Beta:

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Before Obito returned to Konoha, he had to make sure she was okay. He teleported to Amegakure while Madara cleaned up at the Summit—no way that old fart needed his help after he took care of Minato—and he went directly to where he felt Naasica's chakra.

Kisame was the only one in the room. The two had met a few times over the years.

"Hey lover boy," said Kisame.

"Hey big blue," said Obito. "How's—How's—"

"Madara patched her up," said Kisame. "She'll be fine, if a bit stiff."

Tension Obito hadn't realized he had been holding eased out of him as he sighed.

Kisame grinned. "You look like shit."

"I feel like shit," Obito admitted honestly. He was shaky, nauseous, and dizzy. Part of his shinobi training meant repressing the majority of his emotions.

Especially his kills.

He wouldn't—

He—

"I killed Minato," he whispered. His own teacher. He hadn't even really thought about it. Hadn't even consciously made the effort. As soon as Minato paid more attention to Madara than Obito behind him he just—he just moved. He used the Chidori Kakashi created and he murdered his teacher.

There was... nothing to it.

He almost killed her. He almost killed our Naasica, Obito numbly thought. Kakashi would understand, he thought. Kakashi had to understand.

Us or them.

Us or them.

That's what Kakashi and Naasica told Obito. He chose wrong before but not now.

Minato or Naasica.

He chose Naasica.

Konoha or Naasica.

He chose Naasica.

The world or Naasica.

He chose Naasica.

That was it. That was all there was to it. He loved her and Kakashi more than anyone else. He didn't need to think about what he did because it didn't matter. He'd make the same decision again in a heartbeat.

Obito stumbled over to her bed, sitting down beside her. He reached out a hand to carefully cup her cheek, then winced when he saw the dried blood on it.

Kisame placed a large warm hand on his shoulder. "You going back to Konoha?"

"Yeah," Obito whispered, staring at her sleeping face. "She's—she's really okay?"

"She'll be fine," Kisame assured him. "She's your little oni-hime, right?"

"Right," he said faintly. "Our oni-hime."

Kisame stared at Obito for several seconds.

"... Can I ask you something?" Kisame asked.

Obito shrugged. "Sure?"

"What's the safe word?"

"What?"

"No way she doesn't use one," he explained. "But she won't say what she uses."

Obito let out a strangled snort, suddenly chuckling. He didn't know why he found that so funny in that moment, but oh was he grateful for it. "What do you think it is?"

Kisame threw up his hands. "I don't know! I'm a vanilla baby, I can't even comprehend needing one."

Obito laughed loudly. "You really wanna know?"

"Yes."

"It's strawberry."

"No," Kisame gasped. "No! I love strawberries. How can I ever look at them the same way knowing they're used in such a dirty way?"

"You think that's dirty, did you know she made me—"

"NO!" the blue man screamed. "I DO NOT KNOW NOR WANT TO KNOW! Let me stay ignorant of your freaky threesome kinks."

Obito started to wheeze with laughter.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Naasica

I awoke feeling achy and uncomfortable. I stared blearily up at the dark ceiling, the sound of rain oddly soothing. My stomach hurt something fierce—made sense, all things considered—and I was nauseous to a distracting point.

I took the time to reorient myself, my head fuzzy.

How long was I out?

Too long, whispered Owari.

Closing my eyes, I let out a small sigh. I couldn't return to Konoha. By now I was likely branded a traitor. Madara would be displeased with my identity being blown before we could obtain the kyuubi.

Kakashi... Obito... do you hate me now?

I couldn't blame them. To them, I would only be someone who betrayed them.

I'm doing this for us.

That was... f... fine.

It's okay to hate me. As long as I can give you that happy ending you so deserve.

A familiar voice drawled out lowly, "Awake?"

"Master?" I whispered, slowly sitting up then wincing. "Ah."

"At ease," Madara said. The Uchiha had taken a seat on the window, his expression unreadable in the dimly lit room. "You need to rest. That was a dangerous injury."

"Apologies," I said quietly. "Um... do you know what happened?"

"The kage are dead," he said flatly.

My heart squeezed. "Even—Even Minato?"

"Yes," he said.

"What about—what about—" My voice quivered, fear crawling into my tone.

What about Obito?

Please—

Don't—

I couldn't ask. I couldn't bring myself to ask that. My eyes burned as guilt and horror clawed me from the inside out.

Obito, I—

"Obito is fine," said Madara.

"Wh-What?"

"Please, relax," he said.

My eyes widened. "But—Obi is okay?"

"Of course he is," said Madara with an odd smile. "He's a good boy."

"I—"

"HIME!"

Obito materialized in between us. As soon as he saw me, his eyes brimmed with unshed tears. He rushed to my side, pulling me into a hug.

Wait—what—

"Obi?" I whispered, scarcely believing what was happening. "You're here? You—you know?"

"Dumbass," he said, holding me tightly. "Just rest, okay? I'm here. I'm here."

An involuntary shudder of relief ran through me. "What about—Kakashi?"

"He doesn't know yet, but don't worry," soothed Obito. "I'll tell him. Please just relax. Just rest. It'll be okay."

"Obi," I choked out, my eyes burning as my chest tightened. "Really? Really?"

Obito held me tightly, pulling back long enough to kiss my eyes, cheeks, and lips. "Really. Oh, my darling oni-hime. How could I not choose you?"

How could I not choose you?

An arrow had been shot through me, shocking me with how tantalizingly delicious those words sounded. I couldn't breathe, so overwhelmed by how utterly lovely it sounded. From Obito! From one of my—one of my—

I hiccuped, my body trembling as more tears unwillingly escaped me. "Me? You choose me?"

"Yes," he promised with a warm smile. "I love you."

"I love you, too," I whispered, burying my face in his chest. "Thank you. Thank you, Obi, thank you."

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Obito

Konoha was in complete chaos.

News of Minato and Naasica's death had spread everywhere. The village mourned their beloved heroes.

Their students were inconsolable the first day and enraged the second.

Kakashi assumed command, even as his voice cracked, and his dark eyes burned with anger. Konoha was placed in a declared state of emergency as the council convened.

War with Amegakure—the Akatsuki—was unavoidable. The village howled for vengeance, civilians and shinobi alike demanded retribution for their golden hokage and cherished princess.

Obito was able to convincingly feign exhaustion and was sent home to rest by Kakashi. He was genuinely tired to begin with, so it wasn't hard to pretend to be fatigued from a hard-fought battle.

It was hard to process. Hard to accept that the end was so close upon them.

All that was left was the kyuubi, Naruto, and the world would be saved.

Naasica would be able to sleep easily at night again. Kakashi wouldn't have any more nightmares. Obito wouldn't have to worry about them getting hurt, dying, leaving him...

The monsters would be put to rest.

The heroes would save the day.

Perhaps if this was some fairytale, some silly story, they could have a grand confrontation with everyone else. There, Naasica and Obito could persuade their friends and family to put down their weapons and they could come together to fix the Red world.

But reality was not so grand.

A final confrontation was not necessary. It would only cause more chaos and give Naruto an opportunity to avoid his destiny.

Obito closed his eyes as he rested in Kakashi's bed.

He could take Naruto right now. Naruto trusted him. He could tell Naruto that Naasica was still alive and take him directly to Amegakure.

He could do it right now--

Obito sat up suddenly.

The hachibi extraction process would be over by the end of the day.

He could end everything right now.

Obito smiled as he moved off the bed and headed to the living room.

Sure, it wasn't the plan but that was fine. Naasica getting hurt wasn't part of the plan either. She was supposed to take over all the surrounding trees in Konoha and unleash sleeping spores on the unsuspecting population. Her injuries were too extensive now, though, and she wouldn't be able to expend her chakra so recklessly.

Madara hadn't advised on how the plan should be amended yet, but--

Kakashi came into the living room, exhausted. "Oh. You're up?"

"Yes. I'm looking for Naruto," said Obito. "Know where he is?"

"Um... maybe getting groceries?" Kakashi shrugged, rubbing at his eyes. "You should be resting."

"So should you," said Obito. "Do you want me to tuck you in?"

Kakashi snorted harshly. "How can I--? I can't sleep, Obi. I... I close my eyes and all I see is her. I--"

Obito's heart clenched.

That's right... Kakashi doesn't know.

Obito had two options now.

The first, ignore Kakashi and hand down Naruto.

The second... soothe his dear friend.

How wonderful would it be if he could stand with us at the end?

The three of them did everything together. They ought to save the world together too, right?

Obito smiled at Kakashi, taking his hand. "I know what will make you feel better."

"Not now," sighed Kakashi.

"No! Just--trust me, okay? Close your eyes, I'm going to take you someplace special."

Kakashi wearily eyed Obito before he did exactly that.

Without hesitation, Obito used his teleportation technique to bring them both to a rooftop garden in Ame. It was right outside Naasica's main suite. Obito figured Naasica would still be sleeping. He was tempted to teleport Kakashi directly into Naasica's room, but in case his friend had a wee-bit of a freak out first Obito didn't want Kakashi to accidentally wake up Naasica. She needed her rest, after all.

"Obito," whispered Kakashi. He had opened his eyes the moment he felt the raindrops. "Where are we?"

"It's Ame," said Obito with a big smile. "Naasica's fine. She's alive."

Kakashi's entire body stiffened, his dark eyes widening. "What?"

"It's all a ruse," Obito said in a rush. "She's not really dead. We just had to declare her death 'cause everyone else at the Summit died after Minato tried to kill Naasica."

"He what?!"

"It was terrible," said Obito with a firm nod. "She's resting here. We couldn't let the others know our plans though and they already tried to hurt her... I mean, what choice did I have? None, really, of course I'd choose her."

Kakashi pulled his hand away. "... Obito... what did you do?"

"I know it's a lot to take in," said Obito, stepping closer to Kakashi.

Kakashi shook his head, taking another step back, his eyes narrowed. "A lot to take in? This is—Obito, this is treason."

"It'll be fine," Obito insisted. "We're going to win the war, then the villages won't even matter anymore."

"Obito!" Kakashi said sharply. "Do you realize what you're saying? We're talking about war. People are going to die. Good people."

"Sometimes sacrifices need to be made," said Obito. "It's for the betterment of the world. You understand, right? We had to. We had to. I—I had to."

"What did you do, Obi?"

Obito shifted his weight, frowning briefly. "Well—I—Kashi, come on. You're smart."

"Obito," Kakashi said slowly, a slight tremble in his voice. "Is Minato here?"

"No."

"He really died?"

"Yes."

"Did you kill him?"

Obito hesitated. "Yes."

Kakashi closed his eyes. "No. No this is a joke. This is a sick fucking joke. Enough, Obi. Take us home."

"... This is home now," said Obito quietly. "Come on... Come on... I'll take you to hime..."

"No, no, no," Kakashi snapped. "Konoha is our home. We went to war for that village. Our family is there! Our students! We went through hell and back for them and you—you're throwing that away? For what?"

"It's for the best," Obito said with a pleading voice. "We had to, Kashi. We had to."

"Kakashi."

Both men were startled. Naasica had stepped out onto the sky garden, limping as she walked. Her orange gaze met with Kakashi's, hopeful. She reached out to him, extending a hand—

He slapped her hand away.

"No," he said, dark eyes brimmed with disdained fury. "Enough of this. Both of you—why are you doing this? Have you gone insane?"

"We're not insane," she whispered. "We have to do this. It's the only way. You've seen how horrible this world is."

"Where there is bad, there is also good," Kakashi argued. "We can't throw everything away because it's hard."

"Why not?!" Obito burst out. "This world is shitty. Why can't we change it for the better, what's wrong with that?"

"And how would you do that?" Kakashi demanded. "Huh? Through war? Conquering everyone?"

"Through the Moon's Eye," Naasica said. "A genjutsu cast upon the moon—"

"Upon the what!?"

"Everyone under it will be forced into peace," she said with a wide, delirious smile on her face. "We can even see the dead again. We can see Kushina again, Kashi! You could see your father, too—"

"Stop!" Kakashi was trembling, his eyes wide. "Stop. Do you hear yourself? This is insane."

"It's the only way," Obito insisted. "Come on, Kashi. We should head inside, hime still needs to rest. We don't want her to catch a cold, right?"

Obito looked over at Naasica and smiled. She smiled in return. Naasica offered her hand to Kakashi. "Come with us, Kashi. Let's save the world together."

"No," he whispered, stepping back and shaking his head. "I won't."

Kakashi's hands curled into fists. He squeezed his eyes shut for several seconds, and when he opened them rain wasn't the only thing pouring down his face.

He changed to a fighting stance.

"And I can't let you," he whispered.

"That's a shame," said Madara from behind him, a sword digging into Kakashi's chest.

"NO!" Naasica and Obito screamed.

Madara ripped out his blade, as Kakashi fell forward, blood spilling out of him. Obito caught him, trembling.

"No, no, no, no, no," Naasica pleaded, helping Obito turn Kakashi over. She looked up at Madara, eyes blazing with pain. "Master, please! Please save him."

Madara moved to kneel beside the two of them. He placed a hand on both Naasica and Obito's cheeks.

"Dear ones," he said in a honey-coated voice, "this Kakashi can't be saved. He doesn't want to be."

"But—"

"You'll see him again," Madara said. "Remember? Just like you'll see Kushina and Minato again... happy... healthy... supporting us."

Obito's bottom lip quivered. "Really?"

"Have I ever been wrong?" Madara asked. "You've already come so far. You can't turn back."

"Don't," Kakashi choked out. "He's... lying..."

"I am the one person who has never lied to them," Madara said. "I am the one who has guided them. I am the one who will save this world. Oh, Kakashi, why did you have to hurt them so? Why couldn't you have agreed? Why did you choose this world over them? What a shame... truly... what a shame."

"Kashi," Naasica whispered. "I love you. Please..."

Kakashi turned his head away from her as he closed his eyes for the final time.