IDIL's Note: Ok, here's another oneshot! This is more fine tuned towards ObiRin, though initially I was going to insert hints of MinaRin. I actually will try my hand at a MinaRin fic fairly soon, just to see how it is. Anyway, for the time being, enjoy this one!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
"So Doctor, what's the diagnosis?" Minato looked up from his position kneeling on the ground to Rin who was standing in front of him, trying not to giggle at an injured Obito.
The team had been training together on Konoha's grounds, trying to master very basic chakra control by attempting to climb up a tree through focusing their chakra to their soles. Well Rin being the medic, she had mastered the control fairly quickly and simply, which only made Kakashi and Obito work harder for neither wished to be the last to master it. Kakashi, being the prodigy, seemed to have the head start, but his naturally low chakra reserve kept him from climbing all the way up. Obito should have been the one with the advantage, for his incredibly high chakra reserve should have allowed him the energy to keep trying and keep moving forward, yet he was having greater difficulty focusing a sufficient amount of chakra to keep his feet rooted to the tree.
Needless to say, when both boys noticed that the other wasn't making much progress, the drive to compete was spurred inside both boys' hearts and they began battling against each other and themselves, each wanting nothing more than to not feel the same of being last. In the beginning it seemed that Kakashi had the upper hand – he had managed to climb three quarters of the tree successfully – but then his reserve depleted quickly from lack of control and he resigned to grabbing hold of a branch last minute to keep from colliding painfully with the ground. Seeing his opponent fare so poorly, Obito gained a boost of confidence and shot straight up the tree like a bullet, eager to prove his worth to his team at least this one time. Finding that this time he had sufficient chakra in his soles, he paused near the top and made a face, mocking Kakashi who was still back on the ground. "Haha bastard! I mastered the technique before you!" As he turned his attention back to the tree trunk, he noticed a nest of blackbirds directly in his line of vision. Unfortunately for him, they had noticed him as well.
The mother blackbird, fearing for her young's safety, and not quite liking the goofy look of the intruder, began to caw loudly and flap her wings in Obito's face, blocking his field of vision. He fell back immediately, concentration broken, a horrified look on his face as he noticed that he no longer had a grip on the tree trunk and had no chance of grabbing onto anything due to the massive fowl clamouring around him, her dark black wings the only things he can see clearly. Thus, Obito Uchiha fell the remaining 20 feet and collided harshly with the ground, his right wrist bending backwards and making a sick snapping noise as he had thrust it in front of him to break his fall.
Immediately at his side and concerned, his sensei gently pulled the mangled wrist from under the young boy's body, causing Obito to let out a yelp followed by a whimper of pain as he brought his poor, mangled wrist closer to his chest. Obito barely had time to inspect the damage though, for in the next moment Kakashi's voice boomed from up above, "Oh yeah Uchiha? Well who's laughing now?" Obito groaned as he ran his eyes along the tree to his right until sure enough, his suspicions were affirmed: Kakashi had managed to make it to the top before him. Sighing dejectedly, he pulled his wrist ever closer and cursed under his breath, both at Kakashi and at the tears that were starting to form in his eyes. "Damn prodigy."
His embarrassment seemed only to increase when Rin ran over to check on him, genuinely concerned for his physical health, but he could tell she was happy Kakashi had emerged triumphant. It was made quite obvious from the sickeningly (in his opinion) adoring and admiring gaze she shot the Hatake shortly after he announced his victory. That look was quickly replaced with one resembling a caring mother's as Minato asked her to check what was the matter with Obito.
With a feather light touch – one that never ceased to amaze or entice Obito – she gently pushed his left hand aside and took the right one in her lap, going over it with her own pink chakra. "Well," she began, "you're looking at one broken wrist," she rapped her knuckles on the side of her head, giggling lightly, "and one severely bruised ego."
Minato sighed. "So, I guess this means training's done for today?"
"Most likely," Rin agreed, now using her hands to push Obito from the back into a sitting position. "Come on Obito," she grunted, having finished pushing him up, "let's get up."
The dazed and injured Obito obeyed, lifting himself off the ground with a dark aura of misery hanging about his head like a halo. Said dark aura quickly dissipated however when he saw Rin's hand held out to him; staring at her smiling face disbelievingly, he turned five different shades of red before snatching her hand up in his, pain in the right wrist all but forgotten. "Where are we going?" He inquired.
"To the hospital," she replied smiling. "We have to get the wrist of yours in a cast, so that it can heal properly!"
Obito nodded happily. This was why he loved Rin. It didn't matter if she had to tell you the obvious, or repeat it to you one thousand times because you weren't listening the first nin-hundred-and-ninety-nine, or cancel her plans for the day because you needed something; she always did it with a smiling face and a kind tone of voice. And damn it, her hands were so soft! Already feeling exponentially better with Rin next to him, Obito walked more briskly and cheerfully towards the hospital, where he was quickly x-ray'd and given a cast in which to heal his broken wrist.
On the way back to the training grounds, Rin stopped by the dango stand and insisted that they get something to eat. "Something sweet will do you good!" She told him. Not in any mood to argue, Obito agreed and steered them in the direction of the famous sweets stand, rapidly finding them a place to sit and purchasing the goods with his own money, like a gentleman. Rin of course thanked him with a smile, and as an extra thanks she proceeded to explain to him – albeit with a mouth full of dango – how one was supposed to go about mastering the chakra control. Listening intently and nodding periodically, Obito took the information and processed it in his mind, certain that when he had the chance he would perfect it.
"And that's how you do it," Rin finished, taking the long dango kebab out of her mouth.
"Well, now I know! Thanks for telling me Rin," Obito grinned, "Although I wish I'd have known earlier so I could've beaten Kakashi."
"You almost did. If not for that bird breaking your concentration – although that was partially your fault since you stopped to laugh at Kakashi – you would have beaten him fair and square."
"Yeah, maybe. But he's a prodigy; he probably would have found a way to run me in the dirt anyway."
"Kakashi's intelligent, yes," she agreed, "but everything he's done he's done because of hard work. He doesn't have the luxury of a huge chakra reserve so of all of us, he's the one who needs to ensure he's got this down pat. And sensei knew this would take him longer because of his problem with his chakra reserve, so he kind of told Kakashi about this ahead of time. He's been out there every morning at the break of dawn, practising. If you had been given the same head start, I'm confident you would have been able to master it days earlier than him."
"Thanks Rin, but I don't know if I can agree with that. Like I said, guy's a prodigy."
"And like I said, prodigy simply means he's smarter than the rest of us – he still has to work for everything he has. You're not as far behind as you think. Once your sharingan kicks in, Kakashi might not be a match for you! Just go out there and work hard! Believe in yourself! I have faith in you; I think you'll make a really awesome shinobi one day – you're already an awesome friend," she held a victory sign in front of him.
Obito was touched. How could this girl, who had seen him fail so many times, seen him cry like a baby so many times, still be sure that he was going to be great, and that, in a way, he already was? He suddenly felt motivated to train, to be great – no, to be the best. If one thing was certain about Obito, it was that he loved Rin, and if she saw him as that great of a person, he would do anything and everything in his power to be that kind of a person. Jumping from his seat, he burst out, "Let's go train!"
Rin giggled at his sudden outburst, but agreed that he could spend some time climbing again. They raced each other back to the training grounds where they found Kakashi and Minato still there waiting for them. "Hey guys, what's going on?" Minato greeted.
"I'm ready to train and kick some butt!" Obito declared excitedly. "You see, I'm going to work really really hard and then finally one day, Kakashi, I will surpass you!"
Kakashi looked disdainfully at his injured teammate. "That's not likely. Actually, it's impossible. You're too much of a crybaby and a loser to ever beat me."
"Kakashi!" Rin reprimanded. "Don't talk like that! I won't tolerate you or anyone insulting my friends!"
Kakashi suddenly shut up but continued shooting disproving looks at Obito, while Minato regarded the scene and burst into laughter, making everyone snap their heads back to him. "Well, it's just great to have everyone back to normal! And Obito, you seem to be feeling just fine!" He continued snickering.
"I guess Rin-chan's the best doctor around, ne? She can heal both physical and emotional wounds!"