He was an idiot. How could he be so stupid? Why did Obito even recognise it?
Obito gaped, spacing out, his mind seemingly overheating. There were a few daunting implications, though he wasn't much of a thinker.
"Does that mean that you...had to kill...?" Had Sasuke been less stoic, he would've gulped in panic. Obito knew more than he let on.
"No." Sasuke stated almost immediately, a tinge of panic seeping into his voice. Sasuke would not be known as a friend-killer. "I didn't. That's not true." He had to make sure that Obito would keep his mouth shut.
"Obito, please keep this a secret." Obito blinked, no longer spacing out, shrugging his shoulders.
"I don't really have anyone to tell anyway," He kicked the dirt sadly.
Suddenly, his eyes welled up. He was bawling his eyes out. Sasuke patted the boy's back awkwardly while he cried. Why was he crying anyway? Obito buried his head in Sasuke's shirt and wailed. Sasuke could not console crying children, but tried anyway, pulling him closer. After a few minutes, Obito's wails had subsided to a quiet sob.
"I'm so pathetic. I'll never get my Sharingan! I bet it's skipped me. No one sees me as an Uchiha." And then he started crying again. Sasuke pondered what to say. "I got mine when I was 12. Sometimes, the strongest Sharingan are the late bloomers." Obito looked up in disbelief, his face tear-streaked.
"That's not true, you're just saying that to make me feel better."
"Maybe so, but I wouldn't lie." He bent down to the kid's height, brushing dirt off with his palm. "How many jutsu do you know?" Obito looked away, muttering 'eleven'.
"You learned that without the Sharingan."
"For a Chunin, you're skilled. Once you get the Sharingan - which you will - it'll only help you." Obito nodded, suddenly latching onto Sasuke in a hug.
"Thank you, Sasuke!" Obito wiped his tears and beamed with conviction. This time, it was different to Naruto. Sasuke realised that, while they were alike, Obito was his own person and there was no reason to correlate the two.
He was surprisingly good at consoling children. Maybe he should be a therapist.
"You should get back. Your team is probably waiting." Obito nodded, dragging Sasuke by the wrist. He had an odd way of expressing respect. He probably knew where his team were. Why he was pulling Sasuke along was a mystery.
Team Minato was still training. Minato was lightly sparring, taking on Rin and Kakashi at once. Sasuke watched, his eyes glued to the three's movements until they stopped for a break. Rin started fussing over Obito's numerous injuries. Sasuke didn't think he was that harsh, but Minato and Rin disagreed. Kakashi didn't care, it seemed.
"Sasuke, thank you! You'll teach me again sometime, right? I'm going to get my Sharingan in no time!" Obito had once again attacked Sasuke in a hug, letting go after several awkward seconds. Strangely, Sasuke didn't hate the idea of a next time. Obito was family. He loved family. He was pushing away the foreknowledge of Obito's death, promising to prevent it.
"Sure," he muttered, not sarcastically, and vanished in a shunshin. Minato was silent, reevaluating his initial perception of the strange Uchiha. He was willing to put his trust into Sasuke if it meant giving his student a chance to improve, and rediscover his lineage. Minato knew that many Uchiha weren't fond of Obito, but Sasuke seemed like the exception, and that was reason enough to trust him.
Sasuke was in his ruin of an apartment. A small scroll had been placed. He examined it for any triggers or traps, but nothing. It was probably placed by an ANBU on the Hokage's orders. He guessed it was a mission or something of the sort. Deeming it safe to open, he read the contents. There was a single line, scrawled out in the Hokage's scrupulous handwriting.
Meet me at Training Ground 29 at 23:30.
If he guessed correctly, this would be an assessment of his skills. He'd have to make the Hokage underestimate him. Having already displayed his S-rank taijutsu skills to Sayu, she'd certainly blab. So he should downplay his intelligence and ninjutsu. At least, he hoped Hiruzen would challenge him to a menial spar and nothing more.
For the next few hours, Sasuke found himself at the 24-hour library to pass time and carry out research. From future experience, the library was a well of untapped knowledge. You could make numerous inferences from what you read directly in various resources. There was information about the Bijuu, Jinchuuriki, S-rank criminals, and ancient techniques, more than you'd expect.
Time passed. Sasuke leaned on a tree, book in hand, feigning nonchalance. He heard slow, deliberate footsteps.
"You came." The Hokage remarked, as if he didn't expect Sasuke to show up.
"You knew I would. So, what do you want?"
"I'm sending you on a mission." Sasuke raised a brow. He didn't expect a mission so quickly. What was so urgent that he called him at this time?
"It's a C-rank." Cue a wry, frustrated smirk.
"What would you do if I failed?" Hiruzen said nothing, just smiled, his eyes gleaming.
"The details: You'll be delivering a message to an official in Amegakure. I figured you could travel with Team Minato, since you like them so much, and they have a mission along the way," Sasuke grumbled. Hopefully, with Minato, they wouldn't be too annoying.
"Oh, but Minato isn't coming. He's too skilled for a mere C-rank." Oh. Sasuke didn't expect such a show of trust.
What would Hiruzen do if Sasuke got them killed? They were Chunin, only promoted due to the war, but, being an Uchiha, a genius and a medic, useful. Was Hiruzen trying to goad him as a test of loyalty? He had nothing to gain by harming them, yet everything to lose. Why would he be tempted to let harm come to them?
Hiruzen had to have an ulterior motive, one that he hadn't thought of. It wouldn't do to underestimate the old man.
"I'd like to know. What would you do if I failed?" His tone demanded an answer. Sasuke noticed that he dropped all respectfulness, and didn't care.
"It's a good thing you won't. I have an inkling as to just how skilled you are already." Of course. Sayu probably told the Hokage about their little spar. That implied this was a test of loyalty. He didn't get it. What would complying with a mission tell Hiruzen about him?
Sasuke thought over the details. Ame. In a few years, the borders would be tightened, but Nagato and Konan were already in control and Yahiko was dead, but of course, everyone still thought Hanzo was alive and leading. It was impossible for Hiruzen to know any of this.
Maybe there was more than met the eye. Hiruzen wanted him to venture into Ame, deliver a message in a scroll to an unnamed official, while dragging three slow, useless Chunin. There was a catch.
"What's in the scroll? Who's the official?" Hiruzen shook his head, but smiled.
"See for yourself. Your mission starts tomorrow at 8pm." With that, the Hokage disappeared.
Sasuke vanished in a swirl of leaves immediately after, pondering his mission.
He never thought he'd willingly seek out that disastrous Team Minato, but he was. Only to discuss the mission, though. A small part of him wanted to see Obito. There was someone that wanted him around. Someone that wasn't a clingy fangirl, but instead a clingy twelve-year-old.
Upon seeing him, Obito ecstatically bounced at his spot, starry-eyed, greeting him. His version of a greeting being a hug. If the kid wasn't so bubbly and not related to him, Sasuke would never let anyone hug him.
"Sasuke, hi! Are you going to teach me something new?"
Sasuke nodded, "I need to discuss a mission with your team and Minato." Sasuke only referred to one person with an honorific: Itachi, his nii-san. Even with the Hokage, he only maintained that once. He wasn't about to start now. Kakashi and Rin were awestruck at his lack of respect, but he didn't care. Nor whether someone addressed him with an honorific or not. Minato didn't either.
"I know, I have a mission tomorrow, but these three have a C-rank in Ame." Minato seemed to have figured it out, but Sasuke iterated for the three unsuspecting Chunin.
"I'm coming with you. I have a mission in Ame too." He assessed their reactions. Obito's whole mood brightened more, if that was possible. Rin seemed thankful for the extra support. That was sensible of her. Kakashi was less than pleased.
"I don't need an escort. I can handle this myself!" This was the most little Kakashi had ever said. Minato soured, frowning disappointedly.
"Can you? Don't overestimate yourself." Sasuke remarked, challenging him. Kakashi was overestimating himself if he thought he could handle everything that gets thrown at him. He was about to snap at him before Sasuke started talking again. He didn't do much of that.
"You're venturing into Ame, an unknown factor. You don't know what can happen. It's easy to outmatch you. Don't be foolish and accept the support." Kakashi lacked a rebuttal, so he settled on glaring and growling at Sasuke. Obito huffed in delight.
"Yeah, you tell the bastard!" Sasuke shook his head and chided softly, "Don't call your teammate a bastard, Obito." He knew he hated being called one.
Obito nodded, seeming to actually listen, and climbed on Sasuke again like he was a tree.
"Well, now Sasuke and I are off for our super secret special training!" It was almost cute how proud of it he seemed. Upon finding a clearing, Sasuke settled into a basic stance, once again commanding Obito to dodge.
This time, Obito kept going for 20 minutes before needing a break. After 2 hours of repeating the speed exercise, Sasuke decided to test something.
"I'm going to teach you a jutsu," the kid's eyes widened in glee to unimaginable proportions.
"But it's an A-rank. Do you think you can handle it?" Uchiha typically had large reserves, so he knew his chakra reserves could handle it. This was a test of perseverance.
Obito seemed to deflate momentarily, "I'm- I'm not sure if I can do it, but I know I'll try!" And Sasuke knew he meant it. Obito would try. He silently congratulated his impromptu student for being realistic. Sasuke went over the hand signs slowly, repeating as many times as Obito needed.
"Katon: Kaen Hisame no Jutsu," he mumbled. He wasn't normally a fan of chanting the technique out loud, but did so for Obito's sake.
Angry red drops of fire sizzled into existence, wreaking havoc on the grounds.
"This Training Ground is fireproof, so not much happened." Obito was awed. This technique looked awesome! He wanted to learn it right away. Obito went through the hand signs, repeating until it was integrated into his muscle memory.
Sasuke found a nice tree, climbed it, and began reading a book. Obito didn't even notice, so captivated by the prospect of a new, A-rank jutsu. He managed to summon a few sparks after half an hour. That's okay. Learning a new jutsu typically took at least a whole week.
A few hours passed. Obito was able to summon several sparks of fire. It was impressive. Obito was overlooked, but Sasuke was certain that Obito would be a fearsome shinobi if given a chance to flourish.
"Good job," he meant it. It relieved him to see that Obito was pleased as well.
"That's enough, then. Rest up until 8." Obito nodded, thanking him. It was nice to be thanked.
Just as the sun was setting, Sasuke, Rin and Kakashi appeared almost one after the other. Obito was nowhere to be seen. Sasuke frowned. Neither of his teammates were surprised. "Where's Obito?" Kakashi rolled his eyes, as if this was a habit. Sasuke hoped that Obito didn't have a habit of being late.
It didn't add up. Obito was so determined to get stronger that it didn't seem like him to be late to a mission. Was there a reason? Sasuke hoped the clan didn't look down on him too much. With every fibre of his being, he wanted to see them again. He wanted to know whether his mum and dad were okay, and he wanted to hold little Itachi and protect him. But he couldn't.
"I'm here!" Obito waved his arms frantically and caught up with the three, lugging his backpack. He immediately began apologising for his lateness and making up some excuse about the path of life. So that's where Kakashi got his excuses. Sasuke would talk to him later. Now, they had a mission.