Chapter one: Iridescent

Starts at 680

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, the song titles that inspired me, or anything else other than my own storyline and ideas

"No…" He saw her falling and could not stop his body from jumping into danger without regard to how we he would get her to safety. The Copy Ninja jumped and caught her in his arms as a sea of lava lay beneath them, the only thing that he could think of was using a scroll tied to a kunai to use as a rope. Kakashi had somehow thrown Obito, before catching Sakura, against the shear rock and held him there by the only other kunai that he had left. "Obito please forgive me", Kakashi tried to aim so that he would not hit an artery in his friend's arm or any chakra points, but only had a split second so he said a silent prayer that it would be enough to hold Obito's weight.

Kaguya stood before the shinobi world, or what was left of it after she plunged it into another dimension with ease. To her, this place was corrupted and the chakra, her chakra, needed to return to her being.

The level of power was something that Kakashi had never encountered, how could this being in front of him summon another dimension, he thought. Sasuke stood next to Naruto and said that they needed to seal Kaguya. Kakashi silently agreed and thought that at this point, his students' abilities well foreshadowed his own. There were two battles ahead of the Copy Ninja, the one before him was one that he knew that he could not win with his level of power, the other was the one in which he had to quickly overcome or else he and the young woman in his arms would surely die. Kakashi knew that Naruto and Sasuke could be trusted with their own battle and he could focus on his current situation and quickly try to figure out how to get, Obito, Sakura, and himself to safety from the lava that flowed below.

Suddenly, Kakashi felt Sakura tremble as she held onto him. Her Hitai-ate slipped from her forehead and fell into the lava below, melting instantly. She instinctively wrapped her arms around Kakashi's waist. She looked up at her former sensei and saw an emotion that she had never seen in his eyes. His eyes were wild as he searched his surroundings and finally came to encompass her own, as if she was the last thing that he wanted to see before he died.

She felt his grip around her grow tighter and she could feel the slight tremble of fear that shook his body. Sakura knew that the scroll could not hold onto both. She considered letting go, but his grip would not allow for her to move an inch. His mind raced through what little options he had left. One hand was holding onto the one person that was the only ray of sunshine in the lonely ninja's life and the other to a flimsy scroll that could tear at any time.

The heat was intense and Kakashi felt his grip on Sakura and the scroll slip for an instance. He looked up and saw that the scroll had caught fire and was about to plunge them to their deaths. He thought, 'I never got to tell her how happy she had made me feel, how much her daily visits brought hope back into my life, about how much I had begun to care for this amazing woman before me. Now I will never get that chance…. No! this wasn't the end for her, she still had a whole life ahead of her…'

A sudden scream shattered his thoughts as they abruptly fell. Kakashi tightened his hold on her ready to push her off himself and prayed that Naruto or Sasuke would notice and catch her.

The next thing he felt was Naruto's chakra holding onto both in a death grip before they fell into the lava below. Naruto smiled towards them and said, "Today is not your day Kakashi-Sensei, we are going to beat this together!" His overwhelming confidence was infectious and Sakura smiled at her blond-haired teammate.

Kakashi looked around in disbelief as he saw that Naruto was also holding onto Sasuke, who had activated a partially completed Susanoo, as he floated in midair. Sasuke then used his own power to gain a foothold to stand in, Naruto's Kagebunshin grabbed Obito, Sakura, and Kakashi but kept a fair distance from themselves. Sakura breathe a sigh of relief as she saw that her entire team was safe. She did notice that Kakashi still had not relinquished his hold on her waist, Kakashi however was not ready to remove himself from her until they were on solid ground.

Kaguya's power had stunned team 7 since they were still unsure how this monstrous being was at a God-like power level to be able to create other dimensions in the blink of an eye.

Naruto's clone began healing Obito. Kakashi looked on as his friend was being healed and thought of how much Naruto reminded him of when he and the Uchiha were in the same team. If Naruto reminded him of the idealistic Obito, then Sakura should have reminded him of Rin, but there was a sheer force of unrestrained inner strength that Sakura possessed that Rin did not. Not that Sakura's physical strength was anything to joke about, her inner strength was due to her compassion and drive to be helpful to her team and to others. He never understood why Rin followed him around in his younger days, when Obito was so clearly infatuated with her. Kakashi continued to think about his past as he unconsciously leaned into Sakura and breathed in her scent to reassure himself that she was still next to him and she was very much alive. He was doomed, the thoughts of self depreciation and regret flooded Kakashi's brain, 'At least Obito had the guts to show Rin his affection, unlike me who could never admit his feelings to anyone.'

Sakura was also lost in her thoughts, especially the look on her former sensei's face when they were in danger of falling. She thought, 'Why did he look at me like that…He looked like he wanted to say something… Is he really worried about me, or could it be something else?... He did say during our last mission before the war that he would join me during the village festival, He's never said that before, could there….. No…I don't think so.' The young kuniochi seemed to lean into the toned chest that held her tightly. She could feel the beating of his eratic heart through his shirt and wondered if it was due to the situation or the position that they were in. Sakura knew that Kakashi was always calm and collected even when they were in the heat of battle or if she was healing his wounds after, his pulse would always be even and steady. He was her constant in the many variables of her life. Right now, she could only feel his increased heart rate and the feel of his masked face breath in as he placed his chin on top of her head which only served to confuse her even more. She would really need to think back on her previous visits with Kakashi to see if there had been any other signs but she would have to wait until they had survived.

Their own thoughts were swiftly discarded when they heard Sasuke yelling "Amaterasu" and several black flames appeared around Kaguya. Naruto formed some more clones as Kakashi thought, 'Here it is, my student's greatest moment in battle….' Only to see him use that blasted Sexy Reverse Harem Jutsu. Kakashi had a deadpan expression on his face as he thought, 'Jiraiya, wherever you may be, how did you corrupt my sensei's son this bad.' He then looked down and saw Sakura blush as pink as her own hair, 'Maybe it was the heat of the lava, yeah, I will go with that, there is no way that she would find this appealing, did she really just get a nosebleed?! No, I don't have time to think about that' he thought, 'Why the hell would he use this jutsu instead of the vast arsenal of fatal and destructive jutsus he possessed?! I hope you're proud Jiraiya!'

The next thing they all saw was all the naked clones disappear and the real Naruto sucker punch Kaguya clear across the sky. Sasuke and Naruto prepared themselves to seal her but she regained her senses and were suddenly thrust into a cold and icy environment that was no longer the hellish dimension that they were in.

Sakura looked ahead towards Naruto and Sasuke with a worried expression on her face, not knowing if their attack led her to change dimensions. Obito attempted to open his eyes when the cold hit his exposed body but was unable to keep his eyes open for that long, it was just long enough to see Kakashi next to the pink haired girl.

The group of ninja quickly realized that Kaguya really did have a power to change dimensions and she did it with minimal effort. This was not going to be like fighting Madara, this could possibly be the end as they knew it.

Meanwhile, in the front lines, a small black portal appeared next to Naruto and Sasuke and without warning Sasuke was pulled into that portal and was nowhere to be seen. Naruto's clone explained this to Sakura and Kakashi could see the instant worry on her face for the young Uchiha. He could only sigh internally and look at Obito who seemed to stir awake. Naruto's clone explained what was happening and the whole thing with Kaguya and Hagaromo.

As the clone continued to explain things to Sakura, Kakashi knelt next to his old teammate and helped Obito stand. Kakashi could not hide his surprise under his mask as Obito gave him a tired but kind smile, one that he had not seen in a long time. Something inside of Kakashi longed to ask for Obito's forgiveness for not being strong enough to protect him, to protect Rin… and as if wordlessly acknowledging his plea, Obito placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder and stood to his full height as he said, "I know… and it was my fault as well." Kakashi looked down and closed his eyes for a moment as Obito whispered to him, "I also know how much you beat yourself up over all of it, but I was too weak in my anger and rage to see that and forgive you. There were many times I could have gone back home and… well that's no longer the issue… Kakashi, I was wrong in doing all of this."

The Copy Ninja looked up at the scarred face of his old friend, those scars and the hate that once resided in the eyes of the boy who longed to be Hokage were due to his arrogance as a young boy, but now were filled with a knowing sense that Obito had always been in the shadows of Konoha and had seen the pain and loneliness that Kakashi willingly put himself through. Obito and Kakashi both nodded at each other, wordlessly giving and accepting each other's plea of forgiveness as a spike in chakra surged in front of them.

Obito took a step further and Sakura stepped closer to Kakashi, still weary of the older Uchiha. She looked up into the grey eyes of her former sensei and saw that glint of comfort that she sometimes sought in the early days of the war. This was not missed by the Uchiha and he cleared his throat and said in a somewhat raspy, rough voice, "Should we get going, I believe we might be needed." This broke Sakura's and Kakashi's eye contact and they both nodded and they began to run towards Naruto's chakra signature. The many explosions and breaking ice cliffs were also a dead giveaway to Naruto's location.

As they neared Naruto's location they saw once more an opening in the sky and Kaguya passed on through it. Obito looked up and said that it was a space/time technique. He went on to ask Naruto's clone if he indeed could no longer sense Sasuke and theorized that he was probably sent to another dimension. He was analyzing Kaguya's powers and then stated that it had similar properties to his own kamui technique and it might be possible for him to enter the dimension Kaguya opened if he synched up with her but it would require massive amounts of chakra that he did not possess.

The clone spoke up first and offered his chakra, but Obito said it would not be enough as this was not a dimension of his own doing. A heartbeat later Sakura asked about her hyakugou chakra. Kakashi flinched at the thought of sending Sakura with Obito into an unknown dimension that he might not ever enter himself, and if they failed, they might never get out.

Obito looked on ahead, a plan formulating in his mind and whispered that it might be enough to get Sasuke back. The way that he set his shoulders and said, "I'm Kakashi's friend, a student of the 4th Hokage, and an Uchiha…. Who once had the same dream as you… Please allow me to go on ahead of you and clear a path for the future." reminded Kakashi of someone that had accepted his fate and was willing to put everything on the line for others.

Sakura took a deep breath and looked at Kakashi's old friend and teammate and then at her former sensei. Kakashi saw the resolve in her eyes and knew that she had found her strength to step forward yet he wanted to tell her to stay and to be safe, but that would have been an insult to her will of fire. With a lump in his throat, Kakashi gently closed his eyes and said a quiet prayer to whatever god was listening to protect his blossom. This might be the last time they saw each other and he wanted to convey his feelings that he trusted her not only with his life but with the pride of a comrade in arms, a Konoha Shinobi. She took his worn, calloused hand and gave it a gentle squeeze returning the sentiment of comradery. Obito looked on and thought of how stupid the so called genius of his old team could be in matters of the heart, but still he said nothing and just shook his head.

Sakura and the clone stepped closer to Obito and he told them to hold onto his shoulder while they jumped to the next dimension. Before the next portal opened they suddenly felt the eyes of Kaguya herself upon the small group. A sudden crushing weight came over their bodies but was gone in an instant. It's as if she didn't see them as a threat so she ignored them completely. Kaguya continued to fight with Naruto and his insane amount of Kagebunshin, when she opened the portal Obito took his opportunity to follow her in.

They were aiming for the dimension where they could safely extract Sasuke from wherever he was, but what they were thrown into was nothing but. The flashes of light were intense and images of Kaguya's many dimensions, and what seemed like altered timelines, flashed by quickly. Sakura saw an image of a distant future where Sasuke and herself were holding a baby girl, Obito saw himself kissing Rin on their wedding day in an image that almost broke his heart, they both saw sobering images of the Uchiha massacre in the haunting night that forever changed Konoha. The eerie laugh that encompassed their short trek through this dimension dismantled any type of hold that they had on their own reality.

Kaguya really was manipulating time and space and they now feared that they would never get out of said dimension. Obito looked at Sakura and said to her, "We don't have enough chakra to escape this…. I feel the eternal pull of her power and my Kamui cannot compete with this endless amount of chakra." Sakura began to panic but her flow of chakra into Obito did not waver. The elder Uchiha felt the determination and she stated, "I will not fail, I will save Sasuke."

Obito looked on and saw dimensions ahead that were just filled with despair and war, but he saw one dimension far off that caught his eye because he saw how familiar it was, how much pain he had caused at that time and how he might be able to fix it. In that instance, he said out loud, "How about if you could not only save Sasuke, but the whole Uchiha clan?"

He heard a small gasp escape her lips as she remembered all of the pain that her teammate suffered due to the loss of his family, especially the loss of his brother. She wondered how Konoha would have been if the Uchiha clan had never tried the coup and had to have been wiped out by non-other than their own clan heir. She remembered the files that Tsunade had entrusted to her eyes only, she had begged her to allow her to see the classified files so that she could get a better understanding of the motives of not only Itachi, but the mental state that Sasuke could now be in before the war.

Naruto's clone asked Obito how it could be done and in that instance Sakura's inner mind would have agreed to anything that could possible make that a reality. The Sharingan wielder thought for a second and then measured the amount of chakra that he had and the amount that was being pumped into him by the clone and Sakura. He did quick calculations and then decided to go ahead and use all his remaining life-force and the chakra of the clone to hurl Sakura into the dimension that he saw quickly approaching.

He looked at her face that was contemplating what he had just said about saving the Uchiha clan and then said to her, "Sakura-san, please save myself from my own undoing. My clan deserves another chance. Oh, and keep an eye on Kakashi for me, he really was holding a torch for you for a really long time, he thought I wouldn't notice but nothing escapes these eyes of mine." With a confused look coming from the kunoichi, Obito's chakra surged and he felt the clone deposit all of it's remaining chakra and with a puff of smoke disappeared from their side. Sakura felt the initial pull of her own chakra but then felt a sudden stop in which Obito grabbed her hands and hurled her using all his force towards the dimension that he saw coming and with a series of seals he used his last bit of power to open that dimension for her to fall through. Sakura reached out towards him and tried to grab a hold of him but she saw the calm look on his face as he said, "Sakura-san, please save us."

She felt sucked into another time and place and felt the sudden rush of air as she continued to fall from the night sky. The river below her was coming closer and closer and she prepared her chakra to absorb the landing when she felt something, or precisely someone, fall right on top of her right before they both entered the water. Her instincts as a medic nin, kicked in and she quickly turned around and grabbed the person who had fallen on her and swam to the river's shore to assess the situation.