14

Chapter 14: need a hero? i'm the last one leftNotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Raijin has to take a moment to really appreciate the principle of sparring even as he is midway through one against a Konoha jounin he doesn't recognise. 

They're just fighting, throwing jutsu at each other, and no one's dying or anything! No plant zombies or mythical doujutsu or crazy rabbit goddesses in sight. It's revolutionary stuff in his humble opinion. Raijin can't even remember the last time he fought someone without them intending to kill him. He must have been seventeen or something and that was like forever and a half ago. 

Fighting at such low stakes now is refreshing. He can't help the way his grin widens even as he flips out of the range of an array of senbon thrown at him by his opponent. It could have been kind of boring because Raijin can tell he's the objectively stronger one in this fight by quite a margin but he's definitely having to get creative with his arsenal so severely limited. 

Most of his favoured techniques are out of the question for being too destructive or inexplicable or both. If he slips up and gives into his ninjutsu reflexes, he's going to out himself as a time travelling jinchuuriki and get arrested faster than he can say "Oops."

Raijin is one rasengan away from being called a spy and then getting executed and he knows it. 

Well, whatever. Just because he doesn't usually use other techniques all that much doesn't mean he is incapable. He can boast being able to use water and earth jutsu with relative ease in addition to his natural wind affinity, and if he has the time to exercise enough chakra control for it, he can even manage fire. Not to mention he has been working on incorporating sealing into his fighting style although, admittedly, that is a bit slow-going. And, of course, he has always been naturally talented at straight up throwing hands. 

The only questionable jutsu he doesn't give up is kage bunshin, although in all honesty that's because he ended up reflexively summoning a couple of clones almost as soon as the test began, only remembering a second later that the multiple shadow clone jutsu is actually a forbidden one that he definitely isn't supposed to know how to perform. 

There's no way he'd be able to go without his precious clone jutsu though. It'd be like losing an arm. He wouldn't know what to do with himself. 

Oh, well. It's about time he screwed something up anyway. It had to leave his system at some point. He'll just figure it out later. 

For now, Raijin thinks it's about time to put an end to this spar. His opponent today had been decent and served as a good starting point for him to figure out his newly limited skillset, but Raijin is far too used to an entirely different scale of power when compared to these regular shinobi, even during wartime. Ultimately, this is what makes the biggest difference and, soon enough, he has pinned the jounin to the ground with a kunai to the neck and handily won his spar within a good four minutes. 

"Good fight," he breathes out, grinning as he stands up and offers a hand to the jounin. 

The jounin looks disgruntled but accepts Raijin's help in pulling him to his feet. "Don't lie. You didn't even break a sweat," he points out, dusting himself off with a shake of his head. "I guess I'll be seeing you at your jounin exam."

Which isn't unexpected but Raijin is still happy to leave his official genin status behind, thank you very much. He may be a Kage level shinobi but he will also forever be salty about never being able to pass the chuunin exams thanks to all the other stuff that kept getting in the way.

He turns to the pair approaching him now that the fight is over, grinning brightly. "Heard that?"

Minato smiles. "Sure did," he confirms, reaching out to scrub his hand through Raijin's unruly hair. "Well done, little brother."

Raijin makes a cursory effort to get out from under Minato's hand but it's more for show than anything. It's not like his hair is ever going to be tame, and he can't really pretend that every freely given token of affection doesn't make him feel like he is made of liquid gold rather than flesh and bone. It has been a while since he has had space for these minor touches, and the lonely abandoned kid in him will never be able to stop basking in the warmth of physical affection. He's lucky that Minato is so free with the way he reaches for him every so often, hands always patting on shoulders or ruffling through his hair.

Jiraiya hums, crossing his arms as he regards Raijin with contemplative eyes. "That wasn't even much of a challenge for you, was it?" he asks bluntly, sighing when the younger blond only carelessly shrugs at him. "I was hoping to see more of your skills but I guess it will have to wait till the exam itself."

Tilting his head, Raijin asks, "If I beat a jounin, doesn't that mean that I'm at that level myself?"

"Yes, especially since this particular fight was so clear-cut," Minato nods, "but the exams are also to determine if a shinobi's skills are better suited towards a specialisation or not. If you make tokubetsu jounin, you will receive more specific missions geared towards your niche. It doesn't always have to do with skill; sometimes it's also about administrative convenience."

"If you decided to pursue the sealing angle more specifically, you'd probably get tokujo even though you could beat a full-fledged jounin," Jiraiya adds. "It helps Mission Assignment make better informed and more optimal decisions regarding who is best for what job."

Mouth rounding in understanding, Raijin nods. "That makes sense," he concedes. It's still likelier he'll make jounin though, knowing the unending need for ninjutsu powerhouses during a war. Plus his skill set is more than well-rounded enough.

"By the way," Jiraiya's eyes narrow, "was that the multiple shadow clone jutsu you used? If I remember right, you did a similar thing in the abandoned mine too."

'Here we go,' Raijin thinks. "Yup," he says, nodding like they might miss his affirmative response otherwise. Own up to it loud and proud and throw them off their rhythm. He's doing a great job!

Minato's head whips towards. "Wait, seriously?" he asks, voice high with incredulity. "I assumed it was some other clone technique. Raijin, that's a kinjutsu! Shinobi are forbidden to use it for their own health!"

Raijin whistles like he hasn't made this jutsu his bitch and is in fact hearing of this information for the first time. "Wow," he intones, "really? That's so interesting."

"Yes," Minato informs emphatically. "Hardly anyone can perform it safely and I don't think I've ever seen it used with that many clones before. You had at least five!"

"It consumes too much chakra for most shinobi to use it ordinarily," Jiraiya tells him, his face in an appraising sort of frown. "Kage bunshin itself is only taught at jounin level," he adds, "which begs the question of how you know it, brat."

For once in his life, Raijin hopes that everyone was telling the truth when they told him he has the face of an idiot who never has a clue about anything ever. "Uh, my master taught me," he says slowly, lying, like a liar who lies. "I can't really do regular clones because I have too much chakra." And that, at least, is true. "No idea where he might've picked it up from though."

Jiraiya sighs at that. "The more I hear of this master of yours, the more I want to meet him."

Snorting, Raijin takes a moment to wonder how and when exactly his life became a dark comedy. "I bet sensei would find that funny," he comments, shaking his head. "Anyway, is it a problem if I use this 'kinjutsu'? Because I legitimately cannot do clones otherwise and it's really integrated into my combat style."

Minato hesitates. "Well," he starts, glancing at Jiraiya uncertainly, "if it doesn't harm you, I guess it should be okay." 

"It doesn't harm me," Raijin promises. He has way too much chakra for that. 

Shoulders relaxing with his reassurance, Minato nods. "If you say so," he concedes. Curiosity takes over his expression now that his worry has been eased and he leans forward slightly as he asks, "Do you know how many of those you can maintain?"

"No," Raijin admits, scratching at the back of his head. "A lot. I haven't made enough to hit my limit yet."

Minato stares at him, looking equal parts awed and horrified. "What's your maximum?"

Raijin shifts, glancing at his brother and cringing. "I…don't know."

It could be ten or twenty for all Minato knows, and hopefully he is thinking along those numbers because he's a reasonable guy. It's not his fault Raijin makes it a point to regularly look reason in the eye and laugh at it. At this point, some part of him is definitely doing it mostly out of spite. 

"I see," Minato returns, blinking slowly. 

Jiraiya looks between the two of them and snorts, turning away and muttering something about crazy blond people and getting lunch as he walks away. 

Watching him go, Raijin hums. "He's onto something with that actually," he comments. Turning to Minato with a raised brow, he asks, "You wanna grab lunch with me?"

"Yes," Minato says immediately. Then he pauses and frowns, looking suddenly so deeply disappointed that Raijin is almost worried for a split second. "I can't though," he says regretfully. "I have to attend a meeting about my next posting soon."

He looks so genuinely upset, Raijin can't help but be endeared. Of course, he has never exactly had the chance to properly get to know Minato for himself, but from all the stories he's heard, even including some of the sillier ones from Jiraiya, he has always thought of Minato as someone to look up to. As the Yellow Flash or the Yondaime Hokage; a sensei, a genius, a commander, a leader. A myth.

That's not to say Minato isn't one hell of a role model or that Raijin respects him any less. It's just that now that he has actually gotten the chance to know him as more than just another soldier on a battlefield, Raijin doesn't find himself looking up to but, rather, at Minato. He looks at Namikaze Minato and he can finally see him as a person. Sure, the guy is kind of terrifying with how good he is at being a shinobi, but he's also just twenty-one. He's young and kind of silly, he flusters easily, he gets insecure all the time about being a good teacher (and a good brother, Raijin suspects), he tends to walk around with ink stains on his hands and he likes to space out sometimes. 

When he thinks Raijin isn't paying attention, Minato looks at him with eyes that are still uncertain on what to make of the young man who has turned up out of the blue to be his brother, but they are also always full of a painfully cautious hope. Like he's afraid of getting his heart broken but is willing to risk trusting Raijin with it anyways. When he knows Raijin is looking at him, Minato is always smiling like he's trying to make sure Raijin knows just how happy he is to have him here. 

Raijin doesn't really know how to have a dad but he's beginning to learn what it's like to have a brother, and that is what he sees when he looks at the Minato of this time. 

Seeing him get sad about missing out on lunch with Raijin makes him feel like he's a cloud about to drift away through a summer sky. He can't help how his lips twitch up and into a smile. 

"Don't look so depressed about it," he says, voice teasing. "People will start saying I'm a bad influence and a distraction trying to corrupt the great Yellow Flash."

"You probably are." Minato's voice is too full of a laughing fondness for Raijin to even pretend to be offended. 

He rolls his eyes despite his widening grin anyway. "You live with Kushina-nee," he points out, crossing his arms. "I couldn't possibly make you any worse than you already are."

Smirking, Minato tells him with the smug surety of a man who has meticulously left no evidence or witnesses, "Nothing you can do to prove it."

Which just means that now Raijin has to do literally whatever it takes to find evidence of something Minato has pulled and buried under his golden boy image or he'll never know peace again. That's fine. He didn't get in all that practice with information networks for no reason, and there can be no greater cause than finding blackmail on one's older brother. 

He's going to have to stock up on bribes for his foxes but that's a small price to pay. 

Raijin narrows his eyes up at his brother, suddenly very resentful of the fact that Minato has a solid four centimetres of height over him. 'I'm still growing,' he thinks vindictively. 'I'm going to get taller!'

Inside his seal, Kurama stirs as he only does when there's an opportunity to make Raijin's life more difficult than it needs to be. He snorts imperiously. 'With how much ramen you consume, you're going to stay like this forever.'

'Kurama, take that back right now!'

Kurama does not in fact take it back. He only cackles his maniacal laugh, coughs a bit because of it, and then settles back down to sleep.

Because Raijin needs a win to feel better, he sniffs at his brother. "I'm going to get something totally delicious while you suffer to tears in your boring meeting."

Infuriatingly, Minato only looks amused. "Okay, Raijin," he says agreeably. 

"I'm being serious," Raijin insists, but even the pretence of a fight is lost to him the moment Minato's fingers find their way back into his hair for a ruffle. It's careful like it always is with Minato because nothing about him is ever anything other than a conscious amount of thought and effort, but somehow that just makes Raijin feel—precious. In a weird way. Cared for. Cherished. 

He thinks he might have just lost his remaining singular brain cell to this mushiness and now he doesn't even have the cognitive function left to be upset about it.

"Okay, Raijin," Minato says again, indulgent and amused. "Enjoy your lunch."

"I will," Raijin tries to say insistently, viciously. Instead, it comes out too earnest, like a promise, and Minato smiles at him, pleased. 

Obito doesn't really like having mokuton all that much. 

Sure, the Hokage had given him that whole spiel about how having the Shodaime's ability is an honour and he is sure that Obito will do a good job of living up to the legacy of Senju Hashirama and bring honour to Konoha. And Obito appreciates the effort! It was a good speech; a great one, even. 

Except that Obito has waited practically his entire life to manifest his sharingan and prove that he's deserving of being an Uchiha when apparently nothing else about him seems to fit his clan's standards, and then right when that happened, Madara had to go and screw it up for him by giving him mokuton of all things. 

As in the greatest ability of their rival clan. Man, Obito can never just catch a fucking break. 

The Uchiha can acknowledge that mokuton is one hell of a bloodline limit and the strength it bestows upon a user that can wield it well, but that doesn't mean they want their clansmen to start manifesting it. It's the principle of the thing—they may have made peace with the Senju like sixty years ago, but they still don't necessarily want to start welcoming the ability that once wiped out so many of their numbers amongst themselves now. 

Obito had just wanted to be acknowledged by his clan. He had wanted them to be unable to ignore him because he'd proven himself as a strong, capable shinobi—as an Uchiha even if he didn't 'act' like them or whatever. 

Well, they're certainly acknowledging him now. Except that no one seems to know what to make of him, so they regard him with an open sort of wariness that sets his teeth on edge. 

Being stuck in his dumb hospital room had totally sucked, but he doesn't think that having sharingan red eyes track him around his own clan compound like he's an exploding tag waiting to go off is all that much of an improvement. 

When he'd first returned to the compound, they'd had to hold an official meeting with him and the clan council to decide how to deal with Obito suddenly having mokuton. They'd called it a 'discussion' but it had felt more like a trial where everyone except Obito got to have a say in deciding his fate. The Clan Head had looked at Obito in silence for a long moment towards the end of it before telling him to harness all his abilities and hone his strength well to bring honour to the clan, and then he had firmly added, "But do not forget, Uchiha Obito, that you are first and foremost an Uchiha ." Which is a pretty clear go ahead to train using mokuton, and to do it well, but to somehow ensure that Obito isn't associated purely with the ability because then his achievements might be attributed to the Senju name instead of the Uchiha. 

It had been Kakashi to quietly explain this to him when Obito had relayed the horrible meeting with the Clan Head and Elders, and all the weird politics that grownups keep dragging into things for no good reason makes Obito's head hurt. How the hell is he supposed to stop people from associating him with wood release when he's the only person in the entire village to have the Shodaime's legendary ability anyway? 

And apparently, no one knows what to make of him anymore because he's a wildcard among the Uchiha ranks or something. Obito doesn't really feel like a wildcard of any sort. Mostly, he just feels perpetually tired these days. 

Having mokuton suddenly dumped upon his shoulders isn't easy by any means, even less so when considering that Obito is essentially having to learn how to use the ability by himself because no one else really knows what to do with it. Minato tries to help as much as he can, of course, because that's just how sensei is, but Obito still can't do much more than summon shrivelled looking roots and make already green plants look vaguely greener. 

It's hard not to feel disheartened. Especially when he knows he has the eyes of several people marking his progress. He gets that mokuton kind of feels like Konoha's trademark ability instead of just being a purely Senju thing, but by Amaterasu, if these people don't start minding their business soon Obito is going to lose it and go back to hiding in Madara's creepy caves.

At least he has Kakashi to practise using the sharingan with. It may have scared him to death to do it, but he's glad he fought the Elders and refused to take back the eye he'd gifted Kakashi even though his teammate had repeatedly offered to return it. 

It's like no one here understands the concept of a gift. And these people think that Obito's the idiot? 

The Elders might have had a chance to successfully intimidate Obito into giving in to their demands, but Rin had had the idea to try and find records on how similar situations had been dealt with by the clan in the past, and together, they'd found out that the sharingan and anything that is done with it is decided first and foremost by the person it belongs to. In the event that the person cannot present their desires for themselves, a decision can be made by their family, and the clan council only gets a say when literally no one else is available. 

Apparently, though it was rare, during the Warring Clans era, whenever an Uchiha wanted to bring a non-Uchiha into the clan for whatever reason, a surefire way to do it would be to transplant a sharingan into the person. A lot of the time, the transplant failed and the sharingan would become unusable, but supposedly it is the act itself that matters. It demonstrates trust and love to a point of sacrifice, and the Uchiha can respect that. 

In a weird way, Obito thinks he has accidentally adopted Kakashi into his clan and everyone is just sort of refusing to acknowledge it for whatever reason. Does that make Obito… Kakashi's dad by Uchiha standards? Or like a guardian of some sort. Holy shit, what if he accidentally married Kakashi and people are just being polite by not sticking their noses into their marriage because they think he knows?!

Obito thinks back to the lecture Minato had awkwardly given them two years ago about the importance of family planning and the reckless decisions one is liable to make due to teenage hormones. Somehow, he has a feeling that this isn't what his sensei had in mind. 

"Yo, Obito-kun," a voice cuts through Obito's impending mental breakdown. 

Because Obito is a respectable ninja who pays attention to his surroundings, he doesn't jump. He does not. He only has a minor heart attack and promptly loses a bit of his soul, and he most certainly does not shriek a little. 

"Oops, did I startle you?" Worried blue eyes enter his field of vision where Obito is hunched over to try and stop his heart from attempting to launch itself right out of his chest. He can't take any more bodily modifications. 

"Raijin-san!" Obito gasps out, immediately straightening. 

Grinning with an ease that Obito can't help but envy, Raijin leans back out of Obito's space. "In the flesh," he says, winking. "I called for you a few times but it seems like you were really spaced out," he adds. His tone is completely casual, but his eyes are alert in the same way Minato's are when he's evaluating them, so Obito knows better than to think he isn't being watched right now. 

Obito forces a laugh, trying not to cringe when it comes out too nervous. He has never been particularly good at lying and he's just as bitter as ever about it. "Yeah," he swallows, "I guess I'm more tired than I thought."

Raijin hums. He smiles kindly when he catches Obito's eye, reaching out to pat his shoulder. "Well, try not to overdo it, yeah?" he says, falling into step beside Obito. "No one's asking you to master the whole mokuton thing in one week."

Idly, he wonders how Raijin knew exactly what was bothering Obito. "I know that," he says, and he does. Obito pauses. "I just—I know people are expecting something out of this."

Head tilted, Raijin says, "I won't deny that. Konoha is pretty obsessed with wood release and its legacy."

That doesn't exactly make Obito feel better. His shoulders slump. "Exactly," he says with feeling. "Except they're stuck with me wielding mokuton , and I—" Obito stops, biting his lip before ultimately admitting around the weight in his chest, "I just don't know if I'm good enough."

It is quiet for a long moment. Obito can tell that Raijin is studying him in that quietly watchful way of his but he can't bring himself to look up and meet the man's eyes. Finally, Raijin sighs. "You shouldn't sell yourself short, Obito-kun," he says, and nothing in his voice sounds like he's scolding him but Obito feels sufficiently chided nonetheless. 

"Sorry," he mumbles, ducking his head. 

"Don't be," Raijin waves away. He lifts a hand to rest it against the back of Obito's neck briefly and he can't help but find the gesture oddly grounding. It's gone before he can fully lean into it and Obito refuses to think about how it feels like a loss. "I'm just saying that you have potential, and you're wasting it if you dismiss yourself before you can even start tapping into it. You've only been working with wood release for a few days. Of course it's going to be difficult starting out; any mid- to high-ranking technique is. You can't decide that you have no talent before you've even properly started."

Obito sighs. "You're right," he concedes, "and I know all that stuff too. Like, at least, in my head. I get it. But it's just…it's hard." Licking his lips, he keeps his gaze trained on the ground before him. "I bet Kakashi would do so much better if he got mokuton instead of me. He has always been good at picking things up really quickly. I'm just…me."

"I'm sure Kakashi-kun would do well," Raijin agrees with a shrug, "but that doesn't mean you aren't going to be able to do great things with it either. You and Kakashi-kun are different people, Obito-kun, and you are both strong in different but equally important ways. You are already an invaluable member of your team, and you still have so much growing up ahead of you; it'd be a waste to not look forward to everything you have waiting ahead for you just because you think it's all downhill from here. You have practically your entire career ahead of you. I mean, you're only, like, twelve or something."

Gasping in indignation, Obito scowls at the blond beside him. "I'm fourteen!"

Raijin grins at him, unrepentant. "Sure," he says agreeably, laughing when Obito sticks his tongue out at him. "My point is: you can't write yourself off before you've properly even set out on your path. Just because you're not Kage level at fourteen doesn't mean you aren't a good chuunin. Focus on the next step you have to take, work hard for it, and you'll naturally improve." Shrugging, the man lowers his voice and adds, "I mean, he may have been crazy and ancient, but Uchiha Madara—a legendary genius—obviously thought you had potential if he went through the trouble of kidnapping and saving you."

Obito makes a face at the reminder but he has to admit that Raijin kind of has a point, however weirdly fucked up it may be. He still has a hard time figuring out how to feel about his stay with Madara. The doctors had told him he probably just hasn't processed all the trauma yet, and Minato had seemed to agree with their conclusion when he'd pulled Obito aside to tell him he could always go to Minato with anything he needs, whenever he needs it. 

Which is all well and good, except that Obito just…doesn't feel anything about his near-death and subsequent kidnapping. Like, he knows that it sucked objectively, but mostly, he's only annoyed about the creepy old grandpa giving him mokuton to deal with and Obito needing to do regular physical therapy to rehabilitate himself before his life can really go back to being normal. 

And that's all he really wants right now. For things to go back to being normal. 

He doesn't want to deal with mokuton, or his clan giving him looks, or the village's sudden expectations of him, or Minato's careful glances, or Kakashi's sudden weirdness, or Rin's gentle persistent concern. 

Obito just…wants to be fine. Regular. He wants his life back, without all these new and unwanted additions. 

The only addition he'd keep is Raijin because he saved Obito when no one knew to and he's just so cool . 

"Oh, hey," he blinks in remembrance, "didn't you have your evaluation thing today, Raijin-san?"

Arms folded behind his head leisurely, Raijin nods. "Yup."

Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Obito demands, "Well, how'd it go?! What did they say?"

Raijin flashes him a languid smile. "I have a jounin exam at some point apparently to figure out if they'll give me tokujo or full jounin."

"Really?" Obito beams, perking up as the excitement gives him a shot of much needed energy. "That's great! I knew you'd totally make it through."

Raijin laughs and scrubs his hand through Obito's hair. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Obito-kun," he says, voice rich with warmth that makes Obito feel like a puddle of liquid sunlight. "Apparently a portion of the exam is open to the public. I don't suppose you'd like to come cheer me on?"

"You wouldn't mind?" he asks, peering up at Raijin. Kakashi had banned him and Rin from showing up to his own jounin exam so Obito has never actually seen one. It ought to be exciting if it's anything at all like the chuunin exams. 

"If anything, I'd appreciate the support," Raijin assures with a gentle smile. 

Obito ducks under the attention, rubbing at the back of his neck as heat climbs up his face. It's not like he doesn't have any people who care about and are nice to him without wanting anything in return. He has Rin who has always been there, Kakashi who has taken to downright hovering when he thinks Obito won't notice, Minato and his quietly steady presence, and even Kushina with her playful needling and easy laughter. Obito isn't lacking like he used to be when he was just a kid, before Team 7 came into his life. 

But—

But. Well, Raijin doesn't have to be nice to Obito; not the way Team 7, to a certain degree, does. He didn't have to be nice even when he went out of his way to rescue him. He didn't have to accompany them to Konoha. He didn't have to continue to visit Obito in the hospital. He doesn't have to listen to the things Obito has to say, doesn't have to offer genuine consideration and insight, doesn't have to smile or ruffle his hair or look at him gently or be his friend. 

And, yet, Raijin does all these things and he doesn't seem to be bothered by some annoying fourteen-year-old hanging around and whining at him. He offers Obito the weight of his full attention and the warmth of his company like he genuinely thinks Obito is more than just some brat trying to waste his time. 

It's—nice. Raijin is an easy person to like and Obito can't be blamed for being just a little taken with his saviour, but more than anything, he feels weirdly valued by Raijin. He feels heard and seen and acknowledged in way that most people in Konoha don't bother offering to him unless Obito screams and shouts and fights for every bit of it. 

"Spacing out again, kid?" 

Obito jumps, snapping to attention. "Sorry," he says immediately, flushing. "Did I miss something?"

"No," Raijin tells him, his gaze contemplative. His lips pull downwards into a worried frown. Worry for Obito, like he really cares. "Are you sure you're okay, Obito-kun?"

Feeling shaken and recognised and warm all over, a wobbly smile slowly makes its way onto Obito's face. He offers it to Raijin and lets himself close his eye and lean into it when Raijin smooths down his curls and leaves his hands there like he knows Obito kind of needs and desperately wants it there. 

"Yeah, Raijin-san," he says, feeling his heart beat like a hummingbird flapping its wings. "I'm better now."

Notes:

Ninja bois with their ninja big brothers and their ninja touch starvation: the chapter