Chapter 3: Making Time
A/N: As of 6/9/2022, I made some minor updates to this chapter, including grammatical and formatting corrections.
Jitsuko always knew the duties of a Genin were never particularly hard, but what caught her off guard was the sheer amount of D-ranked missions her squad was forced to complete. The nation was at war, meaning there were considerably less ninja readily available for missions which essentially left the lower-ranked ninja with twice the amount of work. This cut in with her time with Obito immensely, though the two of them did manage to still make time for each other every now and then.
Jitsuko was walking home after a mission late one evening, the route she followed taking her through the ninja academy. Looking around its vicinity brought nostalgic memories of the playing, fighting, training, and learning that took place there when she was only 8 years old. Jitsuko glanced at the lone swing on a nearby tree and winced.
Hopefully the future I create will make it so you don't ever have to be alone on that swing, Naruto.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the doors to the academy swinging open, and she stopped in her tracks when she saw Obito walking out. Her first reaction was to wave and call out to him, however, her intent was soon diminished when another form emerged immediately after him, this individual being none other than Rin Nohara. Jitsuko's once bright face was immediately replaced with distraught as she studied each of their smiling faces.
– is… is Obito... blushing...?
I can't. I can't watch this, Jitsuko said to herself and reversed her steps to walk away.
She couldn't explain why, but something compelled her to stop and look back one more time; just in time to catch Obito sporting his signature smile – the one she had begun falling in love with.
No. Stop those thoughts right now, Jitsuko. You've been through this. If I do change the future, then Rin will most likely survive and Obito will continue to fixate after her. Even if she never reciprocates, he wouldn't give up on her that easily. You'll only be hurting yourself if you keep this up.
Jitsuko let her mind wander, her gaze never leaving her best friend's form. She was then shaken out of her thoughts once she noticed the two of them parting ways, with Obito heading through the main part of town. Jitsuko froze in place deciding on what to do. Before her mind could process her decision, Jitsuko's feet began to move toward his disappearing form. Her walk became a jog, which then formed into a sprint. Eventually she was in close enough proximity to call out to the Uchiha.
"Obito!" she shouted out in a mix of exhaustion and glee.
Recognizing her voice immediately, Obito turned to greet Jitsuko with that charming smile she was fawning over mere moments before. "Jitsuko! It's been a while! What'chu been up to these days?"
Obito's reminiscing tone made her realize just how long it's been since they had properly hung out. Realizing this made Jitsuko go a little melancholy. Her eyes naturally went downcast to the Ichiraku Ramen shop to her right, which prompted a great idea.
"How about I tell you over ramen," she offered, pointing to the shop on her right with her thumb. "My treat."
Looking at the shop then back to her, Obito's smile returned to his face. "How do you always know what I'm thinking?" he exclaimed with a cocky yet friendly grin on his lips. "You big weirdo."
"So what's the story, why are you all scratched up?" Obito said inquisitively, noting the various cuts, grass stains and scratches riddling her face and clothes.
"Oh it's nothing, just Kyoko and I got into a bit of a disagreement again."
"Are you serious? That cat escaped again? That's gotta be what, the third time this month?"
"Yeah and somehow my team's the one who always gets assigned to capturing this nuisance of a cat. It makes me wonder why she doesn't just stay home. I can only imagine how her family treats her. But still, I find it kind of hilarious that her name is Kyoko because from what I've heard that name literally translates to "respectful child" and let me tell you, she is anything but respectful to me!"
Both of them shared a chuckle at the irony before he spoke up again, still eyeing her injuries. "Do your scratches hurt? I can get Rin to come by and patch you u-"
"No!" she shouted, perhaps a tad too loudly, as an awkward silence followed shortly after her ill-mannered interruption.
Even the shop's owner, the man about to pass them ramen, paused cautiously as he waited for a sign of amity among the two of them.
"I-I'm sorry, Obito. I didn't mean to raise my voice," Jitsuko uttered meekly to the startled Uchiha.
"Raise your voice is an understatement, Jitsuko! What was that for? All I did was offer to get your wounds treated!" Obito defended himself, with the hurt transparent in his voice.
"No, yeah. You're absolutely right. I just, um, panicked when you started talking about treating wounds. I got frightened thinking about what would happen if I didn't get these treated and… those thoughts scared me. I really am sorry, Obito. Can you forgive me? At least while we eat our ramen?" she suggested with a gentle smile appearing on her face.
Obito's eyes softened at Jitsuko's apology, and with her smile being a contagious one, he cracked one back with his eyes closed and joked, "Well I can't say no to that! You did say it was your treat, after all."
Seeing their tone reverting to a friendly one, the owner happily handed the ramen over to her and Obito, where he took no time to dig in.
Jitsuko felt guilty for essentially lying to her best friend. Lying is disrespectful; an insult to one's intelligence, she thought. But in this case, she had to, because she knew the real reason why she snapped at Obito was because of him suggesting that he went to get Rin, which meant he would see her outside of his usual team meetups. She felt terrible for feeling this way; Obito could go see her if he wanted to. This was another reason why she had been trying so hard to put her walls up before he could do anything more to her heart, any more than he already had. Midway through eating, a question she was meaning to ask popped into her mind.
"So what exactly were you and Rin doing at the ninja academy earlier, especially when it's so late?" she asked, noting how the setting sun casted a vibrant orange in the village square just outside the shop's banners.
"Me and Rin finished a mission earlier when she asked me to go with her to drop off some medical documents at the academy. It was sort of boring at some parts, but... I didn't mind it..."
Jitsuko quietly but resentfully noticed the subtle blush dusted on his cheeks at the mention of Rin's name.
"Wait, how did you even know about that? Have you been following us?"
A question that was, to her relief, one that was easy to answer truthfully. Though that didn't stop a sigh from passing through her from the thought of Obito thinking she was a stalker.
"Honest to goodness I was on my way home from today's mission when you two happened to cross my path. I was just curious, is all."
Jitsuko looked up at Obito after a moment of silence to search for a reaction. His face was still full of suspicion.
"Maybe Lord Third was right when he accused you of being an outside spy all those years ago," he joked with an exuberant look on his face, to which she replied by laughing at the absurdity.
"I can't believe you remember that! It seems like so long ago."
"Well of course I do, Jitsuko! It was the first day we ever met. That's a pretty important day to remember in my book," Obito voiced nonchalantly while gulping down another mouthful of ramen. Jitsuko sat there quietly, processing that Obito really does care for her and her friendship with him.
Our friendship. Nothing more.
With a slight frown, she then shook her head, purging the thought. "So what are your plans tonight?"
"I was on my way over to the training grounds to get some shuriken target practice in when you stopped me."
"Do you mind if I tag along? It's been so long since I got to see you. I don't know when we'll get to hang out again – unless of course you'd rather practice alone," she ended with a mutter, embarrassed by being unable to suppress her excitement to invite herself into Obito's business.
"Funny, I was just about to ask you if you'd like to come. There you go reading my mind again," Obito teased.
The two of them headed to the training grounds shortly after, where they practiced, sparred and talked well into the night, until Jitsuko walked Obito home before eventually going separate ways.
"Good night, Obito."
"Night, Jitsuko."
