Naruto x Digimon

Alive - Team Minato's Digidestined

Chapter 022

Originally Written: Friday, January 27, 2023 1136PM to Saturday, January 28, 2023 105AM

. . . . .

Obito groaned in frustration. His fists clenched in his lap. His phantom pain was being a nuisance in his butt in this colder weather. Rin was all but locked up in Konoha Hospital, and without her to focus on so intensely, Konoha's council had turned their attention to Kakashi. They expected it, but it was still frustrating. In addition, he just wanted to talk to the Uchiha Clan Head, Fugaku, and everyone in the clan was blocking him when he asked where to find him.

It took too long for him to travel in his wheelchair, to keep up with shinobi. He quickly understood the civilian's frustration and annoyance at almost constantly seeing shinobi disappear from view in moments, turning into nothing but blurs in the sky as they leaped from rooftop to rooftop. There were a few civilians who could use chakra to facilitate their needs in their daily lives, but nowhere to the consistent strain of what shinobi could do.

Worst off, he couldn't bring Coronamon or Grandma with him. When the Uchiha clan dismissed him, someone was usually there to help him brace the blows of their condescending words and dismissal of him. Many clan members were still upset with him for giving his eye away to an outsider.

"I'm an idiot. Should have gone there first." He mumbled to himself as he wheeled down the street. The streets filled with more and more Uchiha as the Police Headquarters came into view. By now, it seemed like every Uchiha except Fugaku knew he was looking for the man. Either work was keeping him busy, or his clan members were playing a prank on him. Let them try. No one outdid him when it came to pranks!

He entered the building, which was a struggle he didn't like to admit, because he couldn't open the door well, and wheel himself inside at the same time. He managed it with the help of one of the kind civilians walking around. He didn't let too many of his struggles stop him before, he wasn't about to let himself become burdened now.

An Uchiha looked at him as he entered the waiting room. He stopped him in the doorway. And shook his head as he looked at Obito.

Obito narrowed his eyes. "Go on. Get to it. Tell me I should remember my place. I dare you."

"You're worse than the most stubborn of us." The man shook his head. "Your funeral." He walked past.

"Jokes on you," Obito murmured. A sick grin came to his face. "I've been half dead for two years now."

He let the receptionist, another Uchiha, know that he was looking to meet with Fugaku. He was told he couldn't do so without an appointment.

"Would you be willing to speak to someone else?"

Obito lifted his goggles off his face and put them on top of his head. He shook his head while looking them in the eye. "No."

"...It will be at least a two hour wait before Fugaku-san is free." The receptionist didn't seem the least unnerved that Obito was in a wheelchair. Point to him.

"I'll wait. I'm off today." Obito recognized them. A retired shinobi. Both he and Obito knew that Obito shouldn't be alive. And Obito knew the man could easily kill him. Cripple him even further than he already was. Looking another Uchiha in the eye, sharingan active or not, was frequently seen as an immense sign of disrespect. But it could also be seen as an act of confidence, a power play move. Kakashi frequently told him that he looked stupid when he tried it on him. Obito retaliated by saying that Kakashi always looked like he wanted to take a long nap, which made him boring to hold a stare-off with.

"There's a waiting room off to the right, down the hall you just came from." The receptionist responded. "I'll let Fugaku-san know you are here."

"Thanks."

"Obito Uchiha."

Mid turn, Obito looked back at the man.

"You play a dangerous game. Learn to play shoji. Best a Nara first. Then, you can play this game." His eyes glowed the barest hint of red.

Obito huffed, his cheeks puffing out in annoyance and confidence. He pointed a thumb at himself. "Thanks, but I can handle myself just fine." He dropped his goggles over his eyes, and activated his own sharingan behind them, hoping he wouldn't get his butt whooped for the action. He grinned. "No Uchiha's more unpredictable than me."

The receptionist's sharingan faded away. He returned to his work without responding. Obito let his own sharingan fade, and settled in for the long boring wait. Why all the Uchiha believed that he wasn't still doing some form of training because he wasn't a shinobi anymore was beyond him. They never questioned the retired shinobi who continued training if they were able to. Yet they bothered and nagged him. He'd show them. He'd show them all.

He fiddled with his digivice as he waited, keeping it mostly covered in his hands. He was used to it, but it still disgusted him that he had to consider anywhere his clan was as 'enemy territory'. There was nothing he could do about it though, besides slowly changing their opinion of him. Personally, he didn't care much what they thought of him. He just knew that there was no soul inside or out of this village that was going to break him like they did Kakashi's father.

He had no complaints when he waited three hours instead of two. He just reached back for his bag hanging from his wheelchair and grabbed a snack. At hour four he took a half hour nap. Fugaku's killer intent woke him up. Fugaku hadn't said anything, but he hadn't needed to. The way he looked at his fellow clansmen said enough. Obito learned the previous receptionist's shift ended, and the next one hadn't been the least bit concerned with him. Bad for them, Fugaku had a mean streak in him a mile wide. And though he didn't show it, Obito knew Fugaku liked him more than they thought he did.

"Obito Uchiha. How are you?"

"Could be better, actually, Uncle F." Obito grinned at him. He choked down his budding nervousness, a bundle of nausea deep in his gut.

Fugaku didn't react, save for the soft murmur of a "Hm." He circled around, grabbed the handles of his wheelchair and guided him to his office. Obito was one of the few who could never understand the secret clan language of 'hn's' and 'hm's'. He knew not to complain about it, but desperately wished they spoke normally.

Obito rolled his eye when he entered the room. "Why didn't they just say you were babysitting?"

Fugaku chuckled. "You know I can't formally answer that."

Obito laughed. "Do you think he can answer it informally, Itachi-kun?"

The young Uchiha sitting in the chair next to Fugaku's desk looked at him. The boy almost froze at the unexpected attention directed his way. His hands twitched, itching to fiddle with the ponytail he was slowly growing out. Obito laughed again, and Itachi calmed. He returned to reading his book. It was a book far more complicated than someone his age should be reading, but Itachi flipped through the pages at a normal reading pace anyway.

A clone of Fugaku appeared next to him in a burst of smoke. The clone murmured a quiet statement to Itachi. Itachi responded with a quiet, "Yes, father", and carefully slid out the chair that was too big for him with nary a sound. He followed his father's clone out the room, taking a moment to look back at Obito. "Good day, Obito-san."

"See you later, kiddo!" Obito grinned and waved, trying to ignore the fact that a boy a third his age was analyzing the everlasting crap out of him like a proctor during the chunin exams.

Fugaku's clone closed the door behind them. That left the real Fugaku's attention on Obito. "I was only told you have a pressing concern. What do you need that was so important you couldn't have discussed it with someone else?" Fugaku asked as he circled around his desk and took a seat.

Obito straightened himself out in front of the desk. He took time to gather his thoughts, and once more went over how he wanted to go about holding this conversation in his mind. He pushed the budding stress that having this conversation was even something he had to do in such a well protected place to the back of his mind. He ignored the Uchiha clan's jeers in his mind, and the accompanying feeling that maybe he was playing with his fate, and slowly wheeling himself towards the death he rightfully owed Kannabi bridge.

He raised his head, "I have sufficient evidence to believe that a threat will be carried out on Konoha Orphanage. As Konoha Orphanage is a civilian location, I, Obito Uchiha, am deferring to you."

He saw Fugaku narrow his eyes in his mind before the man actually did. Fugaku leaned forward ever so slightly in his chair. "Make your claim, Obito Uchiha."

Right now, he knew the only reason Fugaku was taking him seriously was because he was looking at him with his sharingan active. The only reason Fugaku hadn't beat the everlasting crap out of him yet was because he wasn't making direct eye contact. It was a risk, but he felt it was the only path he had to take. He swallowed thickly, and took his time to gather his thoughts. "The events occurred two days ago, when Lord Danzo, Orochimaru and an unknown Aburame visited the orphanage. I wasn't there, but I'm speaking on behalf of a resident who was.…"