The sun is bright on their shoulders as Kakashi makes stilted conversation with Rin in the training field Minato-Sensei requested they all meet in. As Rin grows more comfortable with him, their conversation begins to flow easier. However, it is soon after they are interrupted by Obito appearing. He runs up to join them at the training posts they are sitting around.

He gapes when he recognizes Kakashi. "Is this for real?" he asks. "I'm on your team?"

Kakashi rolls his eyes. "Would you rather be on Maito Gai's team?" he demands.

Obito hesitates to answer at first, but glances away and admits, "…No."

"That really isn't nice to say," chides Rin in a quiet yet stern voice.

Obito gives a big, exaggerated sigh. "He's always dialed up to eleven, Rin!" he complains, beseeching her to understand. Which is Kakashi's entire point. Gai is his best friend in his rightful time, but even he would have trouble being on a team with a child-Gai day-in and day-out until he is promoted to chūnin and they begin to take their own paths.

Rin winces. "I guess you have a point there," she relents with a nervous chuckle. "It'd get a little wearing sometimes I'm sure."

Obito's expression turns satisfied and, then, his eyes go wide. Head swiveling around, he searches the field before focusing his attention back on Kakashi. He asks, "Where is Minato-Sensei, 'Kashi?" His brows furrow. "Didn't you leave your apartment with him?"

He holds back a sigh. "It's Kakashi," he corrects. "And, no, I didn't. He had something else to do first." He tilted his head, as if in thought. Kakashi knows exactly where his teacher has gone. Yet he isn't going to act too certain about it. "He's meeting with all of the other new jonin instructors I think," he says.

Rin blinks at him. "You live with our sensei?"

Kakashi shrugs. "He didn't like the efficiency I was living in," he answers. Which is true. When Kakashi had let Minato-Sensei around after he initially ended up in the past, he'd taken one look at the run-down (if clean) efficiency, and said it would be easier to collaborate at his larger apartment. He'd said Kakashi could stay until he found a way back to his rightful time.

"Is he going to look at our homes too?" asks Obito, an uneasy expression on his face.

"No," replies Kakashi. "My situation was… Unique."

Obito puts a hand on his chest. "Oh, good," he says. He grins, laughing. "My room's sort of a mess."

Kakashi can't help himself. However, instead of using a tone of disapproval like he would have the first time he was seven, his inflection is teasing as he comments, "If you were more organized overall, maybe you would have been on time today."

Obito puffs out his cheeks. "I'm not late!" he snaps. Obito throws out his arms and says, "Our sensei isn't even here."

Kakashi smiles behind his mask. Resting his chin in his hand, he says, looking away, "Teachers can be as late as they like."

"What kind of logic is that?" sputters Obito, staring slack-jawed at him.

Rin, however, giggles. "You must really like Minato-Sensei, huh, 'Kashi?" she asks, gaze warm.

He eyes her. "Kakashi," he corrects Rin. Then, with a small nod, he agrees with her assessment. "Yes. Minato-Sensei is a very good teacher," he looks toward the path that leads into the training ground they were gathered on. "You'll see soon."

Obito crosses his arms. "Are you sure he's at some meeting with other instructors?" he presses. "He told us to be here twenty minutes ago and I was fifteen minutes late."

Kakashi smirks. "He could be talking to Akimichi Chōza about having our teams spar," he comments, considering both Obito and Rin out of the corners of his eyes, curious to see how the two will react.

They share a glance of confusion.

"Why would he be doing that?" asks Rin.

"I told Gai sparring with his team would be a good idea."

"When did you do this!" demands Obito, leaning in to stare at Kakashi with hard eyes he probably hopes are intimidating.

He doesn't let the look bother him and instead shrugs his shoulders, palms turned to the sky. "Mah," he complains. "It was yesterday. We ran into him at the store."

Rin scrunches her nose. "Why did you complain about him earlier then?"

Kakashi smiles at the girl with his eyes. "He's a good ninja," he tells her. "He just a little more spirited than I want to deal with on a daily basis."

Rin bites her lip. "Is he?" she questions, looking at her lap. "Gai barely passed the exam this time."

He waves off her question. "You'll see."

"I don't know how you even know," huffs Obito, throwing himself to the ground. Tucking his hands behind his head, he turns his attention to the blue sky above. "You graduated two years ago."

"We're rivals," he answers simply.

Rin smirks. "That's cute."

He glowers at his teammate. "Cute?" he grumbles.

She pats his knee. "I'm sorry, it's very manly," she corrects.

Kakashi can't help but roll his eyes. He knows she's only humoring him. "I don't need to be patronized just because I'm seven," he grouses.

She goes bright pink. "Um."

Obito, who's always ready to jump in and support Rin no matter what, tells the embarrassed girl, "He sleeps with puppies. He's not so tough."

Kakashi can't help but bristle. "I was sick and they were acting as heaters," he corrects Obito.

Rin, however, is more concerned about his ninkens' existence rather than the fact he was sleeping with them. "You have puppies?" she asks, excited.

"Ninken that I can summon," he replies with a short nod.

Her eyes grow big and she asks, "Could you summon one now?"

He could, but he's not sure he wants to right this moment. Minato-Sensei is not far from them anymore. "Maybe," he hedges.

"Will you, please, 'Kashi?" she pleads, hands clasped together.

He glowers at the girl. "It's Kakashi," he grumbles.

Obito frowns at him and says, "Sensei calls you 'Kashi!"

"He's sensei!" he replies, feeling a little childish as he does. It's an ineffective argument and he knows it.

"What about me?" asks Minato-sensei, causing Rin to jump and Obito to scramble into a sitting position. Kakashi just smirks. He knew he'd felt Minato-Sensei appear a minute ago.

"Sensei," he greets, turning his head to look up at him.

"Oh!" exclaims Rin, jumping up to her feet. She gives Minato a small bow. "Hello. Nohara Rin," she says.

"Nice to meet you," his teacher returns, smiling at Rin. "Namikaze Minato," he says, "I'll be your and Obito's sensei."

Obito hops to his feet and exclaims, "'Kashi said you were late because you were talking to Akimichi Chōza about having his team and our team spar!"

Minato-Sensei laughs and puts a hand on his hip. "That is mostly why," he answers. "We agreed in two weeks we'll let you six have a face-off."

"Awesome!" Obito yells, pumping a fist in the air.

Kakashi takes a kunai knife from a pouch and begins to inspect its sharpness. "If you want to win, you're going to have to train hard," he advises both Obito and Rin.

"Just us?" demands Obito, hands on his hips and sneering.

He smirks over his kunai knife at them. "I'm a chunin."

Obito makes a noise of outrage as sensei sighs and asks, "Kakashi do you think it's really okay to gloat?"

"It's a statement of facts," he argues as he gets to his feet to stand next to his teacher.

The blond puts a hand on his shoulder and mutters, "Right."

"You must not be that great to be put on a team of genin," says Obito, having finally found something to say now that he's past his initial anger.

Kakashi shifts his stance and demands, "You want to find out?"

"Let's go!" agrees, Obito, ready to fight.

"Obito!" chides Rin, tugging at his sleeve.

Minato exhales and strengthens his hold on Kakashi. "'Kashi, let's not ruin our first day as a team with a fight, okay?" he pleads. "If you kids want to see each other's skill at work, we'll have you three spar against me."

"Really?" asks Rin with wide eyes, fingers falling from Obito's sleeve.

He smiles at her. "Yeah!" he agrees. "It'll give me an idea of where you two are at as well," Minato-Sensei tells her. "So what do you say?"

"Let's do it!" exclaims Obito, no longer upset, but excited. Rin nods along, cheeks flushed.

Kakashi squirms out of his teacher's hold to join his team. Kunai still in hand, he tells his teacher, "Get ready, Sensei. We're going to beat you."

His teacher smirks. "Prove it."

They attack.

Thank you very much for reading and let me know your thoughts!