"HOW DID I DIE!?"

Kakashi had expected recriminations for Rin's death, not this demand. He felt his surprise mirrored by those still inside. Kakashi sat up straighter as he studied the youth five feet away. Obito's frame shook with a tension that Kakashi had never seen on his old teammate before. "I thought Jiraiya told—"

"That I was alive long enough to bequeath my Sharingan! Not how. Was I stabbed? Burned?" Obito gave a strangled cry and fell to his knees in front of the door. "Please, tell me I was not crushed beneath a boulder," he begged to Kakashi's shock. As Kakashi's eye widened, Obito closed his eyes and moaned. "How did it happen? Cave-in? Please, not a cave-in."

"Obito… How?" Kakashi asked.

"I dreamt it!" Tears formed in Obito's eyes as his breathing picked up. "That first night we were here. Just as Kakashi dreamed of accidentally killing Rin." Kakashi caught his breath as Obito wrapped his arms around his chest. "They were just stupid dreams, brought on by the stress of coming here. And so were all the other ones, even last night. But then you really did kill Rin, and everything sounds so close—if that's true, it must all be true, but then I'm—I can't be! I'd never—" Obito burst out sobbing. Not the light tears Kakashi remembered Obito shedding frequently, but heavy sobs that shook Obito's entire body.

"Obito…" Kakashi murmured. "I can't imagine what it's like to remember your death while still alive, but you have a long life—"

"I didn't stay dead, damn it!" Obito snapped as he gasped for air. "I woke up with some plant guy over me telling Uchiha fucking Madara that he could not guarantee restarting my heart again. And then—I—I—" Obito started to hyperventilate. Kakashi stood and walked over to Obito as Minato stepped out of the house.

"Obito," Minato said as he reached down to touch Obito's shoulder.

Obito flinched away violently.

"Obito," Kakashi said as he knelt by his former teammate's side. "Look at me," he ordered as he opened the eye with Obito's Sharingan. "Please." Trembling, Obito complied. Kakashi quickly caught him in a genjutsu. Obito collapsed onto the engawa.

Minato looked alarmed as both he and Kakashi reached for Obito. "It's just a mild sleep genjutsu," Kakashi assured him as he took in the faces crowded close to the door. "I think we need Inoichi to look at him," Kakashi said as Minato picked up Obito, clear disapproval on his face. "It won't be easy for Obito if he's that panicked by whatever he's… remembering."

"You believe his dreams are real?" Jiraiya asked skeptically.

"I believe we should find out."

"I've already redirected my clone to the Hokage," Tenzo said.

Kakashi frowned. "Clone?"

Tenzo shrugged. "I need groceries. I'll pass along the request for Yamanaka."

"You okay?" Kakashi asked as he turned a page in his new Icha Icha volume. His attention, however, was on Luna, not the words in front of him. Somehow over the last few months, Kakashi spent more and more of his downtime sitting in Luna's free chair and reading along side her. Usually, she read at a fast pace. Today she had stared at the same page for five minutes.

Luna grimaced and shut the book. "I'm just distracted today."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"Not really, but…" Luna fiddled with her sleeve. "A few years back, there was a civil war in my home. It's the anniversary of the final battle. We won, but… I've always felt more mournful than celebratory on this date. Too many cut down next to me."

From his experience in the Third War, Kakashi could appreciate her sentiments. "I didn't know you were a warrior."

A wry expression crossed Luna's face. "According to my world, I wasn't old enough to fight. It didn't keep the war from coming for me. There's this curse, a forbidden spell, that allows the castor to control the actions of a lessor-willed victim. Magical power also factors in—Anyway, if one is close to the edge of fighting the curse off, you can see it in their eyes. Otherwise, there's no way to tell who is under it. In my sixth year of school, our minister, the leader of our government, was assassinated. Whispers soon circulated that his replacement was under the curse. Many brushed the rumors off, as the man had fought off the curse in the previous war, but suddenly the government adopted policies of the opposition, brought members of them into key positions. They had to have had members inside or cursed other officials to pull the it off, but they seized control. And ordered new staff appointed to our school. Given how spread out magical ability is… School for us starts around age eleven and involves living in a converted castle ten months out of the year, returning to our families on breaks."

"You were hostages," Kakashi realized.

"And a captive audience to indoctrinate to their point of view. Or attempt to. And when my father became inconvenient… I managed to disappear on a trip home I never took. I got lucky, rescued by some friends that never returned to school. But I'll never forget… And when word spread that we were going to free the school, nothing would have kept me away. Nor, as it turns out, anyone on either side. A rescue operation snowballed into the biggest, and most decisive battle of the war… Most of the youngest, least able to defend themselves, we were able to barricade in the dorms. But we still lost some…"

"…Want to believe it," Obito said as he laid on the floor in the center of the room. Inoichi sat to his left, a hand on Obito's face as he kept Obito in a trance. Minato sat on Obito's right and held his student's hand. Rin and the younger Kakashi sat on Minato's sides. Kushina sat behind him, her hand on Minato's shoulder in silent support. A few feet to the left, sat the Hokage. He held a lit pipe as he frowned and listened to Obito's words. "Kakashi wouldn't kill Rin. But they're right there in front of me," Obito continued in the monotone voice he had used since the start of the trance. "My eye burns, and I can feel my Sharingan shift into something different as it pulls much more chakra than usual. When the drain stops, and my vision clears, I see Rin and Kakashi on the ground. A Kiri-nin goes for the kill. The world ripples and I'm there. With no weapon, I cut her down with chidori."

Minato glanced at the adult Kakashi where he stood against the wall behind Inoichi. Said Kakashi looked down at Obito. Minato found he could not guess the thoughts behind the man's grim face. But he had not contradicted anything Obito had reported about Rin and Obito's deaths.

However presumed, Minato thought.

Kakashi's students had gravitated to his sides. As had Yamato and one of the Hokage's ANBU guards. However, the students telegraphed the need to support their sensei. And each other. Obito's tale so far had been brutal: buried alive, awakening during surgery—staying conscious through the rest of his surgery and limb transplants. (A paralysis tag had prevented speech, voluntary movement, and, fortunately, pain reception. Still, Obito's description of feeling pressure while the Zetsu worked on him would give Minato nightmares.) Obito then detailed captive rehabilitation and finding one teammate with his arm through the chest of the other one, while literally wearing one of his captors.

"Guruguru says something to me," Obito continues, "but I don't pay any attention as I catch a Mist-nin in a genjutsu. Only he's already in a genjutsu. I can't see much in the feedback, but I succeed in getting him to tell me what happened with Rin and the sanbi. I realize they forced Rin or Rin and Kakashi both to decide her death over Konoha's destruction. I get furious. I cut the remaining troops down, but what I really want is to cut down the world. Tear down the world that would that would do this to them, so that no one would ever suffer their pain again. I know I won't. That it would just be me inflicting similar pain on others, but for one horrible instant, I understand Madara's rants about the world's rot.

"I go cold at the realization. I wonder just how Madara was so certain I'd come to understand him. Why he was so certain I'd return, when before he'd been obsessed with keeping me caged. Some Zetsu had told Madara that Rin and Kakashi were in trouble. Could some Zetsu be behind the other genjutsu and have set Rin up in the first place? Could I have been meant to see her forced to wreak havoc on the village?" Across the room, Kakashi pales.

"I'm holding Rin. I barely noticed when I went to her, but I'm here, crying out my apologies for not getting here sooner. I want to apologize for mouthing off about our friendship and my love for the village, but I daren't reveal those thoughts.

"Kakashi lays beside us, unmoving. His breathing's steady, and his chakra feels low. Before I can verify that that's all that's wrong with him, Guruguru squeezes down on my whole body as he hisses my name.

"'What?', I snap. Guruguru tells me that Konoha forces are coming. That we need to leave. That if I want to undo Kakashi's act, I need to go help Madara's plan. I hug Rin tighter while watching Kakashi. I told him once, that those who abandon their friends are worse than trash. And Kakashi will need a friend more than ever when he wakes. But if I'm right about what just happened, Madara and the Zetsu are a threat the village knows nothing about—that I can't locate, adequately count, or even predict. How much worse would I be if Kakashi or someone else got hurt by Madara because I came home before getting the full picture? Kakashi has other friends; Konoha just has me with Madara.

"I verify the forces coming are Leaf—and boy is it weird to realize that any Zetsu can see out of the others' eyes. For any Zetsu that may be reporting to Madara, I spout a bullshit promise to Rin's body about building a perfect world for her sake. I lay Rin down and step back into the bushes. I intend to watch until they're retrieved, but Guruguru drags me underground." Minato closes his eyes. Obito had had a good reason for his choice, but clearly his plan went wrong.

"Madara is all sympathetic when I return to the cave. Says that he is sorry I had to face such harsh realities. That if it helps, Kakashi likely spared her a more painful end. I wonder why everyone's convinced I'll blame Kakashi for Kiri's actions. Anyway, I ask Madara to tell me just how he intends to create a better world. He asks me what I know about bijū.

"I remember a couple of folktales about tailed beasts, and everything the Mist-nin told me about the sanbi. Madara smiles at that. Says it is to be expected in this day and age, when the bijū are a weapon to hoard in secret and not a force of nature. He talks about his fight with Lord First at the Valley of the End. How he had managed to control the kyūbi with his Sharingan only for Lady Mito to use her Uzumaki knowledge to seal the beast inside of herself. That it led to a misguided attempt by the First to establish peace by capturing and gifting other bijū to other villages as mutual deterrents. And then he starts talking about the sage of the six paths.

"Apparently, Madara discovered that the Senju and Uchiha clans were descended from the Sage of the Six Path's two sons. That the clans' feud started as a spat between brothers. But that if you brought Senju and Uchiha genes back into balance, you could revive the Rinnegan. Madara claims to have had success, but that he gave the eyes away to a potential pawn in Ame." To the right, Jiraiya gasps. Minato sees his sensei frozen as he stares at Obito. "Madara pats the statue that's been keeping him alive. 'Do you know what this is, Obito? It's the shell that was left when the Sage split the jūbi into the nine bijū we know today. With the Rinnegan it can reabsorb the bijū to revive the jūbi. We just need a decent vessel for it. See, not everyone can withstand the corrosive nature of bijū chakra enough to survive as a jinchūriki. The number of candidates drops as the bijū's strength rises. That's why Konoha had to negotiate with Uzu to acquire Uzumaki Kushina when Lady Mito neared her end. But for the jūbi… Well, there is a reason we used the material we did when remaking you.'

"I cannot stop my jaw from dropping. I ask if I'm supposed to bully the villages into peace under threat of annihilation. Madara applauds my creativity but assures me that he has found a better solution: with the jūbi's power, I'll be able to use the moon to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, an unbreakable genjutsu that will give everyone their perfect world and resurrect their dead.

"I cannot think of anything more horrific than being trapped in a genjutsu tortured by the knowledge that those around me are not real. I bow down and swear to help him. I ask what he needs me to do. The sooner I learn where this damn cave is, the sooner I can get home.

"The sooner I can stop this madness.

"Madara's hand lands on my head and he assures me that it's all right that I don't believe. That my grief has made him able to change that. Before I can move away, a sharp pain stabs my chest. A glowing seal emerges from within my skin. I can't move. There are seals everywhere around me. Madara's hands grab the sides of my head and force me to look into his hollow eye sockets. There's a growing pressure against my thoughts. I—" Obito jerked under Inoichi's grip. "No!" he gasped, his voice having lost its deadpan quality. "I'm not you! I won't—"

"Obito! Listen to me. Leave the memory. Follow my voice."

Obito continued to thrash under Inoichi's hands. Inoichi released his grip on Obito as Obito rolled to the side and into a trembling ball.

He was Obito, not Madara. Madara's memories might feel like experiences Obito had had, but they were not his. Obito just had to hang onto that thought as Madara's life surrounded Obito. He might now know and understand the bastard better then he ever wanted, but Obito still knew himself. He would not succumb to Madara's madne—

A sharp pain flashed through Obito's head and disrupted his thoughts. A memory of meeting Hashirama bubbled up into view. Obito shook it off. He had to ignore these foreign memories. He would not go with the insanity of Madara's plan—

Another pain lanced through Obito's brain. Black Zetsu's Moon Eye plan was brilliant. It would save the world—Obito shook himself out of that memory. The revelation that The Moon's Eye Plan did not originate from Madara was a surprise, but not something Obito could dwell on. Later, when it was time to stop—

Obito woke as another sharp pain flashed through his head.

"What the hell was that?" he asked himself as he sat up and rubbed his head, a trace of headache remaining. It was not unusual for Obito to have dreams or thoughts questioning The Plan. Despite everything Madara had done for him, traces of Obito's childhood delusions remained. But this—this was like those traces had joined up with a full measure of Obito's childhood naiveté.

Obito sighed and ran a hand through his long, dark hair. It was probably nothing, though he doubted he would get anymore sleep. He might as well get up and work. With Akatsuki ready to move, there was always more to be done.

And maybe Obito should confer with Black Zetsu to make sure Madara's cure still held firm…

"What happened?" Hiruzen asked as Inoichi pulled a pad and pen out of his vest. Obito continued to shake as Rin fretted over him and Minato rubbed the chūnin's back and murmured words of comfort. Inoichi started drawing on a page in his pad.

"From what I caught, Madara dumped his memories into the other Obito's head. He simultaneously slaved the kid's thought processes to an obsession with completing Madara's plan. The memory of that invasion caused him to instinctively fight against my jutsu. I broke it off to avoid injuring him." Inoichi flipped the to the next page. "I can tell you the two Obitoes have a subconscious link that allows one to tap into the other's memories. I didn't probe it too closely for fear of making the other aware of it—assuming he isn't—so I don't know if it can be expanded or blocked."

"Then examine young Kakashi," Hiruzen ordered as Inoichi's pen flew over yet another page. "He does not have the skills to protect the classified knowledge of his older self." Not to mention the memory he described about Tenzo could have easily been one much more problematic than revelations of ANBU and Mokuton. "I also want to know if there is anything he's picked up that he's not aware of. And what." Hiruzen made a small gesture with his left hand as Inoichi glanced his way. Inoichi nodded as he ripped the pages he had filled off the pad.

"I only caught a glimpse of the seals Obito saw," Inoichi said as he handed the pages to Hiruzen. "But maybe our resurrected seal masters can tell something useful from them."

"Oi! I'm just as good as Minato and Kushina!" Jiraiya protested as Hiruzen glanced at the symbols. His seal knowledge was fair, and they seemed to be another detail to confirm Obito's story. Hiruzen handed the pages over to Kushina. Young Kakashi looked at the drawings over her shoulder.

"These are bits and pieces that could make a slavery-seal. I can't tell you more than that, though it must tie into the seal on the chest," Kushina reported.

"In it," Inoichi corrected. "From the depth of the pain Obito felt, I think they applied it to his heart during the surgery."

"That would make it difficult to unrav—"

"NO, SENSEI, IT'S NOT ALRIGHT!" Obito leapt up and stomped away from Minato.

"Obito…"

Obito spun back to face Minato, fists tightly clenched. "Don't you get it?" he asked, voice small and head shaking as tears formed in his eyes. "The moon plan and the fact someone went after the kyūbi are not a coincidence. I don't know if I lost control, or if the kyūbi was targeted at Konoha like Kakashi said… But I killed you, Sensei. And Kushina-nee. And so many others that I had sworn to stand with. To protect."

Obito choked into tears as Inoichi stared down at the floor, hands balling into fists. "It'll never be alright," Obito said.

Minato said, "You didn't do—"

"I WOULD HAVE!" Obito roared. "If I'd been the me to stay, and he were here—Do you really think I would have done anything different?"

"He's being controlled—"

"BECAUSE I HAD DELUSIONS OF ESPIANGE SKILLS!" Obito shook his head and wrapped his arms around his chest. "He was the damned rival to the first Hokage. He could see through deceptions of those more skilled than I as easily as breathing. And instead of coming to warn the village, I walked back in there." Obito scoffed. "I might as well have willing joined up."

"What makes you think this Guruguru would have let you return?" the adult Kakashi asked. "He whisked you back there without your say. How could you have fought off an enemy that was wrapped around you as a suit?"

"I could have asked him to leave me. He liked me."

"Enough to go against Madara? Do you really believe that?"

"I could have tried. If it had worked, you'd know—"

"That a dead man still survived but was old and infirm," the adult Kakashi said gently. "The Zetsu, with their ability to shapeshift and move undetected, would have been a source of worry. But not a priority. Not with the war going on."

"I wouldn't haveattacked the village."

"You were not the only Uchiha lost in the war," Hiruzen said. "Another could easily have gone missing. And even if Zetsu did not grab another one… the Sharingan is not the only bloodline limit able to control bijū. The Mokuton is another one. The kyūbi attack still could have happened, if not that night, some other time. It may have been better, but it could have been worse."

Even as he spoke, Hiruzen knew that he, himself, would dwell on the possibility that a different attack would have spared his wife. It was human nature to wish that the boy would have—could have—chosen differently, to better results.

"That doesn't change the fact that it was me. How can I face the village? What could I possibly say to the families?"

"Don't," Inoichi said as he looked up at Obito, his clenched fists shaking. "Don't you dar—" Inoichi took a deep breath. "Look kid, it's not your fault. Not everyone will understand that. Some might bitch about a lack of apology, but they don't truly want one. It won't ease their pain. Or yours. And—"

"And no one is to know," Hiruzen said. "Everything you've said here tonight is now a triple es-class secret. I will not allow your misplaced guilt to threaten the advantage we may have gained against an enemy we have tried to unmask for years." Hiruzen glared into Obito's eyes. "Understood?"

Obito swallowed and nodded. Inoichi sighed. "If you want to do something about it, kid, help us stop the threat of Madara's plans. I can't guarantee that we can free your other self—"

Obito shook his head. "He won't let you. What part isn't under the control's influence, just wants to die. And the rest will kill you to prevent his own freedom."

"Then he dies," Inoichi said. Minato and the adult Kakashi glared at him. Minato's team, even Obito, looked shocked at Inoichi's callousness. Kushina opened her mouth, her hair waving menacingly. "But don't rule out our chances of capturing him just yet."

A pawn of his best pawn still loved Konoha. That could cause problems if Black Zetsu moved against Konoha. But he had to do something. It was bad enough that the Yellow Flash and his wife were alive again—leave it to Orochimaru to shit all over things—but now the second Obito endangered control over the original.

Black Zetsu paced rapidly in their Akatsuki room as he considered the implications of that. Clearly the two were not as linked as the Zetsu, but the link could do damage. He had to cut it off at the source. And prevent Konoha from regaining its feet. Black Zetsu had no choice.

He had to instruct Obito to bring that one under his full influence.

A dark eye widened as an orange-masked figure rippled into existence before him. A swirling Sharingan blazed behind the mask. Pale white figures also rippled into existence. "We have unfinished business, you and I…"