When Kakashi woke, a full month had passed since the day he had "died." As someone who had been on the brink of death, he had no idea what had happened during that time. All he knew was that Obito was holding him so tightly he could barely breathe.
"Waaaaahhh, Kakashi, you bastard! You scared me to death! Waaaaahhh, Kakashi, you bastard! Waaaaahhh, Kakashi!!!"
Snot and tears streamed down, most of it smearing onto Kakashi himself.
Honestly, Kakashi wanted to say, "If you're going to cry, cry somewhere else, don't drench me." But in his current state, he had no strength to speak. Luckily, someone else said it for him.
"I'm telling you, Obito, if you keep this up, you'll crush Kakashi-sensei!"
A bright, cheerful voice reached his ears. Through his partially opened eye, Kakashi saw a pink-haired girl in a red Akatsuki robe. His heart felt a fleeting pang of disappointment, then released—it was fine. Perhaps, for his student, this was the best ending.
Obito finally let go, sniffling, standing nervously to the side, watching Sakura carefully. When Sakura gently opened the eye socket where the Sharingan was, he anxiously said, "Hey, be careful."
Sakura didn't want to talk to Obito, sending him a look that clearly said, "Figure it out yourself."
"Sensei, do your eyes feel uncomfortable?"
Uncomfortable wasn't exactly the right word. Kakashi felt weak and drained, as if his very essence had been hollowed out. How he had ended up like this was still faintly in his memory—the stabbing pain in his abdomen was gone entirely. Rather than asking about the eye, it'd make more sense to ask about my wounds, he thought.
"N-no, it's fine… W-what happened exactly?"
His voice was hoarse and weak. After nearly a month of unconsciousness, speaking clearly was a small victory. He struggled to sit up, but Sakura intercepted him first.
"Hey, Sensei, don't move. You've been 'dead' once—your body's stiff. You need time to adjust."
Sakura's words made Obito nod rapidly beside her. "Exactly, exactly! Kakashi, don't rush. Take it slow. You've been out for days. How's your eye feeling?"
Kakashi didn't feel any discomfort with his eye, but since both Sakura and Obito were so concerned, he answered, "Hmm… it's fine, feels the same as before."
Whether it was due to the brief period of consciousness or the IV drip in his hand, Kakashi felt his strength slowly returning. His words gained a bit of confidence.
Sakura and Obito simultaneously exhaled in relief.
Kakashi was utterly confused.
"Uh… is something wrong with my eye?"
"No, not at all. It was re-transplanted while you were unconscious. You didn't react, so I was worried about rejection. Looks like your body is fully adapted to the Sharingan."
Sakura smiled. Kakashi finally understood. The Sharingan was an important kekkei genkai of the village. Upon his death, it would naturally have been reclaimed. Now it had truly been "reclaimed" and returned. How? He didn't need to ask—the answer was obvious. His gaze shifted from the pink-haired Sakura in the Akatsuki robe to Obito, whom he hadn't seen properly for several days.
How to describe it… Obito's face had become even more asymmetrical.
And that asymmetrical face, his eyes still red—not from the Sharingan, but from the moisture filling them, inflamed and wet.
"You—you're staring at me! I didn't save you! It was our boss being bored and testing the Rinnegan, okay?!"
The Rinnegan belonged to Pain, and of course he had to test it. Kakashi's lips twitched slightly under his mask. He wanted to say thank you, but it felt too forced. Even after surviving a near-death experience, even if nothing else had happened, he couldn't say it. Even if I liked men, that doesn't make me a sentimental woman! he thought.
Instead, he said, "Obito… your face is even more asymmetrical."
Obito turned pale.
Sakura laughed, removing the IV from Kakashi's hand and carefully covering the site with medical tape.
"All done, Sensei. I won't be a third wheel anymore. Rest well. Stay under observation for a couple of days and eat soft foods for a while."
She spoke quickly, packed up her medical tools, and left the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
Now, only Kakashi and Obito remained.
The silence stretched. Kakashi had no idea how to break it. Before all this, it had been Obito storming off in anger, then days without seeing him, and now… experiencing life and death together. Should they discuss the previous quarrel, or the near-death experience?
Obito, however, wasn't thinking that much. He had mostly forgotten the events. His silence stemmed from watching Kakashi lying on the bed, feeling utterly distressed.
The idiot almost died… For Obito, it felt like the sky itself had collapsed.
Now that Kakashi was awake, breathing steadily, Obito's relief was immense—but the fear he had felt each time Kakashi had been on the brink still lingered.
Thinking of Kakashi's cold body, the unmoving chest, Obito cried uncontrollably. Back when he pretended to be Madara, not a single tear had fallen, even with Kakashi lying before him. But now… he couldn't stop. Obito cared for Kakashi more than his own life.
He shuffled to the bedside, wiped his tears with his sleeve, and sobbed, "Ka… Kakashi… you bastard."
Kakashi didn't feel like a bastard, so he said nothing. But Obito wasn't done.
"Kakashi, you don't keep your word!"
It was precisely because Kakashi kept his word that all this happened. But Obito couldn't see it that way.
He felt justified in his anger, yet Kakashi seemed to break his promises, making the tears flow even more. Obito felt deeply wronged.
"You… you said you despise people who kill themselves! You wouldn't do this! You tricked me, sob… Kakashi, you bastard! You tricked me…"
Tears fell, burning hot, splashing onto Kakashi's face. He felt heavy in the chest, his stomach twinged in cramping waves—not exactly pain, but a twisting ache. His limbs tingled. His nerves tingled.
"Sorry."
...
The complete fanfic (Chapter 261) is already available on P@treon(.)com/Crimson_Lore