V.1-C.19│Developments IX│

Today was the day she was to graduate, alongside another. Kurenai and Asuma would be the only two to become genin's, or at least that is what Kurenai knew of.

In fact, the decision to go in proper teams was something relatively something not everyone would do. Instead, most genin that didn't become full on a part of a team unit themselves would have to have a makeshift team during the chunin exams.

Putting that aside, Kurenai had noticed that Obito was acting strangely. Much more strangely then usual, and she had tried to ask him about it but he seemed a bit more closed off than usual.

In fact, he wouldn't even sleep anymore during class anymore, instead paying attention to the teacher.

Or at least it seemed like he was paying attention to the teacher, but he was in fact not actually doing so.

It was only this week, the week of her subsequent acceptance in the test and eventual acceptance to graduate from the academy that she found out the sad truth.

Obito's adoptive grandmother had died, which made everything click. While Obito was still fun to be around, to train with and just be in his presence is what she wanted to do, Kurenai felt there was something else.

Finding this out she didn't know how exactly to comfort him. It wasn't like she had lost anyone in her life so far, as neither of her parents or other close relatives being dead in her current lifetime.

She could only imagine the hurt he was going through, and while she may not fully understand, she would try her best. In fact, she was regretting her decision to go ahead and graduate because of this.

"Don't worry about it. It isn't your fault." Obito woke her from her thoughts.

"W-What?" The class was actually in the process of doing some outdoor lessons, having people be paired up with each other and go through the motions of training ones aim and accuracy.

Kurenai was paired up with Obito, just as she always was at this point. "Don't worry." Obito smiled at her as he said this, prompting her to look at him.

"What are you talking about? I'm not sure I know what you mean." Kurenai asked. 'Did he notice?' She blushed, thinking that she may have been found out for her rather rude staring.

"I mean that you don't have to worry. I can do things well enough. When you go, and when you finish today, it won't be the last time we see each other. I am sure of it." Obito replied, leaving Kurenai to sigh in relief a bit.

She had thought that maybe he would've said something else, but it seemed like he noticed that she was also feeling a bit withdrawn as well.

"Right, right. You are right." Kurenai knew as well that her becoming a genin doesn't necessarily mean that she can't still spend time with him as she would like, and vice versa. "I wanted to ask before, but I think I have the courage to say it now."

"What is it?" Obito asked her as he threw some kunai knifes towards the unmoving target, perfectly landing every hit.

"Well... It is about your adoptive grandmother... I may not have known her much, or at all, but I wanted to say I am sorry." Kurenai said with as much comfort as she could provide.

"You don't need to be sorry." Obito had his Sharingan active again, having gone back to leaving it permanently active, even if it drains his chakra, it was still a good training source.

He had long ago become determined enough to not let anything stop him from achieving his goals, but more so than ever, the death of his grandmother was something that motivated him again.

Strange as it was, that was just the way Obito was able to overcome the tragedy that may happen within his life. There may have been a time for mourning, but that had passed now, and instead he needed to get back on with his life.

Neither Kushina or Mikoto had even returned yet as well, still out on whatever missions there are to do outside of Konoha.

"Still, I just wanted you to know that I am here for you." Kurenai placed her hand on his shoulder as she said this.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Obito replied while staring into her eyes, and as Kurenai also stared, she seemed to go into a small trance of sorts.

It would take another individual to approach the two of them to wake them both up. "What are you two doing?" It was Rin, and her brown eyes seemed to be searching for something in both her own and Obito's faces.

"N-Nothing!" Kurenai replied, as she put some distance between herself and Obito knowing how that looked.

Obito didn't seem to understand the look in Rin's eyes, nor the implication of said situation. "Eh? Rin, Kurenai was just being... kind."

"Right..." Rin seemed to have a look in her eyes that told Kurenai that she didn't seem to think that was the case and there was something more. Kurenai could tell, but Obito seemed just as dense as he was all of the days before.

"Yeah." Obito nodded his head with a dumb smile on his face at Rin's look, and Kurenai could only shake her head at his silliness.

[]

Watching Kurenai graduate sure was a strange experience, and Rin knew for sure that she had to be among those that graduated next. Just as Kurenai left the academy due to being ready, she also left because she has her own goals to accomplish herself.

Whatever that may be, it seemed like Obito didn't hold her back from doing so.

Which was also another strange person to contemplate, for Rin that is.

Now that Kurenai was gone, Rin noticed that Obito would now be doing stuff by himself, and being all alone as he is with no one else to really call a friend, Rin thought that maybe she would become Kurenai's replacement.

'Well... yeah, I think I could do that.' Rin thought, before shaking herself of the thought, given she is supposed to have this sort of annoyed stance when it comes to Obito.

She had to admit, that maybe she was spending a little bit too much time focusing on the things happening to and around Obito. Everything from his small reactions to certain things, certain words or certain people.

Then there was his skills, that clearly should of allowed him to graduate already but it seemed like he either hid it well enough from the academy teachers, or they didn't want him to graduate.

Either way, it seemed like Obito didn't want to be doing anything else in particular that would see him becoming a shinobi as early as Kakashi was.

Rin had asked around a bit, and while it was true that clan secrets are meant to be clan secrets, there was public information about how the Sharingan worked and the process of it's acquisition.

She thought it terrible, and even had compassion for Obito that he would have to experience emotions strong enough and negative enough for him to awaken the Sharingan. She heard that he had awakened at the earliest of three years of age.

Some said it was talent, some said it was luck, but everyone seemed to forget that the process to awakening it was not something anyone should go through.

True, deep emotional distress was not the worst thing in the world, or even uncommon within the shinobi lifestyle, but the things about this was that Obito was only three, and hadn't even come from a shinobi family.

He was an orphan. An orphan adopted by another of the Uchiha clan, and said adoptive grandmother was a civilian, completely removed from the ninja business of said clan.

Let alone at the time Obito was not someone that could really do anything himself in the face of it all.

They had training to help them deal with more traumatic things. Training that may come in handy in the field. But Obito didn't have that, was not someone that wanted to become a shinobi at the time, and neither did he come from a family that could support him in that way.

Even who he supposedly lives with now, Mikoto Uchiha and Kushina Uzumaki would be able to do that. Not at that time, considering their own lives and things to do, especially since Kushina hadn't even moved in with them at that point.

Getting up, Rin moved towards Obito as he had just congratulated Kurenai, even proceeding to receive a hug from her before she would leave to go home and celebrate with her family, Rin stopped just beside him.

"Got a moment?" Rin asked him, as he looked at her through the corner of his eyes.

"Sure." He turned to face her as others seemed to congratulate Asuma and there were older students as well.

Rin thought for a moment, before she grabbed his hand and started to lead him a little further away from the noise. Now turning to face him, she looked into his eyes and started. "I-..."

"You...?" Obito continued for her.

"I... I am sorry. It seems that I may have not been the kindest to you." Rin apologized first, because as she did some more digging into Obito, she was able to tell a lot more things about him.

Gathering information as she did, one might even call her out for being a bit of a stalker, but its not like anyone knew of her actions. So, she was unafraid. "Unkind? No, I don't think so. I didn't mind your aggressive tone. Surely." Obito said in a manner that was almost mocking her, but wasn't.

Growing a small tick mark on her forehead, she calmed down before continuing. "I know that we may not have been all that close. But I wish to change that. I want to be your friend. I want to be friends, together."

She left out, 'I don't want to see you alone,' as that would be a bit too much, right?

"Friends? We were not friends already? Was it a one-sided friendship?" Obito seemed to mutter to himself, but she was able to hear it. She chuckled. "What's so funny?" He asked her.

"Nothing, nothing. I just thought... never mind." She rather not say what came into her mind just then, knowing just how that would sound. 'Really? Did you just think of him as cute!?'

Holding out his hand, Obito says. "Friends for real this time." He smiled at her, and she was able to admit to herself that maybe, just maybe Obito had some small amount of charm to him.

"Friends for real." She smiled, shaking his hand in return.

[]

Obito looked at himself in the mirror.

His eyes were strange, and he could admit that maybe they looked a little bit cool.

His Mangekyo's design is three stretched triangles evenly spaced around the pupil that each curve at the top around the eye to form a circle, making it similar to a pinwheel.

Both eyes wield Kamui, able to teleport targets to and from Kamui's Dimension, though in different manners.

The right eye is able to use close-range Kamui, teleporting the user and, or those they're in contact with. By teleporting only parts of their body there, they can in effect seamlessly pass through other matter.

The left eye is able to use long-range Kamui, creating a barrier around a target that teleports them, also able to produce an attraction force to draw other targets close enough in. The left eye can also target the user themselves for complete teleporting.

'I mean, this technique should allow me even greater versatility than even the Hiraishin that my fat-...' Obito stopped his thoughts there, before continuing. 'Yeah, he isn't my father here, just as Kushina isn't my mother...'

Going back to his original thoughts, he continuing. 'I have even greater versatility that Hiraishin that Minato Namikaze was able to do.'

Obito, the more he thought about it, knew that Minato was stupid. Especially once he reviewed the story and memories that his mother had shown to him.

Especially in the instance of the sealing of Kurama. Kushina coughed.

All she did was cough, and the man came running to Kushina as if it was the end of the world. That resulted in having not only Minato sacrifice his life for him, but also Kushina as well.

Minato's poor attempt at being some knight in shining armor got them both killed, especially since there was a chance that Kushina could've survived. This only fueled Obito to start looking at Minato in a certain way.

While it may not be any hate, he was able to analyze the stupidity of his actions. Everything seemed stupid, or at least he thought so, and he couldn't help but complain within his head.

After all, it was Minato's decision that cursed him to the life that he lived, and while people may say it was as a result of Minato's decision that he lived some good moments, he would disagree.

Obito, in spite of the things that Minato had decided for him, had managed to rise above it all. In spite of the negativity, he was able to come out on top, but even then he was defeated just as much in the end as everyone else.

Shaking his head, Obito put that away for now, knowing that he probably shouldn't displace the dislike he had gathered for that Minato for this Minato.

Kamui serves as a gateway to another dimensional space, which he can move all or parts of his body between at will. This grants Obito two distinct abilities, teleportation, and what is best described as 'intangibility.'

Or at least this is what Obito understood from his awakened knowledge but also from the reference he could take from his memories as well.

It was a completely ridiculously overpowered ability if used correctly. 'And now that I have both eyes, instead of just one, I think that I could use them to an even greater capability.' He thought to himself, believing that he could surpass the Obito from his memories.

After all, he only ever had access to one of his eyes.

Powering his eyes down to the normal form, Obito looked himself at the mirror once more. 'Damnit! I hate that I look so similar to that Madara bastard!'

Obito couldn't help his appearance though.