#obito thinks he’s slick and sly

[raikirikiri]

obito kamui-ing into kakashi’s apartment every night to use his sharingan to subtly control kakashi’s dreams. it depends on his mood. sometimes he makes kakashi dream of team minato, all happy and alive, especially when he’s feeling cruel or merciful. those two feelings tend to blend together for him during his akatsuki days. but those dreams leave both kakashi and obito empty and melancholic the morning after and over time, they become less and less frequent in obito’s catalogue of dreams he gives kakashi. when he’s feeling kind, not merciful but kind, like the boy he used to be, he’ll give kakashi happier dreams, ones that won’t ache in the morning. playing with his hounds, silly rival challenges with gai, drinking with tsunade, training naruto. the mornings after those dreams, kakashi is lighter, happier and more open. he isolates himself less and seeks out the people he considers friends. obito sort of hates himself and kakashi the next day but, again, over time, that hatred sort of goes away and gets replaced with an annoying sense of fondness and pride. every time he feels proud of making kakashi’s days less miserable, obito gags just a little bit.

but perhaps the most important dreams obito plays with are the nightmares. around the kyuubi attack, around the anniversaries of team minato’s individual deaths, the week leading up to sakumo’s suicide. those dreams are the ones obito is most wary of. it confuses him when he wants to turn those nightmares into something completely different, something that would take away kakashi’s pain and anxiety. he never does, because part of him thinks kakashi should always be hurting, especially around rin’s death. but when he knows kakashi is dreaming of sakumo, obito is a little more understanding. he can’t completely shift the nightmare, he doesn’t want the asshole to get too suspicious, but he does his best to take away the feeling of guilt. he tries to lessen kakashi’s burden when it comes to his father, and when it comes to minato too.

after a few years of meddling with kakashi’s subconscious, obito starts inserting himself into dreams. his adult-self. he doesn’t know why or how or really remember the circumstances that made him want to in the first place. but he does. he puts himself next to kakashi on a beach in the land of waves. he puts himself in the pastures of the land of rice kakashi likes to let his hounds run around in. he puts himself on the other side of naruto when kakashi is eating with him at ichiraku. he never interacts, not really but he’s there in kakashi’s periphery. he makes himself forgettable and unrecognizable but there enough for kakashi to feel a little mournful in the morning and obito to feel a sense of longing.

obito wishes there was more he could do with kakashi’s dreams. he wishes he could manipulate them into turning kakashi against the village. he wishes he could make himself into a konoha jounin in real life. he wishes he could be more for kakashi than a blurry specter in his dreams. but obito has his role to play and kakashi has his. he needs kakashi to continue to be himself. for all he longs and wants, he has a plan and he will follow through so when kakashi does finally eternally dream, obito can be there. he can be there and kakashi will be able to see him and hug him and love—

obito will finish the plan. he’ll make kakashi dream forever. even if all he desperately wants is to be there with kakashi during the waking day