Naruto was hanging off the bridge where he and his teammates waited for Kakashi-sensei, who was, once again, VERY late.

Naruto had been sitting on the railing before leaning backwards until he touched the water. He then began seeing how many fish he could stroke.

Sasuke was leaning on a pole on the other side of the bridge, slightly slouched and acting cool. Sakura was perched a few feet away from Sasuke, slumping, and occasionally yawning. After a while, she got fed up.

"Why he makes us wait is beyond me," She complained, yawning slightly halfway through.

Naruto jiggled his right foot in response. "Uh-huh!" He called.

Sakura was about to reengage in the conversation, when a very handsome black dog came trotting cautiously up. The pretty dog had ruffles in fur, where old scars might be residing.

"Oh! A dog!" Sakura exclaimed. She outstretched her arm slowly. Sniffing it first, the dog allowed himself to be petted.

"Really? Wher-" Naruto began, before a poof of smoke made him topple into the water.

Kakashi leaned over the rail. "Sorry," He apologized.

"Sorry he says, huh! One of these days I'm gonna have a heart attack, THEN we'll see who's sorry," The soggy gripes answered. Sasuke regarded his sensei, before gesturing to the black dog, who was wagging his tail and learning to play Patty-cake with Sakura.

"That yours?"

Kakashi glanced at the two. "Oh, yes. So that's where he ran off to."

The dog, whom we know to be Obito, was mildly interested in the game. He lifted his paw and clapped it against Sakura's, then set it down and repeated with the other. "He's really smart!" She commented, a bit surprised by how fast the canine had picked up the rules.

"If only you knew..." Kakashi muttered, before peering back over the railing. "Are you coming out, Naruto?"

The blonde boy was still sprawled out in the water, and glared back up at his mentor.

"No no no, and no! You make us wait, so I'll stay here until I'm good and ready to come out!" He ranted.

Obito stopped the game, and with a quick bound, leaped in right next to Naruto.

I am so glad that, that monster fixed my wounds, He thought, before barking happily at the wetter than ever Naruto. Naruto stared at the dog before grinning.

"He is pretty." Naruto agreed, before crawling over slowly.

Obito was about to wag his tail again, and maybe bark, before freezing.

Another one? The icy, tormenting voice questioned. My, my...