Quick Note to all Readers: This one-shot has absolutely nothing to do with my other two stories "Nakama" and "Touketsu no Namida". It is an AU, but different from the two I just mentioned. To anyone who IS waiting for the next update of "Touketsu no Namida" please take a quick look at my profile to see the state I'm in.

Disclaimer: "Naruto" is not owned by me.

.-.-.

If Rin Could Not Have Been Saved

Twenty year old Uchiha Obito was a fun guy to be around, always grinning or laughing, cracking jokes, getting drunk, or simply just hanging out with friends. It wasn't always just friends. He had a reputation of getting along with just about everyone in the village. Just about. That didn't make in him a poor ninja though, oh no. He was one of the best among the Jounin, and a well known soldier in the ANBU. The missions he led brought back not only success, but a high rate of survival of subordinates. He was a good captain, responsible, and managed to ease the tension out of almost any situation. Almost.

But no one would have expected that just half a decade earlier, when he was still a Chuunin. Back then, he was weak, the Uchiha drop-out, a cry baby, obnoxious, who still managed to have a big mouth, and one which spat out both things he could and could never do. Despite being the Fourth Hokage's student, he was the embarrassment and stinging wound to the Uchiha pride.

Now, he was a shinobi, who could genuinely be compared with the genius, Hatake Kakashi.

Said genius had also grown to be famous, not only within Konoha, but also without, to the far corners of all Five Great Shinobi countries. He wasn't as social and open as Obito, and he certainly did not enjoy being surrounded by people when it was not necessary. He was the perfect soldier – the classic example of what a shinobi should be. He was admired by the Chuunin and newly promoted Jounin, even ANBU, and phrases such as '…are the basics of a shinobi – just like Hatake Kakashi' became more and more frequent. Born as the son of the famous White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, Kakashi had lived the first few years of his life in his father's great shadow. After that one mission, he had spent a while under the cold gazes of the village, seen as the son of the disgraced trash. But Kakashi did nothing, retorted to no one, and continued on his path to grow stronger. And stronger he got. On his first mission as a Jounin, Kakashi lost a team mate, but at the same time, turned the tides of the war towards a Konoha victory.

Many people compared Uchiha Obito and Hatake Kakashi, to such an extent that it became a regular rumour among the older ladies, and the root of many arguments and mock fights between children. Those who were close to the two shinobi in question knew that they were both incredibly strong and great, in their own separate ways. Obito was admired and liked once one got close to him and talked to him. Kakashi was held in awe from afar, for his mere presence was enough to keep away most people.

'Just about' did not mean 'everything', and 'most people' did not mean 'everyone'.

For those who knew Kakashi and Obito knew also that the two of them loathed each other. This had been made a clear fact when they had first been placed in the same squad for a mission and an accompanying Jounin was almost knocked out cold due to the mere Sakki() that Obito and Kakashi had emitted.

That didn't mean that those missions would go horribly wrong. Quite the opposite. What else could be expected when two such ANBU joined forces? The risk of harming a shinobi due to the ice cold tension the Kakashi and Obito build did not stop their superiors from placing them on the same team more often. They just told any inexperienced ninja, "don't get directly between Hatake and Uchiha Obito – you'll be killed."

And no one could blame them.

Obito had loved Rin, the sweet, gentle medic girl who had been killed during that mission. She had been taken captive by the Rock nins, and they had never been able to save her. Everyone knew that she couldn't have been saved if the mission were to have been a success. Though it saddened them, they could not really hesitate between the choice of one girl and a whole country. They sympathised with Obito, who had been unable to save her even if he had had every intention of doing so, for it was Kakashi who had knocked him unconscious and left him in the safety of a small cave.

No one blamed the mutual hatred that had intensified over the years, and no one tried to stop it – not when they first learned of it, not when it happened again on the next mission they were teamed together, not when a foolish kunoichi (a fan of both of them) physically stepped between them during a mission and really did suffer from mental distortions caused by the Sakki, and not even when close friends found out that Kakashi and Obito fought each other, very seriously with every intention to kill, every month when there was no moon in the sky, regardless of the clouds.

.-.-.

So it was that tonight was such a night – the stars twinkled innocently in the black sky, where no sign of the moon was to be found, gazing silently down at the two shinobi who walked to the edges of a clearing in the forest.

Obito's eyes were already red and the Sharingan spun uncontrollably as if imitating the fiery flames of rage that boiled within its master's chest. Kakashi's silver hair swayed in the breeze, no longer bound by the Hitai-ate, which he always took off for these nights. His anger was colder, more controlled, but no less violent than Obito's. A stray leaf, carried by the wings of the wind blew between their line of eye contact and splintered.

The two former team mates fought with everything they had. There was no foreplay, or a chance to warm up the muscles. The first step, the first blow, were all intended for one end: to kill.

Yet from above, it could not help but look like a graceful dance. Their feet glided smoothly over the ground, kicking off and bracing against the earth at just the right moments. Their limbs were a blur of motion, and their bodies moved accordingly – at times pivoting in a swift arc or flipping through the air and at times lunging forward to stab or strike.

.-.-.

Obito had been seeking revenge for Rin ever since the day he found out she was dead. There was no way he could forgive Kakashi for what he had done. At first, he could not believe it, but Kakashi had repeated it again: "I knocked you out and went to finish the mission alone. Once the mission was accomplished, I tracked down the Rocks and found Rin dead." When Obito had turned his disbelieving eyes to their teacher, he had averted his gaze a little and nodded once. Obito had not attended Rin's funeral, choosing instead, to use the time to train.

But he wasn't stupid. After a few months, he began to question his thirst for revenge. Was Kakashi really telling the truth? The two of them had never gotten along, but they had often spent time together in silence, just sitting together in the fields in each other's company. He knew that Kakashi was not as cold at heart as he seemed to be. So it was that he began to look into that mission a little, and was not surprised to find hints along the way that pointed to the fact that Kakashi had indeed been lying.

Nevertheless, Obito ignored the fact. It was easier – much easier – to hate Kakashi with his mind and soul. The pain was not that bad then, and he didn't have to think about the whole issue in a very complicated way. Kakashi had broken the team work; he had abandoned Rin; he was responsible for Rin's death; he as good as killed Rin.

Kakashi did not deserve to live.

.-.-.

Kakashi had been lying. His argument with Obito had forced him to open his eyes to his own stupidity. Obito had been right. He was a cry baby and a weak, weak ninja, but he was right. That's why Kakashi had knocked him out. He would be damned if he let Obito walk straight to his death – which is what would have happened if Kakashi had let him go off to try and save Rin. So Kakashi hid him out of harm's way and went to track down the enemy by himself. He found them alright, but during the fight, his left eye was maimed, and he was placed at a severe disadvantage when more of the enemy appeared. He would have been killed had Rin not thrown herself in front of him to save him from a killing blow.

He should have been killed. Rin shouldn't have died. He was the one who was unneeded. He didn't have anything. Rin had a family, had friends, and above all, she had someone who truly loved her. Kakashi knew that Rin had died because of him. And for this, he was guilty. He could not tell Obito the truth. So he lied, and Obito had spat and cursed him with every ounce of energy he had. He had tried to pound the life out of Kakashi then and there, and while Kakashi blocked most the blows, he made sure that the very first punch, the one with the most anger and hatred in it, hit its mark.

Kakashi ignored the truth, and continued to lie. It was easier to lie and let Obito despise him. It was easier this way to bear the guilt and the pain. He had killed Rin; Obito hated him and will hate him until either of them died; it was his duty to make sure he killed him.

.-.-.

On these moonless nights, towards the morning hours of the darkness, the Heavens always looked down upon the two exhausted, heavily wounded shinobi, and wept.

.-.-.

() Sakki: killing intent

I don't know where this came from, and I'm pretty sure it'll go nowhere, but I wanted to post it anyways. I thought it might get my muse back up and running. If it doesn, then it's worth failing a chemistry test. lol.

Thanks for anyone who reads! Comments are always welcome.

.LinSetsu.