already declining. He can feel his molars expanding, nails sharpening, and fuck, he could only do so much to stave off the inevitable.
He jumps off a branch, and takes a cursory look at the surroundings. It was starting to grow dark, the forest was suitable enough.
It'll be quick.
His nose picks up on the scent of fresh blood. There was someone nearby. Someone wounded. An enemy nin, most likely.
Something feels off.
Kakashi shifts with the darkness, under the shadows, through the canopy. There's something so awfully natural about this; the transition from human into something more animalistic that leaves him bitter with self-hatred.
He makes his way into the clearing, and finds the enemy nin leaning against one of the trees. Anticipation spikes under his skin. He feels dizzy with hunger.
"Captain!?" comes the choked, relieved gasp.
Kakashi pauses, then brushes the notion aside. Surely he must have misheard. His teammates were with Obito. They were already heading back to the village. This was an enemy-nin. It had to be.
He's no friend-killer.
Something feels off.
"Captain," the voice comes again, an edge of fear to it. Kakashi ignores it, and stalks closer, eyeing the prospect. It's too injured to do much of anything. Still, it was suitable sustenance. Kakashi stares straight into it's eyes, a faint sense of pity in his chest, before opening his mouth and aiming for the jugular.
There's a choked scream; a brief resistance before the body finally goes slack. Tsk. He's been sloppy. Hasty. Kakashi only has so long to himself before Obito grows suspicious.
Obito couldn't find out.
He makes quick work of the legs, the snapping of bone startlingly loud. Barely bothers to chew before slurping down on the bone marrow, euphoria flooding his veins.
With each piece of flesh, the fog in his head clears. With each piece of flesh, the horror of his decision becomes starker. Recognition eventually sets in.
Still, he can't find it in himself to stop.
Kakashi's only just begun on the torso, gnawing at the bones, when the tip of a kunai presses against his throat.
Oh.
He'd envisioned this scenario countless times. Had often wondered how he'd react when finally caught. Now that it's happened, he feels oddly calm—serene even.
Kakashi licks his lips. Savors the last bit of tangy human flesh. "Obito."
The kunai breaks skin, a line of blood running down his throat. Kakashi lets the drops of crimson fall, waits a second, two, before carefully tipping the kunai down. What a monstrosity he must look like. Blood dripping down his chin. Pieces of pulp caught in his jaws.
He's expecting questions, perhaps an insult, or a look of repulsion, but Obito only looks resigned. There's something tired in his gaze. "Clean yourself up."
Kakashi blinks, caught off guard. "I—"
"Please Kakashi," Obito says, voice tight as he put some distance between them. Kakashi can hear the sounds of his dry retching, the stench of rotting flesh permeating the air. Tries to ignore it, focusing on cleaning himself up.
Obito eventually makes his way back, eyes roaming over their teammates mangled body, before forcibly moving his attention back towards Kakashi. "I'll take care of the body."
Body. Not their comrade. Kakashi feels bile crawl up his throat. He did this.
"I need to be turned in," Kakashi says, weakly. Nothing is going how he expected it to. It almost feels like a fever dream—surreal. "You need to turn me in."
"No," Obito hisses, a hint of panic bleeding through. There's another emotion in there that Kakashi can't seem to distinguish. "If you were brave enough, you would have turned yourself in a long time ago, so don't pretend to be a martyr now."
Kakashi bites his lip, knows he's right. His body is exhausted, he's too tired to think straight. For some strange reason, he feels as if they've had this argument before. "Then what do you want?"
"I just want to fucking keep you safe," Obito snaps, before his voice goes quieter, vulnerable. "You're all I have left."
Kakashi closes his eyes, swallows the sudden lump in his throat. "You don't understand. I'll have to do this the rest of my life."
"I know."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Obito says, voice rough. His eyes are shiny with tears, and like this, he almost looks like a kid again. Back when their lives were so much simpler. "Just remember, it's not your fault."
It is, Kakashi wants to say, but grits his teeth. "Obito, I—"
There's a hit to the side of his head, sudden and sharp. Kakashi lets out a low groan, and stumbles forward into the dirt, disoriented. There's black spots across his vision, the blurriness already setting in.
His fingers itch with the urge to pick up his kunai, to defend himself, but he supresses it.
If this is what Obito's decided on, then so be it. Trash like him would deserve it.
Right as Kakashi can feel his consciousness start to slip, he glances up, selfish enough to grant himself one last look at Obito's face.
He catches the faintest glimpse of a red pinwheel; the crimson glow stark against the darkness.
He thinks he can hear Obito crying, just as everything goes black.
He wakes up on a hospital bed, throat dry and head pounding. It's dark outside, moonlight filtering in through the windows.
Kakashi rubs his eyes blearily, careful not to touch the gauze wrapped across his head. He must have been concussed.
Obito's slouched against one of the worn down chairs, and the sight of him leaves Kakashi's chest tight with fondness.
He doesn't feel hungry. Kakashi blinks, re-evaluates the thought once more. His breath hitches—something's gone wrong.
His rustling must have been louder than he'd expected, because Obito jolts awake, his eyes settling on Kakashi, before going slack with relief. "Good, you're awake. Just wait a second, I'll get you some water."
Kakashi grabs his hand, hysteria creeping up his spine. "The report," he rasps out. "Let me see the mission report first."
Obito looks as if he wants to argue, lips thinned, but he shakes his head and hands it over.
Kakashi's eyes scan over the document, honing in on the last 2 lines. He reads them once. Twice.
ANBU Soku killed in action by enemy nin.
Unable to retrieve the body.
Kakashi's hands tremble. "I—I don't remember this. I don't remember anything."
"You were injured in the head. It's normal for your memory to be a bit shaky."
No, Kakashi thinks, panicked. That's not what he meant. How could his appetite have simply dissapeared.
"I was supposed to keep him safe," is what he ends up saying, voice carefully neutral.
Obito's eye twitches, an expression on his face that Kakashi can't pick apart. "You did the best you could."
Kakashi looks down, tries to control his breathing. Tries to make sense of it all. He must have eaten killed one of the enemy nin. It was the only answer.
"Kakashi…" Obito has an odd look on his face. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
The surge of guilt is almost overwhelming in it's intensity. Kakashi takes a deep breath, forcefully shoves it down. "I'm just tired."
Dissapointment flickers through Obito's face, but he doesn't press. Suddenly, Kakashi can breathe again.
Relief thuds traitorously in his heart. Scum like him shouldn't deserve to live, and yet…
"You can't die," Obito whispers, leaning forward, breath ghosting over Kakashi's skin. He peppers kisses across Kakashi's face. "I won't let you die."
It sounds like a blessing. It sounds like a curse.
Kakashi ignores the way his eyes sting, and runs a hand through Obito's hair. Traces the light stubble smattered across his face. The mangekyo stares down at him, and under the moonlight, it looks almost mesmerizing.
There is something oddly familiar about it.
An unsettling thought stirs in the back of Kakashi's head.