AN: This will be a collection of oneshots, taking place in an alternative universe in which Obito survives the Kannabi Bridge mission. I'm not quite sure if I got the timeline right, but I'm assuming that the war ended and Minato was named as the Hokage shortly after the mission. There will also be some other traits of AUverse in the upcoming chapters, but I'll tell more about them in the future.
This will mostly be about Kakashi and Obito's friendship. No pairings.
Beta'ed by Lohis, thank you! ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
1. A New Life
This is so stupid.
Kakashi scowled at the door. It was as if the piece of wood was mocking him, daring him to make the decision he knew he would have to make.
He slowly raised his hand to knock, but stopped it just before it hit the worn wood before him. His scowl turned into a frown and the teenager lowered his hand.
He'd already been standing there for a good five minutes, debating whether to knock and announce his presence or just stalk away like he'd never been there.
The silver-haired boy mentally groaned in frustration. He silently took a deep breath and raised his fist again, only to hesitate just before he could make up his mind. Maybe he would just quietly leave. He was a jounin after all; he had no time to loiter around here. Although the war was finally over, there was surely something he could do for the village, a B- or A-ranked mission for example. Or maybe he should just train. His Chidori felt still imperfect, he probably should have been at the training grounds right now honing his original technique.
Kakashi nodded determinately. Yes, that was what he would do. He was just about to turn around when the memory of Minato-sensei flashed in his mind, inviting him to come over. Kushina will be happy too, he'd said. Kakashi unconsciously bit his lip under the cloth-mask. No matter how much he tried to deny it, he was eager to meet his sensei. And Obito and Rin would be there too. Funnily, a few months ago he wouldn't had considered, even for a second, about coming, but now… now he wasn't so sure.
Kakashi shook his head, getting angry to himself. Why was he being such a chicken about this? He wasn't that awkward in social situations, he was sure everything would be just fine, maybe even fun. Once again he raised his hand, stopping just a hair's breadth from the door. Or maybe they wouldn't really want him there. In the end he was kind of a killjoy in gatherings like this, even if it was just for a few people.
However, he had no more time to make up his mind and disappear because the door was suddenly yanked open, revealing a dark-haired boy with orange goggles on his forehead. When he saw Kakashi standing in the doorway, right hand raised awkwardly to knock, his face was lit up by a bright smile, onyx eyes glowing in enthusiasm.
"Kakashi!" The boy yelled. "What the hell took you so long?"
The silver-haired prodigy stared stupidly at his friend.
"How did you know I was here?" He'd been masking his chakra all the time, in case he decided to retreat.
Obito grinned mischievously.
"I could practically hear the gears turning in your head whether to come or not. Come on, we're all waiting for you!"
Obito grabbed his arm and yanked him in. Kakashi scowled but didn't complain and instead let the raven-haired Uchiha haul him into the house and towards the living room. Dragging Kakashi somewhere was something Obito would have had no chance of doing a few months ago, but nowadays the Hatake forced himself not to mind too much. Yes, he still could have wiped the floor with the Uchiha if he'd wanted to (Obito had gotten better, but Kakashi was still way ahead of him), but things were a bit different now than before, so Obito could haul him all the way to the living room without having to feat getting mauled.
"SENSEI! RIN! 'KASHI'S HERE!" The boy hollered.
"Damn, Obito, not so loud," Kakashi muttered, rubbing his ear with his free hand. Sensitive hearing was such a pain sometimes… Literally.
When they both were in the cozy living room, Obito finally released his arm.
Minato appeared from behind the corner, a wide smile spreading on his face when he saw his student.
"Kakashi-kun, great you could make it!"
"Hokage-sama," Kakashi said with a slight bow. Minato's smile turned embarrassed. Kakashi knew his teacher would have preferred him to call him "sensei", but the blonde man was the Yondaime now, Kakashi couldn't just -
Suddenly someone slapped him on the back of the head.
"Hey!" He yelled in indignation, embarrassment threatening to color his cheeks just above the mask. He was a jounin! Jounins were not supposed to be slapped in the back of the head like that!
Kushina, who'd just come from the kitchen, laughed at him.
"Come on," she said, grinning, "Nobody, least of you guys, should have to call that fool ("Hey!" Minato protested) Hokage-sama on occasions like this."
Namikaze Minato looked like he was about to pout but at the last moment seemed to decide against it. Pouting was just something students should not see their teacher doing.
Kakashi rolled his eyes.
"Fine… Minato-sensei."
Minato smiled brighter than the sun and Obito laughed. At that moment, Rin entered the room from the back door, without a doubt having visited the garden. She smiled sweetly at Kakashi when she noticed him, her cheeks blushing lightly. Kakashi smiled, his eyes curving happily. It was something his friends probably still needed to get used to. After all, he hadn't smiled much before. Well, hadn't really smiled at all.
Funny how just a single mission could change things so thoroughly.
The Kannabi Bridge mission had been a task that could have gone wrong in so many ways, yet they all had somehow managed to get home alive. Obito had even activated his Sharingan during the mission (and the boy just wouldn't shut up about it).
Kakashi too had gotten a souvenir from the life-changing mission. A nasty-looking scar now ran all the way from his left cheekbone to his jaw line, barely visible as it was mostly covered by his mask. It had been a straight, clean cut. Rin had again and again lectured him how he'd be blind in his left eye if the sword had cut even a little higher. But it hadn't, and he and Obito had managed to save Rin ("That teamwork was awesome", Obito had cheered), and the three had got out just before the cave had collapsed on them. They had still needed Minato-sensei's help while fighting off the rest of the Iwa nins, and luckily their teacher had arrived swiftly after Kakashi had thrown the kunai he'd gotten from his sensei, thus unknowingly alerting their teacher.
They'd all gotten home safely. And things had changed, drastically.
Kakashi still couldn't forget how close he'd come to lose either one, or both, of his teammates. Teammates, who he had earlier thought he hated or didn't really care about. But when he, for a moment, had almost believed they wouldn't be able to save Rin or that Obito wouldn't make it in time out of the collapsing cave, he had realized he couldn't stand even the thought of never seeing either one of them again.
His teammates had gotten a whole new meaning. They were his friends now.
Obito had changed too. He wasn't trying to rile him up every possible minute, and Kakashi wasn't mocking him all the time. Well, maybe a little, but not with the same hostility.
It made him feel so different, so happy that he almost didn't dare to believe it.
"'Kaaaashi, you're spacing out again."
The Hatake shook his head and glared at Obito, annoyed. The Uchiha was laughing at him, he could see the gleam in his eyes.
"No I wasn't. And don't call me that. " He hated nicknames as much as Obito liked to annoy him with them.
"Yes you were!" Obito singsonged. "The Great Hatake got lost in his thoughts!"
Kakashi death-glared the Uchiha, who, in turn, just grinned at him. Kakashi didn't get a chance to retaliate (not that he really would have done it anyway), as Kushina now had grabbed his arm and was dragging him towards the kitchen and the dining area.
"Come on!" His sensei's lover said cheerfully, "I've made some delicious ramen for us all!"
"Isn't ramen a bit… ordinary food to eat when we're celebrating Minato-sensei's naming as the Hokage?" Kakashi asked, raising one silver eyebrow.
"Don't be silly, ramen is always good," Kushina replied with a smile that said 'if-you-mock-ramen-ever-again-you'll-be-sorry.' Kakashi shuddered, and Kushina happily shoved him towards a chair.
Kakashi sat down at the table, only to be slapped to the back of the head again, this time by Obito.
"What was that for?" He demanded, rubbing his mistreated head.
"For doubting the almighty ramen," Obito replied gravely, slumping to the chair next to him. "Oh maaan, I'm so hungry!"
Rin huffed in mock exasperation, sitting to the other chair beside Kakashi. Minato sat to the seat opposite Obito's, happy smile spreading on his face.
Kushina dashed from the kitchen with bowls of ramen balanced on her arms ("Honey, you're gonna drop them, let me he–" "No! Sit down! I'll manage just fine!") and set them on the table. Obito looked at his meal as if he hadn't eaten in ages, a predatory gleam in his eyes. Kakashi hid a smile, waiting for his sensei to keep a small thank you –speech for them. Then they all attacked their bowls of noodle.
From the corner of his eye Kakashi quickly glanced at every one of his companions. Obito was practically inhaling his food and Minato-sensei warned him he'd soon choke if he didn't slow down, while Rin was telling about her medical training to Kushina. The dining area was filled with cheerful chatter.
He couldn't help but smile.
Thank you for reading! Feedback is more than welcomed!
If there are any mistakes, please tell me.
