Chapter 13
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When Obito held a hand up to silence Fugaku from interrupting, Minato almost gaped. The clan head's mouth shut with an audible click, and the blonde was shocked at the display of confidence and power that Obito demonstrated. "How else do you explain, then? I have these eyes, fully matured. I haven't killed anyone close to me, nor have I witnessed the deaths of anyone precious. You can probably see that, as my team is still alive. There is no other explanation, and quite frankly, I think it makes sense, if only because there simply isn't any other explanation."
Minato saw the slight slump the elder Uchiha's shoulders took and felt a small twinge of guilt form.
His friend was essentially stuck between a rock and a hard place due to the elders' outdated ways, and Obito wasn't exactly making it easier for him. "… Regardless," Fugaku began in a tone that indicated his exasperation, "the fact remains that you've activated the Sharingan, and advanced it to full maturity. The clan will want to know how, and I doubt they will accept such an answer from someone who supposedly didn't have it but a week ago."
"… I understand that, but I wish to remind you that it was the clan that abandoned me, not the other way around. I have no intention of returning simply because I have the most advanced level of the Sharingan, and therefore suddenly have worth." The barely concealed bitterness in his voice did not go unnoticed by the two adults.
Suddenly, Minato found himself the center of attention as Fugaku turned to him. "Minato, can you leave for a moment? I apologize, but I believe that what is about to be said is best kept to the Uchiha."
Minato stared at him for a moment. "Right," he murmured quietly, before retreating from the room. He walked away with a slump to his shoulders, unbefitting the 'most promising Jounin' of Konoha, but he cared little about that.
What he cared about, what he wanted, were the answers to his questions. Though Obito could be a handful at times, Minato still cared greatly for the boy and missed his presence on Team Seven.
Obito with his smiles, his constant challenges against Kakashi, his late-excuses which actually weren't lies…
When the blonde reached the living room, he sat down on his couch and intertwined his fingers while he leaned back to think.
There was no way that what Obito had experienced was a dream, of that, Minato was certain. No dream would make a twelve-year-old boy want to kill himself.
There was also the look that he had given Minato and the rest of Team Seven, when he had first woken up.
If he truly was beset with debilitating nightmares that forced him to play observer to the deaths of his make-shift family, he would've been elated to see their faces.
But no, when Obito had woken up, it was not the tearful relief that should've been there. Instead, the boy had seemed to reject the very idea of them being there, of him being there, with them.
'And of course, the name he shouted.' Minato's eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips, trying to remember the name.
Yes, that was possibly the most incriminating evidence of all; Obito had said the name with such vehemence, and the statement that followed it hinted at the perpetrator having done something to Obito—most likely showed him an illusion, a Genjutsu.
But for the life of him, Minato could not remember the name. It was a simple, three-syllable name, one that had significant meaning in a few old and forgotten scriptures that he had read in the past.
'Kagura?' The blonde frowned. That wasn't it. 'Sakuya? Sakura?' Wrong, again, though it felt closer.
The combination of a-u-a vowels was correct—at least, Minato felt like it was correct—but what was the exact name? "Ka-" sounded correct, so it most likely started with that character. 'Kazura? Kazuma? Kakusa? Katsura?'
Okay, now he was just getting silly. Minato let out a frustrated groan as he fisted his blonde hair in his hands.
Never, in all of his years as a Shinobi, had Minato had such difficulty remembering important information—especially when it concerned the well-being of his friends.
Even though he had, at the time, been more focused on the fact that Obito seemed to think he was supposed to be dead, remaining calm in harrowing situations was something that the blonde had become a master of. At least, he was supposed to be.
The light shuffling of feet alerted Minato of the new presence in the room and he whipped his head around, looking worriedly at his friend.
"Fugaku?" He inwardly cursed the slight wavering of his voice. "What happened? What did you talk about?"
Fugaku released an exasperated sigh as he walked around the couch to face the blonde. "He wishes to remain independent from the clan. I cannot blame him for it, either."
'Obito wants to remain independent from his clan?' It was strange, as the boy usually would stop at nothing to make sure that everyone knew he was an Uchiha.
Minato would've thought that Obito would've taken the chance to be reintegrated into his family, but if not… "In that case, let me watch over Obito." Minato was practically beaming. "I had already spoken to Hokage-sama about it, and he said that it's fine as long as I gain the Uchiha clan's consent."
At Fugaku's look of frustration, Minato chuckled. The clan leader allowed his eyes to close and he rubbed at his temples. "The matter of the child's Mangekyō will remain a secret amongst your team and I. Make absolutely certain that your students keep this under-wraps, as I doubt the resulting fall-out would be pleasant."
Minato nodded affirmative and gave a mock salute. "Of course."
Fugaku sighed(the man must've dearly wanted to go home and ignore the world) as he walked towards the door, and Minato followed to act the gracious host. "Thanks, Fugaku. I really don't know what I would've done without you."
The Uchiha waved a hand dismissively. "Think nothing of it. Even if the boy doesn't want to have any ties to the Uchiha any longer, he is still an Uchiha by blood and as such is my responsibility as clan head." He paused for a moment, eyes narrowing. "And I'll make certain that the elders don't think to use him."
Minato smiled. "Alright, and I'll do my best to take care of him."
"I do not doubt that."
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He had been worried.
He wanted to trust Obito, but at the same time, he found—with no small amount of horror—that he couldn't, he simply couldn't.
When Minato had re-entered the guest room where Obito was, he had offered to go shopping for new clothes with the boy since nothing had survived the fire.
When the young Uchiha had said that he needed time alone, and kami, when Minato had actually let him, the blonde found himself beset with all the terrible scenarios that his trained-and-efficient mind could conjure.
Needless to say, when Minato had detected the familiar warm(yet, it had a cold edge to it that wasn't there before) chakra of his student, he made a mad-dash to his door and flung it open, fearing the possible injuries the boy could've gotten.
To his relief and slight surprise, the boy didn't have a single scratch on him. In fact, Obito even looked… Brighter, and more like his usual self; the shadows that lurked in his eyes previously had ebbed away and receded from view—of course, Minato wasn't a fool to think they were gone for good.
They were most likely buried in the darker recesses of the Uchiha's mind, waiting to spring up again.
"Minato-sensei?"
Minato blinked and brought his gaze to meet Obito's, whose eyes held clear suspicion.
He let out a strained chuckle. "Ha, sorry about that. I was just a little… Dazed, is all."
When Obito's suspicious gaze didn't go away, the blonde sighed. "… Can we talk?"
His only reply was a one-armed shrug as Obito walked over to the couch to sit down. Minato followed and sat across from him, his hands held securely in his lap in an effort to hide his worry.
'How am I supposed to ask?' He wondered silently, admittedly unnerved by the blank yet assessing stare of his student. 'How do you ask someone that is potentially suicidal about why they tried to kill themselves?'
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Discord:- https://discord. gg/qxvX7Tvpqp (without space)
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