Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I am not profiting in any way from this. If you see any mistakes, feel free to message me.

I didn't forget this time. Just been a bit busy. Sorry. Hope you enjoy this update.


Part 6: Don't you know it's optional?

"Uchiha, how can you be so carefree all the time?" another classmate, Tadano, confronted Obito one day before class began. "Do you think this is all a joke? Are you even taking the academy seriously?"

"Of course it's not a joke! Do you play games as a joke?" Obito retorted. Kakashi thought it was a dumb response, to be perfectly honest.

"Game? A game? Do you think the academy is a game? That ninjas are playing a game?" Tadano was getting more and more agitated by the second. Obito was… smiling. He was playing yet another (foolish) game.

"Not really. But what's wrong with having fun?"


Nohara Rin watched from her seat near the front of the classroom. She saw Tadano Taka approach Uchiha Obito and Hatake Kakashi. Taka was loud enough for the entire class to hear. He did have a point, though. Obito never seemed to take anything seriously.

She knew Taka had an explosive temper, but she really didn't think he'd punch Obito across the jaw during that moment.


"Taka-kun!" Rin shouted. Kakashi was too surprised at a). Obito dramatically falling to the ground and b). Rin's voice to do much other than stand there looking like an idiot.

"Ah, Rin-chan!" Tadano was getting flustered.

"What, is that your girlfriend telling you off?" Obito taunted, cackling out a short laugh.

"W-what!?" Obito took advantage of Tadano's state of whatever state he was in to kick the kid in the stomach.

The teacher walked in at that moment.

"OBITO!"


"I heard you were a troublemaker, but I didn't think you'd attack your classmate," said the teacher.

"I was only retaliating," Obito answered.

"Even so, you shouldn't attack your comrades."

"But Tadano-san was-"

"No excuses, Obito-kun. You shouldn't ever hurt your friends."

"He's not my friend."

"Obito."

"... You're going to punish me."

"I'll let you go with a simple detention. There better not be a next time."

"You're going to punish me but not Tadano-san?"

"According to Taka-kun, you provoked him first."

"Because I'm a troublemaker."

"Do you understand now?"

"Hm, yes. I understand that Tadano-san is a liar, and Mizushi-san said liars go to hell."


"So," Kakashi began.

"So?" Obito prompted.

"You're stuck with cleaning the first floor classrooms for the whole week?"

"Yup."

"Why so long?"

"Sensei didn't like what I said about Tadano-san."


Obito insisted Kakashi to not wait for him to finish. So Kakashi went about his day without a friend. Until Rin came up to him.

"Ah, Kakashi-kun. Do you have a moment?"


Having her near him, breathing and so clearly alive, was… scary. It just was.

"Erm… What do you want to talk about?" he asked. And cringed because it came out super awkwardly. Rin didn't pay it any mind.

"You're Obito-kun's best friend, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess so." Obito didn't seem to have another friend other than Gai. Kakashi was like that, too.

"I never really talked to him, because something about him always made me too nervous to. But you're his friend so you know him well, right?"

"To an extent." Kakashi didn't know this Obito too well.

"Um, I wanted to ask for a favor. To just, look after him." Huh?

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing weird, I promise! I just, it's- When I first met him, he was sitting outside the classroom. He looked so lonely and so sad. And everytime I saw him, he was always by himself. And, I guess I just became worried about him." Rin was a kind girl.

"And you couldn't befriend him, because he made you nervous," Kakashi inferred.

"Yeah. I know. That's just a bad excuse, but…"

"No, I understand." Obito did give off a weird vibe. Gai wasn't too bothered by it, though, Gai wasn't bothered by things like that.

"Thank you, Kakashi-kun. You're nicer than you look." Hahaha. Ouch.

"Ah, Rin? You should join us for lunch tomorrow."


Obito sat on the grass staring at Rin. Just staring. Not even eating his lunch. Only staring. Rin was getting more and more anxious. Even Gai looked like he wanted to leave the strange atmosphere.

"Obito, Rin. Rin, Obito. Let's eat," Kakashi wondered if he made a mistake, but…

"Ah, the enemy has infiltrated." Obito's calm response was pretty funny.

"E-enemy?" Rin choked on rice.

Yup. They were both pretty funny. Something this funny couldn't be a mistake.