A/N: I wasn't sure whether to upload these next two ficlets independently or not, but since they do follow the events of "Hours", here they are. Thank you to everyone who reviewed "Hours"! I hope you enjoy this as well. ^^
Summary: It was an old excuse from the Academy and it had never failed to make the kunoichi who taught the early lessons melt. It should work on his mother...

Family

When Obito found that the training field where his team was supposed to meet for the first time was empty, he had quickly made his way over to Rin's house. Thoughts that they might have gone somewhere without him were running through his head and his palms were already sweating as he tried to conjure up some kind of super explanation that would get him out of all trouble.

His brothers - his older brothers who never wanted anything to do with him - had invited him to hang out with them and some friends and he just hadn't been able to say no. He had always been seen as the embarrassing baby, the one their parents were always pushing on them to take along, and they'd rather be seen with pink hair in public than with him on their tail. Even their younger sister didn't get that treatment because she was the only girl. But now that he had been made a genin and earned his own forehead protector, everything had changed. It was like he'd passed some grand rite of initiation and earned the right to be called "cool" overnight.

To his great relief, Rin had been home and told him that their teacher had simply dismissed the team for the day. She told him what he had missed, about their teacher and other teammate, and finished off with a rebuke and a warning to be on time the next day which Obito only half-listened to (he was focusing on how great Rin was, watching out for him like that). Glad that they hadn't done anything too important yet and that apparently their new teacher hadn't been too upset, Obito had thanked her and gone back home.

Like a hawk descending on an unsuspecting little mouse, his mother intercepted him half-way up the stairs to his room.

"Obito Uchiha! Your teacher came by to see me today, asking about why you had missed practice," she yelled. She was standing one step above him, making her slight figure all the more imposing and her shrill voice all the more piercing. "Where were you?!"

If he said that his brothers had dragged him off to the dango shop, it was almost a sure bet that they would never let him go out with them again.

"I found an old lady on my way who was carrying loads of bags and I had to stop to help her, mum..."

He didn't think he'd ever used that excuse on her before. It was an old one from the Academy and it had never failed to make the kunoichi who taught the early lessons melt at the words. He hoped it would have the same effect on his mother, but the fact her eyes were slowly narrowing was making him doubt that.

"Go to your room! Now!!" she exploded. "And this had better not happen again, young man!"

"Sure," he squeaked and happily fled up the stairs, ducking under his mother's outstretched arm pointed at the door labeled "Obito". He was too scared to look up from the floorboards - when she was in a rage like this, it was better not to look into those black eyes! - so he missed the slight smile that blossomed on her face and exasperated shake of the head as she saw him run for safety.

She'd have to have a talk with her other sons.