If there was one thing Obito hated, besides his clan's theology, it was knowingly walking into danger. He found no trace of enemy shinobi, but there was something off about their journey so far. The first strange thing was that they had been hired. Why would a strong village leader, who should have his own guard, hire a shinobi team? The second strange thing was that everything seemed so easy. In Obito's experience with missions nothing had ever been easy. There was always a reason for them to be hired and it was usually because someone was after their client. Obito had become so unsettled by how smooth everything was going that he had proposed changing courses, doing something unexpected. Right now they were on the same path countless travelers took, it wouldn't be too hard to plant at trap down the road.

Of course no one considered his idea. For a second he had thought to give them his reasoning, but it's not like they'd believe him anyway. He had always been looked at as the weakest on the team.

Behind him Naruto closed the distance between them. "Minato-san told me that it was important to know your teammates. Now seems as good a time as any." Naruto was still behind him, but angled now so that if Obito turned his head to the right he could see him.

"My name's Uchiha Obito. Hmm, I like helping people. If I see someone who needs help I'll stop no matter the cost to me." Obito paused. What was safe to tell Naruto? "My rival is Kakashi, but he won't acknowledge my strength. He's always insulting me and telling me that as an Uchiha I should be a great shinobi, but I'm not."

"You train a lot in secret, don't you?" Obito stopped and whipped around to face Naruto. How did he know that? Naruto didn't give him time to respond. "My name's Naruto. I will do anything to protect the people I care about. I know I look silly, being a genin at nineteen, so I hope to pass the chuunin exams when we take them."

Obito looked over his shoulder and saw that the rest of their team was a good distance away. Turning around, he ran full speed to try to catch up to them. Naruto was right behind him the entire way. At least this guy wouldn't slow them down. When he reached his team, they were stopped. "What held you back?" Rin looked worried.

"I thought I sensed something, but it turned out to just be an animal." Obito answered. He really was good at making things up on the spot.

"You mean like the animal that's going to attack us if we keep going this way?" Kakashi sniped. He was probably smirking underneath that mask.

Obito clenched his fists. "Isn't the safety of the client first? If so, why not go a different way and prevent a possible attack?"

Kakashi looked about ready to strike. "Because this is the best course and there is no danger. I could take on any animal, not to mention we have Minato-sensei with us."

Obito took a step toward Kakashi. He couldn't help wanted to hit the guy. Minato's voice stopped his attack. "Stop fighting, you two. Kakashi, Obito could've had a dream like that. And Obito, even if you had a dream that doesn't mean it will happen. I've been searching the area and I haven't sensed one enemy. And Kakashi's right, if it is an animal, there's no reason we can't handle it." Minato was standing in between Kakashi and Obito now. Obito had no choice but to listen to his sensei. Minato was the expert, so surely he knew what he was doing.

"I can't believe my life is in the hands of a bunch of idiot kids." Keiji shook his head. It probably wasn't smart to start a fight in front of your client, Obito thought. He'd remember that for next time.

Minato motioned for them to begin walking again. "I want to cover several more miles before we rest for the night."

It wasn't long after they started up again that Naruto was talking to Obito again. "What's his problem?"

He probably meant Kakashi. "He's a stuck up genius who thinks he's better than everyone else."

Naruto snorted. "I know the type." He was quiet for a moment. He looked thoughtful, like he was remembering something. "I knew a guy who was a genius. He did nothing but look down on me and call me a dead last. At first I assumed he thought he was better than everyone else, then I found out he was considered a lesser member of his family, despite his skills."

"So you're saying he had a reason behind his attitude?" It was a strange thought, that there was a reason Kakashi was so cold. From what he knew, everyone had always praised Kakashi as being a genius. "Maybe some people have a reason, but I think others are just stuck up jerks."

"Do you have the right to decide that?" Naruto didn't sound like he was accusing him, just asking a question. "How long have you known Kakashi?"

"Since we were put on the same genin team over a year ago." That was plenty of time to get to know someone. "Plus, I had heard about him before then. The chuunin teachers were always going on about this genius shinobi who had graduated from the academy at age five and was a chuunin a age six."

Naruto kicked at a rock in his path. "And what do you know of Kakashi's personal life? His friends? His family?" He hadn't thought of that. Obito had never bothered to ask about Kakashi's home life, though it wasn't likely Kakashi would tell him. "I'm not saying that you're wrong about Kakashi, only that in my own experience there have been personal issues that credited to a genius' superior attitude."

"If he does have reasons, and I'm not convinced that he does, then he still isn't acting right. Just because you've gone through something difficult doesn't mean that you're better than everyone else."

"I agree that it isn't right, but at least they aren't lying to themselves and everyone else about who they are. I believe that pretending something never happened is worse than thinking you've gone through more than others have." Naruto looked at the group in front of them. "Now probably isn't the best time for talking. We need to focus on keeping Keiji-san safe." Naruto looked down at Obito and smirked. "You never know when a wild animal will pop out."

"You're making fun of me now, but just wait until later! Don't come crying to me when you're bleeding to death because of a porcupine!" Obito shouted.

Naruto bent over, shaking and fighting the urge to laugh. Losing that fight, Naruto laughed for a good minute before he spoke again. At this point the team had stopped and was staring at Naruto and Obito. "Porcupine? What's the worst a porcupine could do? Stick me with a hundred needles? Ten senbons could do more damage than that would, and I've survived with more senbons in me than that."

In front of them Minato sighed. "It doesn't look like we're going to get much further tonight." He set his backpack on the ground. "We'll set up camp here." Taking their sensei's cue, the rest of Team Minato went to work setting up the camp. Without the possibility of rain, there was no point in setting up the tents. They were used to sleeping outside.

Minato sent Kakashi and Obito out into the woods to find some wood for the fire. Kakashi took the lead, like Obito knew he would. Staring at Kakashi's back, Obito wondered if maybe Naruto was right. What if Kakashi had gone through something traumatic and as a result had become the arrogant person Obito knew? He had often blamed others for not seeing what was right before their eyes. Blaming them for never asking questions when things didn't quiet add up. Was he no different? Had he taken one look at Kakashi and decided that what he saw was all there was to him?

What had even caused that conversation with Naruto? They had been talking a little beforehand, but it was hardly serious. It was a strange topic to be discussing with someone you barely knew. Should he believe the words of someone he had only met several days ago? Not wanting to appear gullible for believing the words of a stranger, but also not wanting to be a hypocrite, Obito settled on a starting point. Being bold and outright asking. "You never talk about your home life. What's it like? Are your parent's shinobi too?"

Kakashi froze. It was the most of a reaction that Obito had ever gotten out of him. "My personal life has nothing to do with this mission; therefore, it is not necessary for me to answer." Kakashi's voice was usually condescending, but right now it was cold. Kakashi sounded bitter. Not bothering to face Obito, Kakashi turned and headed back to the camp. "We have enough wood for dinner."

Maybe Naruto was right. Why else would Kakashi react in such a way to his question? Especially since Kakashi rarely reacted to anything. Following his teammate back toward the camp, Obito once again stared at Kakashi's backside. What could have happened to cause Kakashi to act this way?

oOoOo

Kakashi didn't wait for the others to finish eating before he went to bed. Pulling the blanket up, he rolled onto his side. He had been in a bad mood since Obito asked him about his parent's. A shinobi didn't let his emotions get in his way, which meant keeping your home life separate from your missions. Not like he had a home life anyway. Why did Obito have to bring up personal things on a mission? All emotions did was screw up judgment.

Kakashi rolled over again. What right did Obito have asking him about his parent's? Obito had never cared about his home life before, why start now? Not that he wanted Obito to care. He wouldn't understand anyway. People like Obito, who were born from a prestigious clan and had one of the most powerful kekkei genkei's, couldn't possibly understand what it felt like. Obito had never had to suffer like Kakashi had. Never had to bear the shame of his family's name like Kakashi had. And he definitely never had to see the lifeless body of a loved one like Kakashi had.

Kakashi remain still when he felt the others approaching. He didn't want Minato to know he was awake. The man was certain to have noticed Kakashi's behavior and ask what was wrong. Kakashi heard Rin volunteer to take the first guard. Obito volunteered for the second. Obito would wake him up for the third shift. On their third or fourth mission the three of them had started taking all of the shifts. They had wanted to prove to Minato that they were becoming more reliable as shinobi. Since then Minato had only taken a handful of watch guard shifts.

It was well into Rin's shift before Kakashi fell asleep. He dreamed that he was in pitch darkness. Walking around, he realized he was in a small room. Fighting the fear that threatened to immobilize him, Kakashi kept feeling along the wall, searching for a way out. His hand touched something metal. A door hinge. Feeling around the area, he found a doorknob. He twisted it and welcomed the bright light that filtered into the dark room. Stepping into the new, light room, Kakashi looked around. It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the new brightness. When he could see properly, his stomach clenched. The darkness was better than this. In the center of the room was a young Kakashi, about five years old. He was looking down at his feet where a still body rested.

Adrenaline rushed through Kakashi's body as he sat up. Panting, he looked over at the sleeping figures of his teammates. Rin was lying down, meaning it was currently Obito's turn as guard. Stupid Obito. Kakashi's nightmare was his fault. If he hadn't brought up Kakashi's parents, his father would've stayed at the back of his mind.

A yelp caught Kakashi's attention. Shooting to his feet, Kakashi ran toward the source of the sound: Obito. Minato and Naruto were behind him. Rin would guard Keiji. Minato sped past Kakashi, using his speed to make it to Obito first. The first thing Kakashi noticed when he saw Obito was the lack of an attacker; the second was the blood dripping from Obito's left arm. Obito had a kunai drawn in his hands, but his left grip was awkward, probably a result of the cut.

"What happened, Obito?" Minato knelt in front of him. Gently taking Obito's arm, he examined the wound. "This looks to be deep. Rin should take a look at it as soon as possible."

"I promise I was paying attention. Whoever he was came out of nowhere. I think he was masking his chakra trail." Obito sounded desperate for Minato to believe him.

Minato smiled encouragingly up at Obito. "He most likely was. I didn't sense anyone either." Minato guided Obito, who was holding his arm trying to prevent himself from losing more blood, back to the camp.

Rin waited until they were near before rushing to Obito. Ordering him to sit down, she started on his arm. She was quiet as she studied his arm, all the while applying pressure to the wound. Using her other hand to put healing chakra into the injury, Rin slowly removed the hand pressing down on Obito's arm. When the blood flow stopped, Rin reached for her pack. Fumbling around in the dark, she finally grabbed what she was looking for. Unrolling a strip of gauze, Rin wrapped it around Obito's arm. "I did all I could, but one of your nerves were hit. I can't heal the nerve myself, so I left some of the wound open so the injury will heal together. If we were in a village with a hospital, more could've been done. I'm sorry, Obito." Rin's eyes were watery. Kakashi knew she hated that Obito was hurt. "It'll probably take several weeks to heal, and I don't know what lasting damage the nerve will have." The tears in Rin's eyes spilled down her cheeks.

"A shinobi doesn't cry." Kakashi chastened her.

Rin wiped at her eyes. "I know. If I knew more medical jutsu's I could've healed your arm better." Rin choked back a sob when she spoke to Obito.

"It's not your fault. Shinobi get hurt or even killed every day. There is a risk to everything we do and most teams don't have a medic shinobi to give them better chances of survival. You did your best and that's better than most." Kakashi was surprised at the wisdom in Obito's words. For a second, Kakashi saw his teammate as more than an annoying failure. He had always thought Obito to be stupid and ignorant, but there seemed to be more to him than Kakashi had considered before. "Besides, my arm's definitely going to heal. I can't become the greatest shinobi ever if I can't use my arm properly." Obito grinned his obnoxious smile. Kakashi wanted to hit him for looking so stupid.

oOoOo

Naruto had noticed Minato slip off while Rin was looking at Obito's arm. He was probably scouting the area to make sure the enemy was truly gone. Deciding to scout as well, Naruto left the oblivious group behind before Rin started on Obit's arm. As he jumped from tree to tree, Naruto thought back on what happened. He had sensed the chakra, but it had seemed to be the same distance as it had been the entire time. No one else had sensed the shinobi, even when he had attacked Obito.

Our senses are probably heightened to the point that we could sense him even when he was masking his chakra.

Which meant that he had been closer than Naruto thought. The weak signal was because of the shinobi's masking, not distance. How could I make such a mistake?

He felt miles away. At least we were aware of his presence. Now we know what to expect and we can be prepared for next time.

Why is there a next time? He had all of us off guard, so why didn't he finish the job. He could've killed Obito and then attacked us while we were asleep.

Kyuubi was silent.

Not finding anything, Naruto went back to the camp. Rin was done with Obito's arm and sitting near Kakashi, who was probably keeping guard until Minato's return. Obito sat alone by the extinguished fire. Naruto approached him and sat on the ground beside him. "How's the arm."

Obito didn't answer for some time. "The shinobi hit a nerve, so the damage is kinda bad. Rin did what she could, but it'll take a little bit to recover." Naruto would've offered some kind of comforting word, but it seemed like Obito was struggling to say more. The silence extended from second to minutes. Obito sighed. "There's probably going to be lasting damage."

Naruto froze, not expecting the news.

Your lives really do seem parallel.

Shut up, Kyuubi. He refused to think of that.

"Is there a chance there won't be lasting damage?" Naruto forced himself back to the situation at hand. Obito shrugged then nodded slowly. "Then don't give up hope. Doctors say stuff like that all the time. I think it's just to scare you into listening to them and resting. Don't worry about it." He had always prided himself on keeping his promises and he was determined to keep this one as well. Tsunade had told Lee to give up on being a shinobi and he proved her wrong. Obito's chances were much higher than Lee's had been so Naruto was worried about his recovery. In fact, it would probably only take a few weeks, unlike…no, he wasn't thinking of that. He was over it.

Obito was still discouraged. "Even if my arm does heal fine, it still won't be healed within a week." Naruto was going to ask why Obito had a time limit of a week when Obito spoke again. He must've seen Naruto's confusion. "The chuunin exams are taking place as soon as we return. With this injury I won't be able to participate."

How could he forget? "You'll still be able to participate. Remember, you have two teammates who are there to help you." He vowed to himself there that he would make sure Obito made it through the forest. Depending on how many passed they would have to battle in the semifinals. Hopefully most failed and there wouldn't be a need for the semifinals. The finals would take place a month after the forest, which would give Obito more time to heal.

When Minato returned to the camp, he appeared frustrated. Naruto was surprised when Minato approached him first. "There didn't seem to be anything suspicious. Whoever attacked Obito seems to be gone, but I'm still anxious. I didn't feel him at all and he was two hundred feet away. He could easily still be around here, just waiting to attack again."

Naruto agreed. He no longer sensed any of the three assassins, but with what they just pulled of, that didn't reassure him. "How's Obito's arm?" Naruto didn't want to be the one to tell Minato, but at least it would save the kids the trouble.

Inhaling and exhaling once before answering, Naruto looked Minato in the eyes. "One of his nerves was cut. Rin did what she could, but the healing process can still be several weeks long. There's a chance there could be lasting damage, but I doubt it. Obito doesn't seem the type to allow anything to hold him back."

Minato chuckled. "No he isn't." Minato faced his other students. "I'll take the third guard. You three try to sleep." Kakashi, Rin, and Obito nodded. After what had happened tonight it wasn't shocking that they would allow Minato to take a watch shift when they normally wouldn't. "You too, Naruto." Minato looked at him pointedly. Naruto wanted to argue against sleeping. He chose to follow the kid's example and listen to Minato.

Naruto didn't sleep much the remainder of the night. He was too worried about being attacked. Since Minato couldn't sense the assassins before, Naruto had been lying awake and trying to relocate them. When sunlight shone through the trees the next morning there was still no trace of anything. Rising with his teammates, Naruto once again took the rear of their trek. Minato had suggested that Obito move closer to the front. Obito stubbornly resisted. He returned to his spot in front of Naruto. Unlike the previous day, neither Naruto nor Obito spoke. Obito had a lot on his mind about the possibilities with his arm, and Naruto still felt uneasy about the assassins.

I can't figure out why they would just leave after wounding Obito. They could've easily killed him.

Killing might not be their objective.

Why would an assassin team be sent to merely harm a genin?

It seems strange, but I don't have another explanation.

I sometimes wish for the days when you actually had something useful to say.

You don't think my knowledge in useful? After all the times I helped you get out of hard circumstances you got yourself into by being stupid?

Maybe you were useful then, but lately a lot of your answers have been 'I don't know.'

I figured out we were in a different time.

I was getting there. If you had given me a few more minutes to think, I would've come to the same conclusion.

I doubt it.

Turning his focus away from the Kyuubi, Naruto expanded his search range. He still couldn't sense anything. It seemed like anyone following them was gone, though he knew that didn't mean they were gone. Naruto studied Obito, who was silent. After only knowing him for several days, Naruto still found his silence unnerving. Obito was such a happy and loud person, it was strange to see him so subdued. Obito would probably perk up in a day or two. He simply needed time to deal with what had happened to him. Obito had been hurt on missions before, but never to the point where his recovery was questionable.

They should arrive at the village by nightfall. That would barely give them time to make it back in time for the chuunin exams. Thankfully the exams were in Konoha. If they had to travel to another country there was no chance of them making it in time. As it was, if anything else went wrong during the mission, they might not get back in time anyway.

A/N: I was planning on waiting until tomorrow (Friday) to update, but since the chapter was done, I decided to update today.

In chapter 2 I said that Kakashi had become a chuunin when he was eight, but I was corrected. In the manga he became a chuunin at the age of six. I fixed this chapter, but not chapter 2, so it still says eight.

I used to write everything in one sitting, but I am trying to change that so I can write longer chapters. This one was hard to get started, but once the ball was rolling, it came easily. I hope you are enjoying the story. Thank you for reading and please take a second to review the chapter.