"You're too self-reliant." The Uchiha male's voice stated plainly, as it resonated throughout the evergreen forest with his tone filled with askance. There was only one other person with him, the platinum haired Kakashi Hatake who turned to face Obito, a blank expression on his face as usual before turning back around. "Maybe I wouldn't be so self-reliant if my team member was actually useful." Obito flinched at the comment, scowled a little, and bit his inner cheek. "Yes, I may not be the strongest but that doesn't mean you have to be so cold-"
Kakashi had apparently had had enough of what Obito was saying as he whipped back around and let out an exasperated sigh. "Listen, no matter what you say or how many times you say it I will still be reliant upon my own abilities. You can make every vow that you want; I don't care. Want to know why?" Kakashi asked rhetorically as he got more into the face of his ally. "At the end of the road, there is only one person you can rely on and that is yourself. If you become reliant on others to be your safety net then you get used to being able to fall and be caught. I am not going to find out what happens when you do fall and there is no one to catch you. I will focus solely on not falling. Got it?"
Obito was a bit taken back by his comrade's sudden monologue and cast his gaze downwards and grumbled something incomprehensive out. Kakashi only turned away and continued to trudge forward. "Be as bitter about it as you want. We are out here to check up on a remote village that has been under bandit attack. Just focus on the mission and make sure we don't get blindsided." Obito perked up a bit as an abnormality occurred to him in what his team mate just said. "Are you relying on me?"
Kakashi let out another sigh and shook his head. "No, I am not." "I think you are." "You can also think the moon was made of cheese but that doesn't make it right, Obito." "True, but you are asking me to make sure WE don't get blindsided. The key word there being 'we'" There was silence for a moment as Kakashi narrowed his eyes and ducked under a low hanging branch. "Fine, make sure YOU don't get blindsided. I will watch out for myself." Obito gave a confident smirk as he moved forward and placed a hand on the elder males shoulder. "Nope! I'll make sure to have your back from here on out since you asked!"
Kakashi jerked his shoulder away and whirled around and began shaking Obito violently. "Are you trying to give away our location!? Stop yelling and I do not want assistance! I am more than capable of watching my own back!" "Kakashi you're yelling too! Do not be a hypocrite at least! Plus I don't care what you want; I am watching your back!" All Kakashi wanted now was to slap the male until he regained some common sense but a crunch in the ground from behind him suddenly made him alert to more pressing matters.
However, before he could properly react he was tossed to the ground promptly by Obito who fell beside him. Kakashi was about ready to slap the male until he found wherever his brain was but a blade swinging across where he was just previously standing swiftly knocked the thought away. "You little brat! How dare you interrupt my kill! I will make you pay!" The bandit screamed loudly as his coal black eyes grew wide as he raised his blade once more but only to strike at Obito who was still trying to recover.
The blade moved down swiftly and was threatening to take the life of the young Uchiha until it came to a starling stop. Kakashi was stuck in an odd position, his body laid horizontally across Obito's chest and his own blade held in the air to prevent the enemy from finishing the deadly blow. The bandit's eyes grew wide as he began to put more pressure down. "You little white haired fucker, I will chop you into pieces! I will make it impossible for them to bury your remains!"
Kakashi began to succumb to the great force being pressed against his weapon as he gazed over to Obito with a scowl though his mask hid it. "Now would be a great time for you to do something!" Obito had already begun following that advice and reached into his weapon pouch and instantly pulled a kunai out and threw it right at the face of the bandit. Unfortunately the kunai went a bit wide and only managed to cut the cheek of the bandit.
However, it was enough to shock the bandit who lessened his grip on his weapon. Kakashi took advantage of the shock of his enemy, pressed up against the attack, and flung his legs around into striking position. He brought his right foot up swiftly and dealt a major blow to his nether regions, which immediately sent the bandit into a heap of groans and grunts of anguish. Kakashi shoved himself up and raised his kantana to deal the finish blow. Usually he hated to win so unfairly but when it came to his pride and his life the choice was relatively obvious. Not as if the bandit himself knew honor anyways, he assaulted villagers who could not defend themselves.
However, something stopped Kakashi. It was himself. He felt a wave of fear wash over him as he saw another male diving towards him with a kunai in hand, ready to strike. 'Is this the end of my road…I guess it does not matter how much you rely on someone…Or yourself.' However he felt another sensual feeling, something moving through his hair.
Suddenly, a kunai was embedded right between the bandit's eyes; the kunai seemingly coming from his hair. It was then he felt a hand upon his shoulder as Obito stepped beside him with a wide grin. "I told you I had your back Kakashi…Regardless of what you want." Kakashi was really disoriented at that moment as he bit his inner cheek and sheathed his sword.
"…Thank you…" He grumbled quietly, turning away to stare at the forest floor. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Obito asked raptly, genuinely fascinated but not hearing him due to his grumbling and mask. "I said thank you, alright? You proved me wrong; maybe it is nice to have someone to have your back…Though next time, please try not to throw a kunai through my hair." Obito rolled his eyes with a smirk and patted the males back reassuringly. "Good to hear that you at least are willing to admit you were wrong. Don't worry; I'll take them out before they can even get near you next time!"
Kakashi rolled his eyes and began to restrain the downed remaining bandit. Better to keep one alive. "Hey, Kakashi…" Kakashi looked up towards Obito to find him staring off into the horizon. "Yes?" "Are we friends?" Kakashi widened his eyes a bit in a taken back way. 'How can he go from cheerful to so mellow-dramatic in under a minute?!' He thought before letting out an exhalation of air. "I would say we are a bit closer than just friends…We are team mates." For the first time ever Kakashi watched Obito's face lit up as the midnight sky covered in vibrant stars and the milky moon. "Thank you…Kakashi…"