A/N:
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters.
Warning: Yaoi (malexmale), crude language, explicit sexual content, nudity, shounen-ai/BL (Boy Love),
Rated: NC-17
Pairing: Obito Uchiha & Naruto Uzumaki, slight Kakashi Hatake & Naruto Uzumaki
Summary: Obito has spent all of his waking hours to go back to a time in which he could be happy. But life has a funny way of dealing him a losing hand. Or Naruto is just an anomaly in which probabilities can't calculate the extent of his unpredictability.
Paradox
Part I/X
Happenstance
Upon passing the threshold of their shared room they both had only one thing in mind: sleep.
Just as Obito was about to doze off, the door to their room opened and Minato's head peeked inside.
"Are you boys seriously going to sleep like that?" he raised an eyebrow at them. Naruto stirred from his spot on the ground, turning his head to give him a look.
"We're tiiiiiirreedd…" he whined and it endeared him to see Naruto act so carelessly, almost childlike.
"Actually, Minato-sensei has a point, Naruto." Obito supplied while sitting up and inspecting the other boy, knowing full well that despite his appearance the stench of blood clung to him like a shadow. The crimson color had only been soaked by his dark clothes and hidden underneath a spare windbreaker Obito carried with him in his supply scrolls.
"I'm turning in for the night. Try not to make a ruckus." Minato warned them before going back to his quarters.
"Hai." they at least had the decency to look sheepish.
"You should leave your clothes here."
Naruto turned to him with a comically quizzical expression on his face. "Huh? Why?"
Obito gestured to all of him. "You'll freak people out if they find your clothes."
He glanced down at himself, only now realizing the kind of situation he was in. "O-Oh, yeah…"
Naruto stood up and unzipped the windbreaker in one fluid motion, letting it drop to the floor before peeling away at his other layers of clothes.
Getting undressed in front of other guys was commonplace among their ranks as shinobi. Tight-knit circumstances even called for close-proximity at times and it had never bothered him before with his other teammates. But now, Obito couldn't help feeling anxious as he watched the other boy bring his torn shirt up and over his head with practised ease, emerging yet defined muscles rippling with his movements.
His face felt hot while he took note at how evenly tanned the other was and compared it to his own fair complexion.
"You feeling okay?"
He suddenly had a face full of Naruto who peered at him with worried eyes. It made Obito feel lost and it pulled him in like a magnet but he flinched back in a knee-jerk reaction.
"Y-Yeah, sorry." he finally spoke with a voice too shaky for his liking.
The other looked like he wanted to say something but didn't push for anything else and instead grabbed two towels from the bathroom, throwing one at Obito's face.
"Let's go!" he yelled while running out of the room, Obito hot on his heels and whipping his towel at him as a means of revenge.
They stumbled into the onsen at each other's throats, their towels hanging low on their hips as they struggled.
"Do you two idiots ever give it a break?" an annoyed voice interrupted from a foggy corner of the bath. Much like a creature of the sea, Kakashi waded through the water with graceful motions, the water up to his chest and a small towel hanging from his ears.
Both Obito and Naruto cursed.
"He started it." Obito was the first to react and promptly shoved the other boy in the water with a loud splash.
"Hey!"
"Let's not have another recap of the last time you dimwits played in the water." the dry comment made both of them blush a furious shade of red.
"When are you planning on leaving?" Obito grumbled, easing himself into the steaming water with a lot more delicacy than he'd given Naruto.
"When are you planning on growing up?" Kakashi retaliated and it made Naruto blink, not used to this childlike side of Kakashi. Without much thought, he submerged himself, devilish grin in place and a glint in his eyes.
"The same day you get lost, Bakashiii."
Kakashi was about to retaliate but he stiffened, a harsh shudder racking his body. "What the-" he sunk his arm into the water and dragged whatever had brushed against his leg to the surface.
"Did I scare you?" the water opened up to reveal a grinning Naruto who was trying, and failing, to stifle his giggles despite his hair being harshly tugged.
Kakashi slammed him back down, undaunted.
"He's going to die." Obito observed from afar, eyeing the oxygen bubbles that frothed to the surface. The other boy simply supplied him with a bland look, his lack of concern speaking volume and it made Obito feel nervous, eyes fidgeting around to see if there were any witnesses that could step in, in case he was next.
Without warning Kakashi dragged him back up, watching impassively as Naruto gulped in large mouthfuls of air and clutched at the water's edge like a drowned animal.
"That was mean." he said after finally composing himself, shooting Kakashi the most vicious glare he could muster. Kakashi blinked, unphased, and even had the audacity to relax further into the hot water, head tilted back and exposing a bit of his neck.
With blue eyes wide and curious, Naruto leaned over ever-so-slowly, hands still clutching the edge and leveraging his weight like he didn't know any better.
Kakashi's hand zoomed out at lightning speed and grabbed him square in the face, chucking him away and into the water with relative ease.
Naruto emerged with a fierce pout and Obito couldn't help the snicker that escaped him.
"Asshole." he sniffled and wadded back toward Obito, making sure to keep a safe distance between Kakashi and him.
"Idiot." Kakashi offered right back.
"Na, Obito?"
"Hm?" the boy in question peeked open an eye, having leaned his head back to rest it against the tiles momentarily.
"Does Minato-sensei have a son?"
The question was enough to pull Obito from his relaxed position without any trouble. It was so out of the blue that even Kakashi had turned in their direction with subtle interest.
Naruto was staring at him with a perturbed look, almost as if he'd been struggling whether or not to ask the question.
"N-No. I don't believe so. Why do you-"
"She's pregnant."
They both turned their heads to look at Kakashi and Naruto's eyes widened for a fraction of a moment before wiping all expression from his face.
"I see." he stared off into the water, eyes searching for something.
Kakashi was staring at the boy openly now, Obito noted. He had noted the surreptitious glances his silent teammate would occasionally throw Naruto but had yet to really understand why other than maybe Kakashi was just as curious about him as he was.
"Why do you ask?" Kakashi finally spoke up, asking the question he'd initially cut off.
Naruto shook his head, unsmiling and absentmindedly.
"No reason." he affirmed and his face lit up in another offhanded smile. "I'm getting sleepy. I think I'll call it a night."
Both Obito and Kakashi watched as he got out of the onsen without another word. They shared quizzical looks once he was no longer in sight.
"I didn't know Minato-sensei and Kushina-san were expecting."
Kakashi waved a hand.
"Don't you have dinner with them?"
Obito shrugged and looked away from the other boy's imperceptible gaze.
"Not recently I haven't. It's been a while, actually…" he trailed off with a sigh, unwilling to share more than that because he knew, giving Kakashi more information than he needed to know was a double-edged sword.
Besides, it's not like the bastard cared anyway.
Several more minutes passed and Obito figured it was time to get out at exactly the same time Kakashi thought the same thing. They glared at each other but said nothing as they made their way to the locker room to silently gather their things and head back to their respective rooms.
Obito carefully slipped inside, closing the door behind him quickly before Kakashi could take a quick peek inside. He didn't know why, however, he did know that the urge to childishly shield Naruto away like he was some sort of new toy was growing harder and harder to ignore.
Too preoccupied with his thoughts Obito looked up and promptly turned back around, face bright red and eyes incredulously wide.
"What the hell, Naruto!? I thought you'd be dressed by now!" he yelled.
"I'm sorry!" the boy cried out, his voice panicked. "I think I have a rash!"
"What do you mean you have a rash?!"
"I don't know that's why I'm looking at it!"
They were still yelling at one another, Obito seemingly stuck in his cowering position while Naruto sat on the floor, towel barely covering the essentials, inspecting something on the inside of his thigh.
"Obitoooo…" he whined helplessly, "it itches."
Shoulders sagging in defeat, Obito turned around, face flushed and ears burning a bright red. If Naruto wasn't in such a predicament, he would have laughed.
"Get on the bed, idiot." he sighed and Naruto scrambled to accommodate, knowing full well that what he was asking was an overextension on their kindling friendship.
The boy kneeled between his legs cautiously and with narrowed eyes, laying a hesitant hand on Naruto's knee as he spread it a little wider in order for him to see the extent of what was on his thigh.
There were ugly streaks of raised skin on a patch in his inner thigh, the flesh blistering an angry red with random splotches.
"Were you scratching it?" he asked, glaring at Naruto suspiciously. The boy's blush seemed to darken further as he furtively glanced away from Obito's accusing stare.
"Yeah…"
Obito sighed and stood up to change into the rest of his nightclothes, only having donned on his sleeping pants when he'd gotten out of the onsen.
"I'm getting Rin." he said while going to the door.
"Wait!"
Naruto was on him in a second, his chest to his back as he pulled the door shut with an audible bang.
"I don't want Rin-chan!"
He whirled around, trying to pointedly ignore Naruto's partial nakedness as best he could.
"What? Why?"
With hands on his hips, Naruto shot him an expectant look.
"...Oh-Oh, yeah." Obito had almost forgotten as he glanced at the entirety of Naruto's body.
"So, what do we do then?" he asked, trying to hide the inflection in his voice that sounded too much like he was going through puberty on the spot.
"Don't you have anything on you?"
"No." he said automatically and Naruto visibly deflated. Then he thought back to the (many) times he'd been injured during other missions and suddenly recalled the small medicine pack Rin had given him on Christmas that he had yet to use but still carried with him steadfastly.
"Wait, maybe I do."
Naruto perked up as he made his way to his backpack and rummaged through its contents until he reached the very bottom to pull out a small, grey tin box.
"I think there might be something for that, knowing Rin."
The girl was notoriously meticulous when it came to preparing for the worst possible case scenario.
"Aha!" he pulled out a tiny, circular container and undid the lid, revealing the transparent green salve Rin had probably made herself.
"This should work. Get back on the bed."
Naruto happily obliged, nearly on the verge of tears at the imminent sweet relief he'd feel once the ointment was applied to his burning skin. Obito kneeled before him again, this time with no hesitation as he was too focused on the task at hand.
"Here, let me just…" he grabbed Naruto's leg and hoisted it on the bed. The small towel that was barely clinging to Naruto's hips shifted with the movement. A centimeter more and the whole thing would have slipped off. Obito gulped thickly.
He dipped two fingers into the salve and rubbed it on the angry rash. Naruto tensed and hissed at the cool sensation on his sweltering skin.
Suddenly, there was a rap on the door and they both froze. The knob twisted and everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
"Hey, boys. Just wanted to let you both know that-"
Minato's words fell silent as he took in the scene.
"We can explain!" Obito and Naruto yelled, faces flushed and eyes wild.
Minato promptly shut the door.
"Were they killing each other?" Kakashi asked innocently enough when he walked back to their shared room.
He froze at the question. Kakashi looked at him suspiciously atop the book he was reading.
"Something along the lines of that, yeah." he chuckled nervously.
Silently, he wondered if it was time to have the talk with all three of them.
Oh, how the time flew.
…
…
…
Naruto threw himself on the bed in defeat.
"Why does this keep happening to me?" he groaned.
Meanwhile, Obito was silently fuming as he gingerly applied the ointment to Naruto's rash.
"If he tells Kakashi I'm going to leave the village." he said resolutely.
Naruto couldn't help to chuckle at the irony of the statement. "You and me both!" he concluded, not wanting the least bit to be teased for the rest of his stay here by Kakashi's younger and more angsty self.
"Wouldn't that just give Kakashi more reason to believe it if we left together?"
Naruto contemplated it and quietly agreed, but shrugged his shoulders. Meanwhile, Obito put up the salve by the nightstand next to Naruto's bed and made his way to his own.
"At that point, what would it matter? It'd just be the two of us!"
Obito regarded him with an expression between confusion and disbelieving. In the end, he simply nodded and threw the covers over himself.
"I guess you're right. We could just live in the forest and create our own village, that way we won't have to answer to anybody." He mumbled, his words partially muffled by the sheets but Naruto heard him.
"Since the Land of Noodles is taken, we should call it…the Land of Sunshine."
Obito peered at him through narrowed eyes and snorted.
"That sounds like a cult. How about the Land of Moon and Sun?"
Naruto turned to him as he lay spread-eagle on his bed, now donned in a simple navy-blue robe that barely clung to his body and more so lay around in him in pools of knitted fabric, the cord having been only looped once. His bare leg was swinging off the edge, most likely to give his rash some air, much to Obito's chagrin.
"Why the moon?" he inquired innocuously.
Obito yawned and snuggled further into the sheets.
"Because you're the sun and I'm the moon." He said simply like it was the most obvious explanation in the world.
It struck something deep within him that it left him momentarily speechless. His mouth was moving but no words were coming out. He was left gaping like a fish.
Soft snores filled the room as Obito fell asleep just as quickly as he'd said those words.
A warmness settled across his face in tingles, the poignancy of Obito's remark settling in him like a rock.
The smile that unfurled across his lips was just as unreserved and unexpected.
"Yeah…that name is perfect."
…
…
…
The best thing about this mission so far was the fact that they were able to sleep in the following day after spending the night recuperating in the onsen.
If it were up to them, they'd have slept until noon, but their sensei had other plans.
However, this time he knocked and waited a minute before walking into their room.
"We're heading out in an hour. Make sure to get some breakfast before we leave."
Naruto groaned and nestled deeper into the sheets. Obito did the same but threw a pillow over his head to shield away any more noise. Minato chuckled and closed the door.
"Are they still asleep?" Rin asked when he made it to the communal dining area where they were serving complimentary breakfast. She was sipping her tea quietly all the while trying to sneak glances at Kakashi who was sitting next to her, his head buried in a newspaper and his food still untouched.
"Yes. They should be making their way here soon."
She sighed exasperatedly and drummed her fingers on the table.
"Honestly, they were making so much commotion last night I'm not at all surprised that they're exhausted this morning."
Minato lifted an eyebrow while taking a sip of his freshly-brewed coffee.
"You heard them?"
She shrugged. "Just muffled shouting. I thought they were fighting until I heard you come out. Were they just being idiots?"
Minato coughed abruptly, spurting his coffee back into his mug Rin shot him a quizzical look while Kakashi peered over his newspaper to give him a suspicious glare. Patting his chest, Minato shook his head and avoided their stares.
"Sorry, it was hot and I took a big gulp."
Thankfully, that was enough to drop the subject but Kakashi was still shooting him pointed looks which he expertly avoided by slowly eating his meal and observing the other occupants in the area.
Eventually, their missing teammates showed up with tousled hair and groggy looks. They had both gotten twin trays of rolled omelettes, fruit, and chocolate milk. Obito sat to the left of Minato while Naruto pulled up a stray chair to sit between Rin and Obito.
"Ohayo." They mumbled and dug into their plates.
Rin was looking at them with a dubious expression while Minato inspected them both from the corner of his eye, feigning inspecting his surroundings to the left of him as to not arouse Kakashi's suspicion.
"I thought you two made up already." Rin finally spoke up and the two boys only spared her a glance between their ravaging.
"What do you mean?" Obito questioned.
"Why were you guys yelling last night?" Kakashi beat her to the punch and Minato abruptly stood up and excused himself to go to the bathroom.
Both boys froze.
"Oh, were we?" Naruto laughed sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. "Didn't notice. Sorry, won't happen again." He waved a flippant hand but Obito was still suspiciously frozen in place. With a sharp elbow to his arm, he snapped out of it.
"Y-Yeah. Sorry, Rin-chan."
She frowned at them and crossed her arms.
"Are you guys fighting again?"
"NO!" they yelled, backs rigid and eyes blazing.
Their other two teammates shot them disbelieving looks.
Obito coughed into his hand while Naruto tried to avoid the situation by stuffing his face with a bunch of fruit.
"Sorry, ehm, I think what we're trying to say is that no, we aren't fighting again. Just being idiots." He chuckled nervously but it seemed to get Rin off his back. Kakashi on the other hand, well, that was a different chip on his shoulder altogether.
Minato chose that time to come back and stiffly sat down. He cleared his throat to gather his team's attention before another conversation way out of his territory sparked up again.
"After yesterday's incident, I think it's best we practice some team-building skills." He ignored the collective groans from everyone and continued on with a smile. "It's important to build trust and communication with one another. Even you three could use a bit of a refresher course if I do say so myself."
They winced at the memories, shoulders slouching and Naruto couldn't help but feel anxious at what was to come.
…
…
…
"Remember, no chakra allowed for this exercise, got it?"
"Hai."
"A little more enthusiastic, yeah?"
"Hai."
Taking what he could get, Minato continued onward undaunted.
"Right. Since we have an even amount this time I'll be partnering you up. Rin, you're with Naruto. Kakashi, you're with Obito."
Naruto smiled while Obito cursed and petulantly crossed his arms. Kakashi spared him a withering glare.
"Each team will be located on separate sides of the field. This particular exercise will require each one of you to communicate by however means."
He crouched down on the grassy field and performed a set of hand seals very familiar to Naruto. There was a 'poof' and two toads appeared before them. The excitement that had been building inside him deflated when he realized neither toad were his bothersome pair. No matter how annoying they were, he still missed being able to summon Gamakichi and Gamatatsu to do his delivery work.
"This is Gamahiro. He'll be with you guys." He pointed at Rin and Naruto and the small blue toad hopped toward them with a simple and gruff, "Hello".
"This is Gamaken. You're with Kakashi and Obito today."
The red toad nodded, "Understood."
Naruto blanched. He could never get his toads to be so docile!
"One of you will be tasked with the job of catching my summons."
Naruto and Kakashi perked up at the easy task while Rin and Obito held twin expressions of nauseousness at the prospect of having to touch the slimy toads.
"Don't worry, Rin, I can do that part! Easy-peasy!" he shot her a grin and she smiled gratefully at him. But Minato held up a finger and tutted.
"Not so fast. Whoever it is must be blindfolded. The other person cannot touch the toad. Instead, their objective is to help the other person navigate while relying on any other sense that isn't sight."
They all paled. Rin and Naruto were the only ones to let out nervous chuckles, more or less thinking along the same lines that they weren't totally doomed in comparison to the other two.
"Alright! You have forty-five minutes! I'll start the timer once you guys are situated."
"Gee, thanks." Obito mumbled under his breath.
They walked on opposite ends of the clearing, the thin, straight grass tickling their ankles as they marched along the field to put a good amount of distance between them.
From the teams, it was Naruto and Kakashi who were tasked with catching the toads while the other two stood off to the sides.
"Alright…begin!"
…
…
…
Naruto had officially lost count how many times he had busted his ass and face while trying to catch the slippery summons. His knees were throbbing from how many tumbles he'd taken from trying to desperately lunge in time to catch the damned thing. Rin was probably on her thousandth apology by now, too.
"You were so close this time! Go a bit faster!"
Thankfully, the blindfold covered his exasperated eye-roll. If he went any faster he'd probably knock a tooth out next time he falls down. It was only a matter of when, not if.
They were only twenty minutes into the exercise but they weren't getting any closer to completing the objective. Time was ticking and if they were beginning to feel the tension, they were sure Obito and Kakashi were at each other's throats by now.
He straightened up and placed his hands on his hips.
"Look, Rin-"
"I'm over here."
He did a full one-eighty spin and ignored the warmth creeping up his neck.
"Look, Rin, how about we try something different?"
"Like what?" she inquired and he tapped his foot in concentration. She could see the steam bellowing from out of his ears. Eventually, he sat down and placed his hands on his knees, his own version of Shikamaru's 'thinking position'.
"We're always one second behind Gamahiro, and his movements are never the same." She supplied with a frown as she sat next to him, joining him in his contemplation.
"If only there was a way for you to hear me the second I tell you his direction." She bumped a fist in the palm of her hand. Just then, a particularly harsh wind blew past them, tussling their hair and causing the tendrils of grass to dance to its rhythm.
"This wind isn't helping either." Rin groaned. She was startled when Naruto abruptly jumped to his feet with a fist in the air.
"I got it!" he exclaimed.
"Rin, get on my back."
She looked at him quizzically for a good moment, before the sudden revelation cleared her judgement. She smirked and stood up to stand beside him.
"Let's finish this."
…
…
…
"If only I had my sharingan, we could have already finished this!"
Even though his eyes were covered by the blindfold, Obito could feel the iciness of Kakashi's glare on him.
"If you weren't such an idiot we could have already been done!"
He quelled the urge to stomp his foot like a child. At this rate, they wouldn't be able to accomplish their first exercise at all!
However, he couldn't really blame Kakashi for being angry. He had led the other boy to run right smack into the only tree that was in a mile radius of them. And yeah, maybe that was personal revenge or maybe he hadn't really been paying attention all that much, he couldn't really tell since both applied. The random bush he'd made Kakashi crawl through might have been a bit of an overkill, too. Might have.
"Are you thinking of a plan or are you passing gas again? We're running out of time."
Obito flushed.
"Shut up, asshole! I was thinking!"
Kakashi snorted. "Really now?"
He fumed but didn't retaliate. Instead, he chose to calm down and start thinking of other options.
"Kakashi, let me get on your back."
"No."
Suppressing his urge to whine, Obito threw his hands in the air.
"Fine then! You come up with something, Bakashi!"
"Get over here, you idiot. If you trip me I'll kill you."
Obito blinked and walked to him, curious to see what he had planned.
"Stay beside me at all times. And keep up, will you?"
He turned his back and Obito couldn't help but stick his tongue out at him. Kakashi inclined his head.
"I saw that."
His tongue just about shriveled up into the back of his mouth.
"Bastard."
…
…
…
Minato paused the timer with a succinct click.
"You came in a close second!"
"There's only two teams." Kakashi deadpanned.
Minato chuckled. "Yes, well, I'm still impressed with your time. You know, considering…" he gestured to them and their haggard appearance. Obito's hair was scattered in straight spikes as if something had exploded in his face while Kakashi had a tear in his pants and grass in his silver hair.
Gamaken was still in his grip and Naruto couldn't help but inspect the thing, trying to find the button that made them so obedient. Kakashi grunted and moved away from him in disgust.
"You stink."
Naruto scowled.
"You don't smell so good yourself pal." He wasn't going to admit the small mishap of grabbing Gamaken too tightly and causing him to thrown up. All over him. It had taken a while for Rin to get it all but she couldn't do much about the stench.
"What's next, sensei?" Rin piped up and all three boys refrained from groaning their despair.
"We're heading north for the next exercise, actually."
This time, their grumbles didn't go unheard.
"Oh hush. We're going somewhere nice." He lead the way with a bounce in his step before turning his head and regarding Naruto with a sparkling blue eye. "It'll even give you a chance to wash off." He winked and Naruto flushed in embarrassment.
After thirty minutes of walking through the field of grass, they found themselves passing a threshold of towering black pine trees. They creaked and moaned with the whispering breeze, their leaves falling around them like a shower of green with splashes of the afternoon sun spilling through the gaps.
It took another twenty minutes to reach their destination. They smelled it before they saw it, the crispness of freshwater flooding their nostrils in a refreshing breath of air. The susurrus of rushing water was the next thing to reach their ears. Not long after, they caught glimpses of a crystalline waterfall.
They 'oo-ed' and 'ahh-ed' once they reached the base, marvelling its height and beauty with wide and innocent eyes. Minato couldn't help but chuckle as he laid down his pack with a thump.
"We'll have plenty of time to enjoy it after our exercise. Let's suit up!"
Ignoring their scathing glares Minato pulled a small scroll from his pouch and summoned up the utensils they would need for this particular exercise.
"Uhm…"
They stared at each other uneasily. Minato grinned and held up the first two toward Naruto and Obito. They took them hesitantly and inspected them with wary eyes.
"What is this?" they asked in unison.
"They're straps. Put them on. You might need to help each other." He answered while giving another set to Kakashi and Rin.
No one commented on Rin's dreamy sigh.
After a lot of embarrassing maneuvering and a lot of putting the wrong limb in the wrong hole (Minato suspected Rin's equipment issues stemmed more from the fact that she was doing it on purpose than actual difficulty in order to get Kakashi's begrudging help), all four were all strapped up and ready for their next instructions.
"This time we're switching teams. Obito, you're with Naruto."
The cheeky smiles that wobbled on their faces were clear indicators that both boys were trying to hide their excitement. Kakashi rolled his eyes meanwhile Rin shot the two a warm smile.
"Kakashi, you're with Rin." Still, no one commented on her dreamy sighs and star-filled gaze.
On any other occasion, it would have at least riled up Obito enough that he would remain in a sour mood for the rest of the day. But today was different, Minato deduced, eyes straying over to Naruto who was tugging at the straps scrunching up his pants near his crotch area. Today, Obito had a distraction.
"Naruto, Obito, you two will be on the left side. Rin, Kakashi, you two will be on the right." He clapped his hands together and leered down at them. "Now! This exercise may seem simple, but don't be fooled! The same no chakra rule applies here as well. Rather, you'll be relying on your own strength."
Kakashi let out a sigh of relief. Minato's eyebrow twitched, his grin borderline evil now as he whipped out two long bungee cords.
"However, you will be directly attached to your partner. So, one misstep and both of you will be falling. Tread carefully." He wiggled his eyebrows and Naruto couldn't help but think the man's dramatics were amusing at best. It reminded him a lot of Jiraiya, his brutish flair obviously having rubbed off on the man.
"You get used to it eventually." Obito mumbled to his left while shielding his mouth. He laughed in response as they headed to their respective side of the waterfall once Minato had linked their straps.
"You ready?" Naruto called, wiping his hands down his pants to get rid of any nervous sweating. Obito nodded and flashed him a grin and a thumbs up.
"We got this in the bag!"
They started together, checking every jutting rock with a hand or a leg before settling their full weight on it. Neither of them was going very far but they were making steady progress. It wasn't until halfway to the top that both of them began to feel the wear and tear of their muscles.
"This is torture." Obito cried and Naruto could only nod as he tried to wipe the dirty sweat that was getting into his eyes.
The momentary delay proved to be a grave mistake as the rock beneath Naruto's right foot gave way. Obito could only watch in slow motion as the boy began his fall downward. Almost immediately, hot and scorching adrenaline flared to life inside him and coursed through his veins as he reached inside his pouch with a such a quickness that wasn't processing anything he was doing, he was simply reacting.
He stabbed the kunai deep into the sedimentary rock and tensed his muscles as he braced for the impact.
There was a harsh tug, but it didn't come with nearly enough force to knock him down. He peeked below him and sure enough, Naruto had pulled his own kunai out and dragged it into the rock to relieve some of the kinetic energy that had built up during his fall.
"Ouch…" he winced as he pulled his left hand toward him. Obito saw blood dribbling down his arm, the flesh of his hand marred and blistering from trying to stop his momentum. He bit his lip and said nothing, instead choosing to tug on the bungee cord to get Naruto's attention.
"C' mon. I'm not leaving you behind."
Naruto snorted and started climbing up, ignoring the pain that spiked through his hand every time he lifted his body to the next rock. Obito didn't move until he was right next to him, sweating hard and out of breath but a familiar fire burned in his blue depths. He nodded in recognition.
"Let's go."
And so they went on, fueling each other's energy with rivaling determination and a burning desire to finish so that they could enjoy the relaxing qualities of the water down below. They finished in record time, collapsing on the ground in a heap of limbs and cords.
Minato was already waiting for them up top, timer in one hand and a book in the other.
"Great timing you two. Now we just have to wait for the others."
Naruto and Obito happily obliged by leaning against a boulder, shoulder to shoulder and with a great view of the swaying trees down below.
"You're hand alright?" Obito finally spoke up and Naruto flinched, hoping against hope that the boy wouldn't ask him such a question.
"Yeah." He croaked and hid his hand beneath his thigh. The cuts had healed already, the only proof of his injury was the smeared blood that ran from his hand to his arm.
The wind was more prominent above all the trees, its coolness brushing against their flushed skin and wisping through their hair.
A couple of minutes passed and Rin came soaring from the edge, plopping down on the ground with an oof. Kakashi followed soon after her, his eyes screaming bloody murder as he threw the hook to the cord on the ground when he passed her by.
Minato simply raised an eyebrow at him when he went to stand before him.
"That's not teamwork, Kakashi. That's called 'throwing-your-teammate-against-her-wishes'."
Kakashi let out a long-suffering sigh.
"We wouldn't have made it in time if I hadn't thrown her." He tried to explain. Minato snapped his book shut and shook his head.
"Let's hope you do better in the next exercise." He stood up and walked to his other three subordinates.
"Rest up. Our next exercise won't be for another two hours."
They all let out sighs of relief, Obito and Naruto racing each other to see who could get to the bottom first now that they could use chakra. Rin trailed slowly behind them while Kakashi physically dragged his feet, his head hanging low.
Minato walked beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"There will come a time when you will have to depend on others, you know."
Kakashi regarded him with an indecipherable gaze but Minato simply smiled down at him and patted his head.
"Next time." He said softly and walked ahead.
Kakashi's legs dragged behind him even more.
Beta'd by: DireDiamonds