A/N: This was supposed to be posted four days after the previous chapter, but I wasn't actually able to access internet until now. For that, I apologize. Good news, though; the next chapter should be up soon-ish, within the week. Word count is ~4.5k.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 13 - Little Weasel

Obito walked at a steady pace alongside the elderly Hana, heading through the civilian district of Konoha. She smiled up at him as the two made their way to her home, the raven carrying four of the five grocery bags she had procured that day—he hadn't minded, even though she had proven well enough previously that she could handle the weight despite her age. He had taken to carrying her bags once again, simply out of common courtesy, force of habit, and the fact that he actually didn't mind the woman's company.

"I've been hearing that your team has been completing quite a few missions as of late." Hana commented with a happy lilt. "You've been working hard, Obito-kun?"

He nodded with a grin. "Heh, yeah. They're only D-Ranks, but some of them can take up a lot of time… In fact, today we completed three!"

And indeed they had. After completing a few miscellaneous D-Ranks, Team Seven had been excused for the day. He had left, fully intending on heading to the training grounds to work on katas and physical strengthening, but had instead encountered Hana along the way.

And that led to the current.

Obito hummed quietly, eyes drifting upwards to the near-cloudless sky. It was almost frightening, really, how easily he had fallen back into what he had before—it seemed that, no matter how much time had passed for him, no matter how many of the people here he had seen die, he was able to reacclimatize himself without an over-bearing sense of guilt. Perhaps it was because he had once had no qualms about a fake world, and having the real thing, being back in a time before everything turned bleak and lifeless to him… Well, it was calming.

Between training with his team and the day-to-day habits he had developed (or in some cases, reverted back to), it almost made him feel normal… Outside of the plotting in the shadows and the planned deaths he had constructed, that is.

He continued humming, refusing to let the small bit of discontent at the thought outwardly show. Yes, it was a constant reminder—guilt wasn't such a large factor for him, unlike Kakashi, because for him it was his knowledge that served as that unforgiving part of his conscience. Knowledge of the future, knowing about enemies who were, at the moment, still disguised as allies, enemies who could turn around and kill any one of the people Obito cared for at a moment's notice.

After careful consideration, Obito had decided on a wiser and careful approach regarding Orochimaru: he would send a Kage Bunshin. It was much safer to send a bunshin as opposed to going himself—the snake wasn't the type to charge in recklessly, and the clone would likely have enough time to at least locate the cells before being attacked and subdued. Obito's only method of escape would be the Kamui if he went himself, and he wanted to keep the use of his Mangekyō to a minimum until he gained the Senju cells. After all, they worked well with the Sharingan and prevented deterioration, but they didn't heal whatever damage was already done. He had the plan thought out and prepared, it was only a matter of deciding when he would send the bunshin to infiltrate.

And, of course, the other threat in Konoha. Danzō.

While he wanted to believe that Minato was up to par in regards to the warhawk, that Minato would be able to take the man down should the need arise… Obito didn't want to take the chance. Previously, the two had never had an open confrontation—Obito was almost certain they had come to verbal blows more often than once before, but they had never actually battled. It was more of a trade of passive-aggressive barbs and jeers, some veiled under carefully crafted words… Some not. At least, that's what he figured; it would make sense.

But regardless, the point was that Obito didn't know who would win if the situation ended up as such; Minato was strong, very much so, but he had far too may precious people and a bleeding heart to match. Danzō was a cold-hearted, pragmatic, and calculating individual, who cared less for Konoha's citizens so much as for the village's military strength. A man such as that wouldn't have any reservations on using one of Minato's loved ones as an ultimatum, and that was a choice Obito didn't want the man to have to make. Not a second time, no.

"… Oi," he called out, stopping in his tracks to turn his head slightly. He narrowed his eyes at the over-hanging trees. "What do you guys think you're doing?"

When there was no immediately reply, Obito shifted his stance slightly, placing himself between Hana and the hidden chakra signatures. Whoever it was that was following him and Hana had been tailing them for a few minutes, now, and while Obito didn't detect any ill-intent… While it could've been an ANBU operative, it could have just as easily been one of Danzō's Root. This was the third time, already, that someone (or a group of "someones") had taken to following him, and it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end—it wasn't particularly wise for individuals to creep in the shadows after an S-ranked, emotionally-unstable (perhaps mentally, too) individual who incurred a damn war on his own.

He blinked, however, when he felt a strangely familiar chakra signature amongst the group. Before he could say anything, two of the signatures headed off in the opposite direction as the remaining one dropped down—a man of a relatively average height, perhaps bordering on the tall side somewhat, with familiar curls of black hair cut just above his ears. His Konoha hitai-ate was worn proudly on his forehead, and he wore and outfit of all black… The most notable feature was the high-necked, Uchiha collar.

Obito recognized the man, vaguely, and the familiar chakra only reinforced the notion. Though, that might've just been attributed to the fact that he was an Uchiha, like Obito.

"… Uchiha-san, to what do I owe the honor?" Obito crossed his arms, looking up at the man who only quirked an eyebrow at the gesture. "I'm pretty sure that a thirteen-year-old black sheep of the clan and an elderly woman aren't exactly the most entertaining subjects to spy on."

"Uchiha-sama would like to speak with you," the man said coolly, giving no indication that he had heard anything past Obito's initial greeting. "You are to come to the compound as soon as possible."

Obito frowned, looking down at the bags he had his arms looped through. "… I'm kinda busy right now."

"That can wait. The clan head cannot."

The time traveler shot the taller man a look, before turning to Hana with an apologetic smile. "Er… Sorry, Hana-obaachan. I don't think this prickly bas—jerk will let me go."

The old woman chuckled with mirth, no doubt having caught the slight eye-twitch Obito's comment caused. "No need to worry about it, Obito-kun," she stated as she reached for the bags. "It was nice seeing you today—"

"I can take that." Both Obito and Hana stared up at the strange Uchiha dubiously, and it wasn't until Obito looked past the man that he realized that the man before him was actually a clone. He looked back at the clone with a gaze that said, 'you should have told us that first.'

The clone gave a non-committal shrug—which was rather un-Uchiha-like, if Obito had to say so—before gathering the bags and starting at a slow-paced walk.

"Obito-san." He turned back to the Uchiha, who tilted his head in the direction of the compound. "Uchiha-sama is waiting."

Obito walked up to him, turning slightly with a smile as he waved to the elderly woman. "Sorry again, Hana-obaasan. I'll see you later!"

"Same to you, Obito-kun." She waved back, before turning to follow the clone.

The raven turned back to the elder Uchiha, who was looking expectantly at him. Obito huffed. "Well, let's go see what Fugaku wants."

The elder quirked an eyebrow but said nothing else as they walked through the streets of Konoha, heading to the Uchiha Compound. Obito realized about fifteen steps later that this was strange, considering the fact that they were Shinobi, and that Fugaku had apparently wanted to see Obito "as soon as possible." He narrowed his eyes up at the other Uchiha (oh, it grated on his nerves that he was still short right now).

"Uchiha-san, what exactly is going on?"

Onyx eyes matching Obito's glanced to him momentarily before going back to the road in front of them. "I do not know what you mean."

"We're walking," Obito deadpanned. "Shinobi don't walk when they supposedly have a clan leader to report to. Heck, most Shinobi don't walk unless they have been barred from using chakra for health reasons or are Iryō-nin themselves, wherein conserving and storing chakra for emergency cases is the norm." He turned back to the street, his words coming out with a sigh. "Obviously, that doesn't apply to me, and I doubt that applies to you, either."

The man quietly hummed—he hummed; Obito wasn't aware that he wasn't the only Uchiha to not care about the unspoken "no humming" rule in the clan—as he walked, apparently not willing to answer Obito's question. The time-traveler decided to let go of the slight irritation that rose at the fact, and instead, focused on the man's mannerisms. He was familiar, very much so, Obito realized. Much more than the minuscule familiarity he had with the rest of the clan members that he occasionally saw when walking around the village… But Obito knew for a fact that he didn't know this man personally.

"… I'm guessing that you're 'Goggles-niisan', Obito-san."

Obito blinked. "… Uh?"

The man smiled. It was an exceptionally bright smile, one that reminded Obito of Minato's, which was strange considering this man's heritage. "My nephew has been rather excitable, lately, and he's been talking about this 'Goggles-niisan' of his. I found it strange that he had been so taken with someone that he had quite literally run into."

'… "Goggles-niisan"…?' Obito thought quietly. That sounded familiar, but definitely not from recent memory—not from twenty years ago, either, considering the fact that it was actually still on the forefront of his mind. And what did the man mean by 'someone that he had quite literally run int—

"… Oh." He replied blandly, realizing exactly who the man before him was. The man's demeanor, the way he carried himself, the way he could go from a typical, strict Uchiha to an oddity of the clan; it was all very much like what Obito imagined an older, more wizened Shisui would've been like. This man was Shisui's uncle, Uchiha Kagami's son… That was why the man seemed so damn familiar. He had only ever met the man a few times as a child, but it was still relatively simple to see where Shisui picked up his mannerisms. As he thought about it, Obito realized that this man was part of the group that had been tailing Shisui, that day Obito had quite literally run into (yes, that was familiar now) the boy. But for the life of him, he couldn't recall the man's name.

He frowned, thinking back to what the now-confirmed-Shisui's-uncle had said. "… What did he say?" Not that he was particularly interested in hearing what the kid thought of him, no. He was just… Curious.

To his disdain, the man only laughed. "Sorry, can't say. I promised." His eyes glinted with barely concealed humor as he glanced down at Obito. "But I can say, at least, that I wasn't disappointed."

Obito merely rolled his eyes, knowing that the conversation was over for now.

It was rather entertaining (and vaguely intimidating, though the feeling wasn't nearly as much as when dealing with Minato) seeing Shisui's relative switch from a laid-back (for Uchiha-standards at least) individual to his Uchiha mask, no-doubt crafted due to the expectations that were automatically given to him due to his heritage. As soon as the compound came into view, the man became frigid and cold—the previously warm and inviting air dissipated immediately, replaced with the domineering aura oh-so-typical to the Uchiha clan.

He led Obito to the main house, nodding once. "I shall take my leave here. Uchiha-sama will be with you shortly, Obito-san."

Obito paused mid-nod, frowning slightly. Then, he grinned. "… I'll see you later, Shisui's-uncle."

In response, Shisui's-uncle smiled slightly. "Same to you, Shisui's-niisan. Have a good day."

The younger Uchiha only shook his head as the man disappeared in a flurry of leaves. Obito had been hoping for a name since he knew it would bother him, but it didn't matter much, he supposed. If he was uncomfortable giving his name, then so be it.

He turned when he heard the door behind him slide open. "Obito-kun?"

The addressed boy nodded. "Mikoto-san."

Mikoto smiled, motioning the boy inside. "It's good to see you, I hope you have been well?"

Obito smiled slightly as he removed his shoes and placed them gingerly on the side. "Yes, I've been fine. Do you know why I've been summoned here, by chance…?"

Oddly enough, an almost secretive grin formed on the Uchiha matriarch's face. She hurried Obito down the hall. "You'll know soon enough. I set some tea out, but would you like something else to drink, or…?"

"Tea is fine," the younger Uchiha said, inwardly hoping that the woman would go… Do something else. It was strange, what with him being an orphan and not being used to being looked after—not to mention, this was the Uchiha matriarch, Itachi and Sasuke's mother, someone he didn't know particularly well before, and, well… It was a little awkward being mothered by someone mentally younger than him.

"Alright," she conceded, glancing to a closed door. "Fugaku is right in there. Please make yourself comfortable."

Obito might've thought the statement was sarcastic had it not been Uchiha Mikoto who spoke—being comfortable and Fugaku didn't exactly fit in a sentence, together. Regardless, he slid the door to the side and stepped in, his eyes immediately landing on the Uchiha leader's seated form.

The man did not look up, however, from his cup of tea that he held snuggly in his hands. It wasn't until Obito slid the door closed that Fugaku looked up, his eyes as piercing and powerful as always. "… Uchiha Obito."

Obito nodded in greeting as walked over, eying the clan head somewhat warily. "Uchiha-sama."

"Please, sit," the man gestured to the space opposite of him. "We shouldn't be too long, but I would like to skip the pleasantries."

Raising an eyebrow faintly, Obito took the indicated seat and stared at the clan leader with a questioning gaze. "Then I assume you wouldn't mind me being straight to the point?"

"That is fine."

"Why was I summoned?" The question caused no shift in the otherwise stony-face of Fugaku. "Neither your messenger or Mikoto-san decided to tell me."

Fugaku was silent for a minute, his eyes going back to his tea. "… As you may or may not know, my son, Itachi, recently turned four."

'… Four,' Obito thought quietly, an eyebrow raised. Why was he called, then? Was this a glorified method of trying to extort a gift from him? No, that would've been foolish and idiotic; he was nearly broke and there was little he could offer the heir of the Uchiha Clan. But then, why? Why was Itachi's age so important, and why was Obito summoned when he barely knew the Uchiha clan head besides their confrontation four months ag—

'Hellshitfuck,' Obito thought with a barely concealed grimace. He was thankful that Fugaku had taken to staring at his very interesting tea, because the man might've taken the reaction as something else. Obito knew where this was going, but now of all times? Really? In hindsight, though, it was really his own fault for not realizing how much time had passed—even though Obito hadn't ever really known Itachi's exact birthday, he always had a vague idea due to the Kyūbi incident and Uchiha Massacre. June. It was June now.

Though… Maybe this was actually fortunate?

"… Do you recall our conversation, four months ago?" Fugaku looked back at Obito, his eyes hardened and assessing.

The younger Uchiha nodded, inwardly sighing. "Yes, I do, Uchiha-sama. Am I correct in assuming that my end of our deal is…?"

Suddenly, almost all tenseness left from Fugaku's countenance. "Yes, you are correct. This makes things quite a deal simpler." It was strange seeing the man relaxed, if Obito were to be frank. The clan leader turned to the sliding door behind him, raising his voice in volume slightly. "Itachi, you may come in now."

As the door slid open, Obito had to repress the urge to give Fugaku a look of absolute incredulity. He probably didn't need to mask the feeling, considering the man was still facing the sliding door, but… Really, did he really make his four-year-old son wait behind that door?

Obito almost feared exactly how long Itachi had been standing there for—for all he knew, hours.

"Obito-san," Itachi said neutrally with a polite bow. Fugaku stood up and placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder, turning to the two other occupants of the room.

"The two of you already know the situation. Acquaint yourselves with each other, and move on to training immediately." He glanced to Obito, his tone quiet. "I thank you for this, Obito." And with that, he turned to the entrance Itachi had entered from and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Itachi walked over and took the seat to Obito's left, sitting down with as much grace as a four-year-old could manage. He stared, and the older raven felt a strange chill at the look—this wasn't Uchiha Itachi, the missing-nin that had managed to place the good of the village before his clan, the man who had managed to outsmart individuals such as Orochimaru and a vast majority of the Akatsuki. No, this was Uchiha Itachi, the young and impressionable four-year-old. And yet…

"… Um," Obito finally started, scratching the back of his head. "… Well… Nice to meet you Itachi. I'm Uchiha Obito, and I guess I'm going to be your mentor for a while."

Itachi nodded. "I know."

Silence.

"Soooo… Since I'm going to teach you stuff, you can call me 'Obito-sensei'!" Obito smiled, though it was somewhat strained. "Or if you want, you can call me 'Obito-niisan', I don't mind either."

Itachi continued to stare. Obito stared back, but the urge to run away was steadily growing. Finally, he broke the small battle of wills, turning away with a slight pout.

"… I don't think even future you was as unnerving as this," he muttered petulantly.

Indeed, this Uchiha Itachi was unnerving… but not in the usual way, where most people were likely unnerved that such a young child was so precocious. Obito was seeing the usual, assessing, wise-beyond-his years gaze from the Uchiha, but it was downright weird and vaguely disturbing that there also the near tangible innocence surrounding the boy's eyes and very form. Even though Obito knew this Itachi was not the same… Well, perhaps it was because, out of all of the people Obito knew, Itachi was the one who had changed the least—he was always an old soul, difficult to read, and a genius; it was as if he had never matured—because he never neededto.

Honestly, it left Obito severely creeped out that, because of this, his mind couldn't help but swap the "aura" of this Itachi with the one he was familiar with… And he was rather disturbed by the thought of a twenty-year-old, innocent Uchiha Itachi.

Involuntarily, he shivered, glancing back to the boy who was still staring.

"… My mind tortures me in ways that I cannot even begin to fathom."

Thunk.

Obito blinked somewhat disbelievingly between the training post and Itachi, who stared up at him with a somewhat unreadable gaze. Right in the center of the red and white target, at the bullseye… Was a single shuriken.

He knew that Itachi was a born genius and sharp, but he had never actually known the boy all that well when they were children. And to hit the target on his first attempt…? Obito shook his head slightly, turning to Itachi with a smile. "That was amazing, especially for your first try. Take a few steps back and try it again, repeating the process until your aim falters."

The two of them had gone to the Uchiha training grounds to begin the younger's training as per Fugaku's request, and Obito began going over the basics of shuriken jutsu. It was strange how Itachi observed him as he demonstrated; there was a certain glint within the young boy's eyes that indicated that he had already known. No doubt, Itachi had already observed other Uchiha while training and made the proper inferences to replicate the proper posture and movements—surprising considering he didn't have his Sharingan activated yet, but then again, this was Itachi.

Obito's eyes narrowed as the clan heir took yet another few steps back, distancing himself further from the target—he was about sixteen feet away, now.

Itachi was, undoubtedly, a child. And yet, he had tendencies that revealed his future, revealed the potential that was not as hidden as some people would like to think. Though still innocent, the boy had a cunning wit and sharp intellect within that brain of his, and eyes that betrayed little of what he truly thought—a trait that would become more refined and even less conspicuous in the future. Uchiha Itachi would be a powerful Shinobi indeed.

And that brought Obito to a question that he had been contemplating ever since his arrival in the past, ever since he encountered the Uchiha patriarch that day in Minato's house.

Would he use Itachi again?

Thunk. Another shuriken dead center, causing the previous cluster to clatter to the ground.

It would be a waste of potential, certainly, to not utilize what was given to him—the fact that Obito was tasked with training Itachi all but physically pointed to the idea of having Itachi aid him in his quest, help him in eradicating the threats to Konoha and his family. What with Itachi's extreme devotion to the village as a whole, it would be very unlikely that he object to the prospect of aiding Obito anyway, should he ever find out the truth (and the likelihood of that happening was rather high, especially when the time came that meeting Madara was a must).

A small part of Obito felt disgusted at the the idea and the fact that he was even considering it. Itachi, despite all of his potential and prowess as a child prodigy, was just that—a child. As Tobi, as Madara, Obito hadn't had any hesitant thoughts regarding the use of the particularly powerful pawn, Uchiha Itachi, and had realized that the boy was an instrumental piece to the overall plan. But that was when he was still in a blind pursuit of a false world.

No longer was he just Tobi, nor was he Madara's slave. And the truth was, that Uchiha Obito felt hesitant to use Itachi as the emotionless tool he had been before—to use him, just as his village had used him, as his clan had used him, as Tobi had used him.

But… Humanity and slight guilt was a small price to pay in the overall scheme of things, and as stated before, Itachi was a loyal Konoha Shinobi. He would no doubt be a great asset to Obito, should he somehow fail to gain the Senju cells—even if he didn't fail to gain them, having the Uchiha heir's aid would ensure that the threat known as Uchiha Madara was completely destroyed.

A quiet cough stirred Obito from his thoughts, and he looked at the younger Uchiha who stared at the ground with wide-eyes, a single hand gripping the front of his T-shirt. Obito's eyes widened slightly, as he thought back to the manner of which the man known as Uchiha Itachi had died the first time around—a terminal illness. But… This did not make sense. As far as Obito knew, Itachi had contracted a disease later on in life, leading to his subsequent death by his younger brother's hand. So what was this? A cold?

"… Itachi?" He began cautiously, though his voice caused Itachi to flinch minutely. Whatever the problem was, it was much more serious and dire than a passing cold. The boy turned to him with wide eyes, and Obito slowly stood up and walked over. "Are you alright? Do you wish to stop…?"

The younger Uchiha, after a pause, shook his head and turned away slightly. His hands fell back to his sides.

"I… I've been told that I have slight weakness of the lungs."

Weakness of the lungs. Obito had definitely not known about this, though perhaps that explained the odd manner of which future Itachi had suddenly become ill. It was strange, though at the time, Obito had assumed that his excessive use of the Mangekyō had been the cause of his declined health and lack of immunity to disease. But regarding this supposed "weakness" that Itachi had, considering the situation… Why? Why hadn't he known? Obito's brow furrowed. He had been able to find out everything about the young raven before him prior, or so he thought, and as far as he knew he—

"Obito-san," Itachi began, and the older raven turned back to him. His eyes were almost beseeching, unlike his usual, reticent gaze. "Please, do not tell Okaa-sama or Otou-sama."

Ah. So Itachi had been keeping his condition a secret, then. Obito didn't have to ask why, however, considering the clan's mentality. Itachi was not to show any weakness before the clan, before the village, before his immediate family—it stood to believe that revealing some sort of illness, or "weakness of the lungs" as the boy said, would be ill-favored. Or perhaps Itachi, being the type to show care in subtle and often inscrutable ways, did not wish to burden his mother with the knowledge of his condition.

Whatever was the case, the fact that Itachi had a health disadvantage remained—and it was something that could very well be detrimental to Obito's self-imposed mission.

He placed a hand on the shorter boy's head and ruffled his raven-black hair. "Don't worry, I won't tell them… But in exchange, you're going to have to see a medic-nin to cure you."

Itachi looked up at him, an almost heart-wrenchingly sorrowful look in place—it was a strange look on him. "… They said that it cannot be cured. The best I could hope for is that I grow out of it, and even then, they said that…" Itachi trailed off, his eyebrows knitting together in a look of consternation that the time-traveller was more familiar with.

Whichever path Obito ended up taking, Itachi had to be healed. He was fairly certain that Tsunade was not in the village at this time, but something as trivial as that could be remedied. The woman was still alive, and that was what mattered.

"Don't worry," he stated quietly, ruffling the younger raven's hair once more. Itachi looked up in surprise as Obito stared down at him with a faint smile. "I wouldn't let my student suffer, not when there is something I can do about it."