Posted: 1 August 2015
Edited: 15 September 2017
Seeing The Future Together Series
Clan Matters
Part Two
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"
Hearing the piercing cry did not prepare Kakashi for the powerful kick to the side of his bandaged face, and as he flew into the wooden gate beside the pavement, he cursed his attacker. Thankfully Rin lived in the opposite direction, else he be enduring her own attacks for being careless protecting his eye.
In his defense, he had been half-blind for a mere two days. Even the best shinobi would require some training before overcoming the struggles that come with a blind spot.
Pulling himself out of the wreckage and brushing dust from his clothes, Kakashi sighed. He had hoped to return to his apartment for a long overdue slumber, and by now, Obito and Rin were in their homes, asleep.
"VICTORY! The Power of Youth has finally defeated my Eternal Rival, Hatake Kakashi!"
He glared up at his so-called rival as the boy flailed his arms, thrusting his hips and sprouting out exultant exclamations that practically burst Kakashi's eardrums. His eye rolled up in exasperation, thumb and forefinger pushing against his pulsating temples.
"Gai."
"How WONDROUS a day this is for ME, Maito Gai!"
"Gai."
"For today, EVERYONE shall flock to my side, AMAZED by the YOUTHFULNESS that guides my TRIUMPHANT FISTS!"
"Gai!"
"For I, Maito Gai, am- ACK!"
Out of patience, he snatched the other boy's scarf and twisted it with a quick spin of the wrist, choking Gai. A line of drool slipped from the side of his gasping mouth, and the constant twitch of Kakashi's right eyebrow began to settle in sight of Gai's predicament. He savored the sight before releasing the threaded accessory, Gai collapsing with a pitiful wail.
Kakashi sighed and muttered, "I'm exhausted," as he started to walk away. Something around his ankle stopped him. Looking down and seeing a trembling hand, his shoulders sagged in resignation. Figures Gai wouldn't give up today of all days.
Large bushy eyebrows suddenly invaded his personal bubble and he staggered back, punching the adjacent body across the cheek. Gai crashed, forming another hole in the wooden gate while shouting about youth and Kakashi's reaction time. He sighed again, irritation simmering within his weary figure.
When Gai emerged from a cloud of dust, he was no longer bursting with unrivaled energy. His eyebrows and lips were pulled downwards in a morose expression, gaze focused on the bandages concealing Obito's- no, his Sharingan eye.
A sense of unease turned his stomach. He had been distracted by the idea of rest and had yet to think of a cover story for his injury behind the mass of gauze. Was one even necessary? Because it would not remain secret for much longer, not when Minato was currently updating the Hokage on recent events, who would proceed to inform the Uchiha clan of what had transpired.
Lying was pointless.
Gai rudely pointed a finger in his face and followed the hand gesture with a tactless question. "What the hell happened to your face?" At least the Chūnin's voice level was at a minimum.
He backhanded the digit and continued towards his apartment, Gai's heavy footsteps behind him. "Had a mission, Rin was kidnapped, I lost an eye, Obito and I saved Rin, and Obito gave me his left Sharingan eye. End of story," he listed tonelessly.
"What!"
Using Gai's shock to his advantage, he vanished in a puff of smoke, wishing he could use the Mangekyō to escape Gai's persistence. Even as his apartment came into view, Kakashi never stopped running until he was inside, door locked. While he longed for the home he once had with his father, he admitted it was nice to finally have enclosed housing. Gai was unable to enter without a key, and luckily for Kakashi, the boy was considerate enough to not break down the door with Taijutsu.
An annoyed groan sounded from his living room when fists rammed against the closed door.
"Let me in, Kakashi! You can't just leave me without an explanation," Gai screamed, his booming voice mercifully muffled.
"That hyperactive brat never shuts up."
He chuckled at Pakkun's comment. The puppy jumped from his perch on the couch and scratched an ear with a back paw, droning with pleasure. He bobbed his little head and barked with a rapid upward lurch of the neck, plummeting onto his back and stretching out his limbs. "Kashi-kun, will Obi-gaki be coming back soon?"
He was grateful for the distraction from Gai and the Sharingan.
Kakashi dropped to his knees, his fingers holding Pakkun's front paws and rubbing the pads. "You always ask that, Pakkun. You should know the answer by now."
Their first meeting was a few months after Team Minato's formation, and for the extroverted Uchiha, each meeting since had been an unpleasant experience. The memories of his companion biting Obito's hand brought a hidden smile to Kakashi's face.
Pakkun's tongue lolled to the side of his muzzle. "But he's so much fun to play with."
Kakashi stroked underneath his furry chin with a fleeting laugh before scooping Pakkun up and bringing him back to the couch where they relaxed together. Pakkun nuzzled his neck and mumbled, "You're different somehow."
He remained silent, petting the puppy until sleep finally took over.
...A shower could wait...
In Mayu's shop, Obito was looking through a shelf of goggles on the second floor, but something was nagging him. Since his first year at the Academy, he always wore his orange-shaded goggles, and for a ridiculous reason. He didn't like wearing them, and now that he possessed a Sharingan, they no longer had purpose. The eye drops he carried were just as meaningless.
It was about time he let them go.
A hand patted his shoulder. "Are none to your liking, Obito-kun?"
He shook his head and faced Mayu. "Of course not. You have everything like always."
"But..." she encouraged.
"But I don't think I need them." The Mangekyō began a new chapter to his life, one without connections to his childhood dreams, which were just that... childish, the dreams of a youth who sought recognition from his clan. "That can't be me anymore."
She hummed in response with closed eyes, then snapped her fingers so abruptly that Obito jerked. She rested a hand on his back, urging him toward the first aid section where a multitude of bandages were shelved. Mayu rifled through a variety of boxes until coming across her intended item, displaying it with a flourish of the hand. The cover picture depicted a coil of orange fabric with a yellow glow secreting from the edges.
Mayu smiled. "While I agree to forgo the goggles, orange is still your signature color, Obito-kun. That should never change."
He accepted the offered box, unsealing the tab and lifting it to reveal ten perfectly coiled bandages colored a bright orange, matching the shades of his forgotten goggles. He removed Rin's medical tape and replaced it with Mayu's, speeding to a mirror as she continued.
"They're not normal bandages, of course. These automatically attune to your chakra signature, becoming a part of you." He examined his visage and grinned. This was definitely him, Uchiha Obito. "They will only unravel by your own hand and cannot be ripped or cut."
Awesome.
"Thank you, Bāchan!" He sped back to her side, hugging her as tightly as possible.
She rubbed his back, chuckling. "You are welcome, my child."
"So how much?" he asked, pulling back.
"Free of charge. It always is for you."
Obito tousled his hair, embarrassed. "I appreciate it, I do. But you do so much for me, and I have the money now, so I can pay for everything."
Mayu waved his objection away.
He had made the same argument after becoming a shinobi, when she tailored his outfit. With only a few D-rank missions, he would have had enough to pay Mayu for her brilliant handiwork. She declined then, too.
He appreciated her generosity. For his whole life, he watched children be spoiled by their parents, being showered with presents and sweets and love. He had envied them until Mayu stepped in.
Despite their rough start, she became a surrogate parent. Mayu comforted him when he needed it, offered him candy when he was down, brought him out for food during his free time, and loved him in her own way. She was cold at first glance, but inside, he found a loving soul buried by decades of hardships. In a way, Kakashi was like Mayu. They were both good people, but their lives had been none too generous. They hardened and closed off from everyone else, and only with a select few did they truly shine.
"That reminds me..."
He cocked his head to the side, confused when Mayu passed him, not finishing her sentence. She headed to the topmost level and called out, "Give me a moment."
As he waited, he grabbed a basket and tossed the remaining stock of bandages in. He went downstairs to the civilian items, searching for an hourglass vase until his eye landed on one decorated with brown dogs, reminding him of Kakashi's hand-chopping mutt. He cursed the unpleasant memories and put the glass vase into the basket, setting it beside his belongings in Mayu's backroom before returning to the second floor.
When his foot met the final step, Mayu returned. In her arms was a pile of clothes, neatly stacked and folded into perfect squares. What caught his attention were the prominent colors of red and white, proudly displayed upon lavender fabric.
The Uchiha crest.
"Bāchan...?"
"I know you wouldn't normally wear an outfit like this, but I think it would be best for tomorrow." She handed him the clothing. "You may be Uchiha Obito right now, but..."
He pulled the clothes to his chest, adopting Mayu's severe countenance. "...once you are in front of the council, you must- be- an Uchiha." She spat the words shortly and meaningfully, and he responded by tightening his hold on the materials.
"For the Uchiha, appearances will always be more powerful than words. Remember that."
Mayu turned away and flipped two fingers in his direction, a silent goodbye.
Obito extended an arm out. "But, Bāchan, what am I supposed to do exactly?" Did she really expect temporary attire and a good luck to be enough? He felt woefully unprepared.
"You will be fine, Obito-kun. I'm the one who taught you after all." She briefly smiled and then proceeded back upstairs.
"Just believe in yourself."
Easier said than done, he thought.
The Uchiha compound was unusually hectic with children running passed the legs of adults who conversed with each other, discussing their day or bargaining prices when necessary. He preferred this much commotion, though, as he was quite invisible to his brethren, avoiding the typical glares of absolute loathing. Further inside the compound were fewer people, but without distractions, they all noticed his current state, visibly suspicious of his bandaged eye.
While he would have bowed his head submissively in the past, Obito now walked with set shoulders and his chin lifted high, face forward. There was no reason to feel embarrassed anymore, for with the third stage Sharingan and the Mangekyō, he had the potential of becoming more powerful than anyone in the Uchiha clan. And perhaps, someday, he would have the ability to save his family from their own destruction... as long as he himself remained as pure as possible.
Finally reaching his little apartment, Obito leaned against the closed door and sighed. He momentarily considered sliding down and sleeping on the floor, but the assortment of flowers in his arm and the bag hanging from his wrist encouraged him to continue moving.
He set the items on the kitchen counter, taking the vase out and filling it with water. He removed the bouquet's binding and dipped the stems into the glass, shifting the yellow flowers slightly above its surrounding counterparts and setting it on the nightstand beside his bed. He then reapplied the bandage into a bow knot around the narrowest part of the vase.
He stepped back and admired the arrangement, the orange hues of a setting sun peeking through the window shades and saturating the colors of each individual petal. It was unfortunate the life of a picked flower was so brief, wilting until nothing but the green stem remained with the petals brown and dead on the floor.
Though the flowers would wilt, his newfound friendship with Kakashi would survive long after he tossed them into a trash bin. He and Kakashi had an understanding between them now. They still bickered endlessly, but the spite was no longer present.
And honestly, that was all Obito could have asked for.