Hello all~
Not much Kakashi in this chapter, sorry about that. He will be back next chapter. Just a couple quick notes for this chapter-
I headcanon Obito as being Mikoto's somewhat distant cousin, which is why Itachi refers to Obito as his uncle. Also now tht roughly a year as overlapped in the story Obito is fifteen now. Boy do I love my time skips. None of those for a bit though.
Also, who is happy about happy mini!Itachi?
I am.
In the months that passed, Obito saw practically nothing of his old team.
With the war nearly won, Minato was busy almost constantly, and Kakashi was nowhere to be found. Obito could have found him, if he really tried, but he wasn't sure that getting court marshaled for obstructing in the duties of a superior officer was really the best way to do things. A chunin following around an ANBU would come off as fairly suspicious.
He had been sent on a five month mission, so it was when Obito was returning from the eastern border of Fire Country when he heard the news. The war was over. The village was alive with revelry upon his return. The streets were filled with shinobi and civilians alike, eating and drinking and yelling in celebration. Drinking songs and mourning songs filled the air with equal volume; the contrast between the relief brought by peace and the too fresh memory of fallen comrades was clear. The third war had been bloodier then the past two. It seemed that each generation of shinobi brought with them an era of violence to outdo that of their predecessors. Every wave of violence killed as many as it made powerful. Killed people like Rin, like so many of Obito's academy classmates. It left people like Obito and Kakashi to pick up the pieces and wade through the ashes that were all that war left behind.
They may have been left to pick up the pieces, but they were still alive. They had survived the war, and Obito intended for them to keep surviving whatever was going to come now. He intended for the remainder of team seven to get stronger, sure, but also to retain their humanity. He had been truly pissed off when he got sent out of the village for so long right after everything that went down with Kakashi and Sensei. He had no way to keep tabs on them, since he couldn't exactly request updates on the status of an ANBU operative. Now that he was back, he could check up on them.
After he went to the hospital.
Some blue skinned nut-job from Mist had shown up out of nowhere part way through the mission and done a number on Obito's shoulder. He had done an emergency patch job, but he was no medic. He needed to get it checked. He would go bother sensei for confidential information afterwards.
He got yelled at by the on duty nurse for popping his shoulder back in place by himself. He tried to explain that he sort of needed to move both of his shoulders in order to defend himself from other things, like fast moving knives aimed at his face, but that got him nothing but an angry expression. He decided that, in the name of self-preservation, he would stop arguing with over worked medics. He had left the hospital and was on his way to the Hokage tower when something flashed by overhead.
Something silver and red and with a chakra signature that left the static feeling of lightening in the back of Obito's throat. Kakashi. Activating his Sharingan, Obito leapt up the railings and pipes to the roof. He could still see the slight trail of an undisguised chakra signature. It seemed Kakashi was getting sloppy. That, or for some reason he wanted to be found. Obito sprinted across the flat roof of the hospital, trying to catch up with the chakra signature before it disappeared. He ran about three hundred meters, when suddenly the signature stopped cold.
So then, he didn't want to be found. He was just being an ass.
"Hello to you too, jerk!" Obito yelled into the air.
Feeling like there was no reason to break his pattern, Obito strolled into the Hokage office in the middle of a meeting. "I'm back! Miss me, sensei?" He called out.
His time away had given him many opportunities to think, and he was not as angry as he had been.
Minato sighed audibly, but there was a hint of a smile upon his face. "It certainly has been quieter lately. I assume your mission went well?"
"I'm insulted, sensei. You love my noise. And yeah, it did, aside from some crazy blue guy from mist. I don't think he was even after us, though, he just seemed to want to kill something. Crazy Kiri fuckers." Obito mumbled, dropping his report on the table. He had completed it as the mission went on, so nothing important would be left out. He didn't want to put too much faith in his own memory.
"I'm glad there were no issues. I trust you heard the good news?" Minato replied, flipping through the report.
"Yeah, a drunk Genma had the honour of breathing it into my face. You think it's really done? Iwa border guards were pretty heavy."
Minato nodded. "The treaties were signed. They have to stick to the agreements for at least a little while, anyway."
Obito nodded. With a sigh, he sat down. "It's so weird. I feel like I should be happier. But all I can think about is all the people we lost, and how it dragged on. And over what? Some border skirmish between Cloud and Stone? All those treaties with tiny nations are what got us into this mess in the first place. I don't even remember the name of who we swooped in to die for."
"I see you grasp of politics has improved of late. Still hoping to be my successor?"
Obito laughed dryly. "Let's focus on keeping you alive long enough to choose a successor. Don't think I haven't heard about the assassination attempt last week just because I wasn't here."
"It was hardly well planned enough to count as a proper attempt. Don't worry so much." Minato replied, shuffling some papers on his desk. "I'll look through your report soon. Go relax, celebrate with your friends. We can catch up some more later."
"Sounds good." Obito paused to yawn widely. "I'm beat. Nurses are scarier than Kiri killers." He started making his way out the door, then turned around. "You going to tell me anything about Kakashi?"
Minato smiled slightly, but it was strained. "He's still in the village, but I'm assuming you knew that already. I can't say anything else. Work on making jonin, you'll have higher clearance."
"Yeah, yeah, avoid the question. See if I care." Obito mumbled. "I'll see you later, sensei."
The one thing Obito realized he had not done since a while before he left was visit Kushina. He hadn't seen her since the funeral, what with the missions and the war and the drama with Kakashi. He felt he owed her a visit. She had always supported him, no matter how much he messed up. He ambled down the street towards sensei and Kushina's apartment. They had opted not to move into the Hokage tower, most likely because Kushina didn't want to live in a place with so many guards and visitors and Minato wouldn't say no to her. Inhaling the warm air, Obito realized how glad he was to be home. His time away had given him an opportunity to stop connecting everything he saw with Rin, with the war. He still felt pangs of hurt when he was reminded of her, but it was manageable. On his way, he found himself making a stop at her favorite takoyaki stand. He made small talk with the owner, telling him how much Rin had loved his food. That helped, he found. Remembering the things that made her happy, everything that made her smile.
Holding the container of takoyaki he had bought in both hands, Obito climbed the stairs to Minato and Kushina's apartment. He knocked and heard a muffled yell from inside that signified Kushina was coming to the door. A few seconds later the door swung open, and there stood Kushina, in all her red haired glory.
"Hey!" Obito said, waving with his free hand.
She blinked once, then a huge grin took over her face. "Obito!" She cried, dashing forward to embrace him. "Look at you! How have you grown so much in just a few months? You're as tall as me! How have you been?" She rushed out, squeezing him tight again before letting him go and holding him in front of her, her hands on his shoulders. He rubbed a hand behind his head, laughing softly.
"Haha, it's been a while, huh?" He paused. There was something different about her. Something that was….. sticking out? Her stomach. It was sticking out. Obito's eyebrows raised. "Kushina?" He asked, voice cautious. "Hm?" "Are…. Are you pregnant?"
She stared at him, then burst out laughing. "Oh man, it really has been a long time, huh? Jeez, I totally forgot you didn't know, I'm so used to keeping it a secret!"
He burst into a grin. "That's so great! Geez, how did you forget to tell me! And sensei either! Forgetting to tell your cutest student, I can't believe you two. Does Kakashi know?"
Kushina's smile shifted into something a little more forced. "Obito, why don't you come inside? I'll put some tea on."
"Oh, alright. I'm pretty tired, so that would be nice." He replied, following her into the apartment. He liked their apartment. Its walls were a cheerfully soft yellow, with light oak floors. Art and pictures of their friends and Team Seven hung on the walls. It was obviously a place that was loved, that had work put into it. Not like Obito's tiny place in the compound, where he wasn't allowed a bigger house until he got married.
"My cousin Mikoto was almost ready to pop too, when I left. I have to go see her and check out my new nephew."
"Oh yes, I saw her just the other day!" Kushina said, putting the kettle on and dropping a bag of oolong into each cup. "Little Sasuke, he's adorable. I hope he and mine can be friends."
"I'll do what I can to arrange it." Obito laughed, muttering a thanks when she handed him the hot tea. They sat across from each other. Obito leaned into the comfortable sofa cushion, before remembering his earlier question. "Kushina san, you never answered me, does Kakashi know about the baby? I know he's in the village, the asshole was following me around earlier."
Kushina bit her lip and sighed, leaning back. She seemed to think for minute before speaking. "Minato told me about you trying to get him to stop Kakashi from being put in Anbu. I know what went down between you two, and I know that he didn't want you to know what Kakashi's mission is. I understand why he wants that, but I also don't think it's his decision to make. Besides, I trust you not to say anything to anyone."
"Of course not, I'm not a total idiot. So?"
"So, yes, he knows. He knows because Kakashi has been my body guard ever since I started showing."
That….. actually made sense. Obito understood why Minato wanted Kakashi for the job so badly. What didn't make sense was….. "Why do you need a body guard? If someone wanted to hurt the Hokage's kid, it would be easier to wait until it was born." Obito asked.
She shook her head. "No, it isn't that. It's because I'm a jinchurriki. I know you already knew that, since the two of us went on that Kuro mission. But the seal that keeps the fox in me can only be weakened during childbirth. So we're worried that someone will attack and try to take to Kyuubi out of me at that time."
"Take it out? Is that even possible? I thought those seals were impossible to undo." Obito said. His knowledge of sealing was undeniably limited, but he liked to think that he had a pretty good understanding of the basics. Seals that tough weren't supposed to crap out on you half way through.
"Usually you would be right." Kushina replied, setting down her cup. "But there have only been two other female jinchurriki in history. And as the majority of shinobi are men, apparently no one ever put much thought into what the strain of child birth would do to the seal." She snorted. "Figures. You can't even find chunin vests that properly fit anyone over a c cup."
Obito laughed. He had spent too much time in trenches and sweaty barracks for any body shyness to affect him. "Yeah, I've heard that." He paused, expression sobering. "So what's the plan? Kakashi can't be your only guard day of."
Kushina shook her head. She stood up, and took his empty cup. She walked into the kitchenette, and Obito heard the soft clink of the dishes being put in the sink. She turned around, leaning against the counter, before she looked back up at him and spoke. "I haven't said this to Minato yet, but I don't want Kakashi there when it happens."
"What? Why? I mean, you trust him don't you?" Obito asked, confused. Why was Kakashi her guard if he wouldn't be there?
"Because I don't know what's going to happen. If something goes wrong, if I….. if things get bad he will blame himself, no matter what. I don't want that weight on his shoulders. He already carries enough damage as it is." She pursed her lips, and ran a hand over her mouth.
So that was it then- she wanted to protect Kakashi. Part of Obito wanted to argue that Kakashi was a jonin, that he could handle himself. But the truth was that being able to handle himself in the moment didn't mean he would be able to handle anything afterwards if things went south. That that been proven already. "You're going to be a great mom, Kushina. You look out for us all the time already." Obito grinned at her.
He knew she was right, and he knew Minato wouldn't like it. If only she had a say in Kakashi being in ANBU at all.
He spent another hour catching up with Kushina, talking both about good memories and what was to come now that the war was done. Obito loved talking to Kushina. It felt like he hadn't gotten to spend time with her since before he made chunin. He wondered, sometimes, what it would have been like if the war hadn't happened. What it would have been like to grow up without setting foot on a battlefield. That would be a better world. A dream come true.
He contemplated this as he made his way back to the Uchiha compound. The clan had grown much smaller in the ten years of the war. All of the clans had. Some, like the Hatake, had only one member left. No wander Kakashi was such a wreck. There had been too many funerals for Obito to go to, not enough time away from the field to pay his respects to his fallen family members. Most of the houses on his street were abandoned now, the single young people having been the majority of the casualties.
It was eerily quiet as he made his way to his little bungalow to drop off his pack and take a shower. Most of the houses had a red flower on the front steps, the Uchiha tradition for when its occupants had died. He figured it would be years before the street was filled again.
Obito hopped into his tiny shower and scrubbed the remainder of the grim off of his skin, and pulled on a fresh uniform. He figured he would get called on later, and so decided to just keep his vest and weapons pack on him. He would have to clean up his place, too. No one had been in to clean it for months, and everything was covered in a fine layer of dust. But first, he had a baby cousin to go meet.
The walk up to the main house where Mikoto, Fugaku, and Itachi resided was a quick one, as long as you knew the short cuts past gardens and bath houses. When he came around the back of the house, he saw Itachi was outside practicing drills. Rumour had it that he was to be an early graduate, probably before he reached eight years old. Kakashi, evidently, had some competition in the young genius department.
"Hey kiddo!" Obito shouted, coming onto the field from behind the trees. Itachi looked up from his forms, and his face broke out into a smile.
"Uncle Obito! I didn't know you were back!" Itachi cried, breaking from position to run over to Obito, wrapping his small arms around his cousin's waist.
"I only just got back to the village. So, what's this I hear about you being a big brother? Do I have a new nephew to meet?" Obito asked, ruffling Itachi's hair with one hand. The younger boy nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah! Sasuke! He's my little brother, do you want to meet him?"
"Heck yeah! Let's go inside and meet the little guy." Obito replied, allowing Itachi to lead him by the hand into the house.
"Mama!" Itachi cried "Uncle Obito is home!" They entered the house to find Mikoto sitting in a large rocking chair in the parlour, rocking back and forth with a blue bundle of clothe in her arms. She looked up when they entered, and a smile spread over her face.
"Obito! I didn't think you would be back so soon! Your mission was a success?" She asked, her expression friendly and open. Mikoto was one of the rare Uchiha adults who didn't act like she had a branch up her ass all the time.
"Yeah, it went okay. Nothing special. Secret scroll, crazy guy from Mist, the usual." He replied, continuing into the room until he was crouched in front of her. "But enough of that, who is this handsome little guy?"
"This is Sasuke. Sasuke, say hello to your uncle!" Mikoto said, lifting up the little bundle to reveal a tiny face poking out, deep black eyes and a shock of black hair sprouting from his head. He opened his tiny mouth and made a little cooing noise.
"Aw, what a cutie! You have to let me babysit some time, Mikoto!" Obito exclaimed, reaching to hold Sasuke in his arms as Mikoto handed him over. She laughed at him, wringing her hands together to get rid of the stiffness.
"You can count on it. I've hardly slept in days."
"Have you been keeping you mom up, little guy? We'll have to have some guy time, huh? Let your mom get some rest."
"Speaking of which, if you aren't too tired, would you watch him for a time now? I was hoping to get some sleep." Mikoto said, rising up from her seat.
"Yeah, no problem. I can stick around. You'll give me a hand, right Itachi? Maybe tell me what you've been up to at school." Obito replied.
Mikoto smiled gratefully, before ruffling Itachi's hair and heading down the hallway to the master bedroom. Aside from Shisui, this was really the only part of his clan that Obito got along with. Despite having not too distant ties to the main house, he had always been somewhat shunned by the rest of his family. He had never fit into the mould that seemed to make what was deemed a perfect Uchiha. He was always too loud, too clumsy, too emotional. Kakashi probably would have made a good Uchiha, he thought. He could do all that stuff. Although, he thought, Kakashi with a Sharingan would make him even more powerful, and probably more snooty about it.
Now that Obito was in the quiet living room with just the sound of Itachi's pen scratching away at his homework, he had time to think. It was strange, he thought, that Kakashi had gone through such lengths to make Obito notice him when he got back, especially with the note he had left before joining ANBU.
Forget me.
What was up with that, anyway? Unusually sentimental for Kakashi. Besides, what did he think would happen? That Obito would just stop trying to get to him? Kakashi had never exactly been into the concept of team work, but surely he wasn't that oblivious. ANBU or not, Obito wasn't going to just leave him behind. He would never do that. Not that he had any idea how to get to him, of course, but that would come later. Right now he was alive and in the village. That wold be enough until Obito thought of something else. He was still thinking about it several hours later, when Itachi had left for bed and he had put Sasuke to sleep. He was about the leave the main house after writing a note for Mikoto when a deafening crash sounded.
Rushing down the hall and outside, Obito leapt onto the roof to see what was going on. There, off in the distance, was the gigantic outline of a fox, nine tails swaying in the moonlight.
"We're worried that someone will attack and try to take to Kyuubi out of me at that time."
Obito's eyes grew wide as realization downed on him.
Kushina
Below him he saw Mikoto rushing out of the house, drawn out by the crashes and roars. The two of them made eye contact and she nodded up and him sharply. He nodded back and took off from the roof, Sharingan activating. He had to get back to the village.
The Kyuubi was attacking, and the Leaf would need all the help it could get.