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Under a spring tree, amidst a whispering breeze, upon the sprawling roots, in a grassy training field, was Rin, who was reading.
Was.
Because now, there’s Obito, his legs hooked along a branch, his face upside down, and his complaints as long as a river.
"He's so hard to read!" Obito lamented. He glanced down at the medical books that surrounded Rin’s body. I’m sure those are easier to understand. "I can't tell what he's feeling, and that makes it hard to interact with him. I don't know how you do it!'
Rin tilted her head, looking up at him, slightly confused. "Because it is easy to interact with him."
"What?! No, it's not! His face is blank, like, all the time."
Rin tilted her head even further, still confused. "No, his face is full of expression."
"What?!"
"Yeah."
"Okay, fine. Give me examples then! Could you tell when he's sad?"
Rin nodded. "Mhm. His eyebrows scrunch up, his eyes widen a bit, and the bottom of his eyes also crinkle up. You can also see the outline of his lips press up together, kind of like in a pout- but not quite."
“...” Obito opened his mouth. "Okay, can you tell when he's confused?"
"Yup. His eyebrows jump up for a few seconds before settling back down in their normal place. And he also tilts his head in either direction." Kinda like a wolf or a dog. Rin thought to herself in fondness.
"And when he's excited?"
"Oh! Easy! His eyes widen up really wide and his nostrils flare up a bit too. You can see his neck lean forward a bit. His mouth might also part about half an inch."
Obito crossed his arms, hooking his knees tighter along the branch. “Hmm… Okay, how about when he’s disgusted?”
Rin giggled. “You could see his nose twitch and wrinkle up a bit. His mouth sometimes parts, but like less than half an inch.” She closed her eyes, visualizing Kakashi’s lips. “His lips might wiggle and move a bit as well, perhaps because he’s trying to process whatever that’s appalled him.” She opened her eyes and smiled at Obito. “Fun fact! Did you know that people tend to open their mouths when focusing or when processing some information?” Obito, still hanging from the tree, shook his head- his hair swinging back and forth in the breeze. “The brain will send signals to our jaw to keep it shut. However, when we are especially focused on something, it will prioritize sending more signals towards anything that can help us increase our attention. In doing so, the signals it sends to other areas, like having our nose in our vision and keeping our jaw up, are foregone.” She chirped at the boy.
Obito smiled at her and her knowledge of the human body. Always the medic. “Hmm… okay, what about when he’s tired?”
Rin’s eyes widened up a bit. “Well, that one’s pretty easy too. His shoulders slacken a bit, his eyelids get a smidge bit lower, and you could hear him breathing louder and slower through his nose.” She paused. “Oh! And his chakra’s intensity decreases.”
“Obviously, I can’t sense his chakra the way you do, Rin!”
She chuckled. “Okay, okay, anything else you wanna know?”
A wicked, Cheshire grin spread across the boy’s lips. “Hmm… how about… when he’s embarrassed ?”
The girl scrunched her eyebrows, pouting a little. “Oh, come now, Obito… That’s a bit too far.”
Obito huffed. “Come on, I know you know! I wanna know too!”
She giggled. “So you can catch on to his facial expression and tease him?”
“...”
“Maybe.”
She laughed. “How about another emotion?”
The Uchiha clasped his hands together. “Just tell me, pleaseeeeee!”
“Haha! No!”
“I know you know!”
“I promise you I don’t.” She lied.
“Hmph, fine.” He said, closing his eyes and crossing his arms once more. A frown was on his face, faux disappointment strong in the air. She giggled at the sight, and he couldn’t help but break into a smile at the sound of her.
“Let’s try another one, Obito. Anything else you wanna know? Like amusement? Anger?”
His smile dropped. “Anger? Now that one’s easy. He just immediately starts to yell at the top of his lungs. He yells all the time.”
Rin opened her mouth, about to say that “No, Kakashi’s anger takes a bit of time to develop, actually.” More phrases piled onto each other at the tip of her tongue. “You can see his jaw clench under his mask.” “And the ends of his mouth quirk up periodically as the minutes pass by.” “A vein might even appear if he’s really angry.” But Rin bit her lip, instead smiling goodnaturedly at the boy, not wanting to imply that it was the long minutes of waiting during Obito’s arrivals (that could be easily prevented, but was very much hard for the Uchiha to control) that caused Kakashi’s anger to rise and boil up. “Well, how about not making him angry?”
“Hmph! Easy for you to say! He never gets mad at you.”
Rin giggled. “Okay, any more questions?”
“Uhh…” Obito scrunched his eyebrows in thought, his knees getting looser. “How about when he’s- AHHHHHHH!”
Rin gasped. “OBITO!”
There, sprawled across the octopus-like roots was the Uchiha, his legs up in the air, and his head leaving a dent on the grass. She dashed towards him, righting his body upwards, causing a groan to roll off his tongue and his eyes to squeeze shut. Immediately, her hands glowed green and rushed along his scalp, where an unruly bump lay.
“Ohhh…” Obito groaned out once more. “Sorry, Rin.”
She giggled. “Don’t be sorry.” She pushed more chakra through her fingertips, releasing a cooling effect on the boy to soothe his aching skull. “Looks like you were so focused on your question that your brain stopped sending signals to your knees.”
A chuckle of his own emanated from him, albeit a bit strained, but overall feeling better. “Looks like it.”
“What were you gonna ask earlier?”
The boy paused, and the wind whispered. “I wanna know… what about when he’s…happy?”
“Oh? When he’s happy…?”
Rrrriiinnng!!
Peals of the bell released a symphony of collective roaring “yays”, booming laughter, and pounding footsteps from the class. The group of six year-olds thundered through the hallways, bursting out of the heavy doors with their mass of small hands and branches of tiny arms. Bright sunshine blinded their overjoyed eyes. Its light greeted them with the same warm arms their parents had.
Well, except her parents.
Rin gripped the straps of her backpack, rocking back and forth on her heels as she stared at the dusty space around her. The wind breezed through her hair, the only noise present against her ears. Usually, Obito would be here waiting with her. But today, Obito was absent. She had appeared at his doorstep to pick him up in the morning, but he responded in a flurry of sneezes and coughs.
Rin had expressed her best wishes in his health and recovery, promising him that soon, she would become great enough in her abilities that he would never, ever be sick again.
But right now, with her parents running late, with her sick friend laid in bed at home, and with everyone else having left with their parents, there was no one for her to talk to. No one to share a joke with. Share a smile with.
Crunch.
Footsteps sounded in the air. Her head turned to the side, throwing a glance behind her shoulder.
Oh, it’s him…
A head of silver shining in the sun, a deadpan expression, a dark obsidian tunic, and his trademark, long green scarf graced her eyes. He was exiting the doors, strolling down the steps of the academy.
Rin knew that he always left later than the rest of the students, often staying behind in the classroom for a few more minutes to review the notes, scrawl down a few notes, or occasionally scold the teacher for not scolding the students earlier in class.
His strolling soon turned to running. And when Rin turned her head the other way, she knew why.
”Dad, watch this!” The boy shouted, skidding to a stop before the taller man. In a flash, his hands whirled about, creating movements that Rin’s eyes couldn’t process. A cloud of smoke left a trail of three figures, each identical to and as life-like as him.
The man grinned, shouting praises for the advanced prodigy as he lifted him up off the ground and twirled around. The boy’s lips stretched so wide that she could see the outline of his open mouth even underneath his mask.
Rin had been his classmate for a while now, and never had she seen such expression, such movement, from the somber and serious student. Always focusing on tasks, always scolding others, always frowning. Now, before her, his arms were spread wide against the bright, blue sky, his eyes shining, his laughter escaping, and the tail of his green scarf flying. Her pupils widened at the sight, her brain burning it into memory.
It was one of their first missions together. It was simple and easy enough.
Of course, there were a few obstacles, like Obito being late. And Kakashi yelling his head off at him. Or when Obito almost slipped down a roof during their search, earning a scolding from Kakashi. Or when a civilian almost stepped upon the tail of their target, earning a seething scowl on the Hatake’s face. Almost the entire time during the mission, Kakashi’s mouth was set in a deep frown. His eyes carried either anger or irritation or tired exasperation.
Until…
Until they finally found what they were looking for.
“Woof!” A ball of chestnut brown fur barked into the air.
Rin sat on the ground, watching as Kakashi lifted the pup into his arms, her glowing green palms on Obito’s arm, which had been bleeding from when his arm had been bit, (to which Kakashi had angrily barked at the Uchiha for “not holding the dog right!”).
“Woof!” The dog once again barked, leaning forward to lick the silver-haired nin’s cheeks, its light slobber leaving shining drops on his skin and on his mask.
The entire time during their mission, he had been frowning, but, now , for the first time in years , Rin, watching in bated breath, got to see his eyes crinkle. Got to see his eyelids widen. Widen enough for the sun’s light to fill their darkness. For his cheeks to stretch under his mask, and the corners of his lips to lift, even for just a second.
There it is.
Her pupils widened at the sight, trying to expand as much as possible for the brain to memorize it a second time.
By now, they’ve had dozens of missions together. Months of experience working side by side. The four of them.
But, right now, it was only the
Two of them.
Underneath the canopy of leaves, green-tinted sunlight left dappled spots along the path they walked on. It had been like this for a while. Any time Obito had to leave right after a training session or a mission to aid his grandmother, and Minato had to (wanted to, rather) leave right after as well to catch a date with Kushina, Rin and Kakashi would be the only ones left standing in the field.
And for reasons Rin could not fathom, he stayed behind with her. And walked with her.
At first, he would silently stroll beside her and then leave by the time they reached the village gates. Then, as their walks became more frequent, she would begin to tentatively break the silence, making observations in their environment, or making comments about their mission, or giving him compliments on his rapid progress and performance, or even telling him a few stories about her week, and he would hum in mild interest, quirk his eyebrows in thought, nod in agreement, and lean towards her shoulder to listen better.
As time went on, her words became more frequent. Her smiles, brighter. Her ranting, longer. And his humming would prolong. His nodding would occur more. His quirked eyebrows would move more, sometimes curving, sometimes shooting up, sometimes shooting down, depending on what she would tell him. His leaning would become closer.
And soon his listening became replying.
Then, not too long after, as their walks would happen again and again, his listening and replying turned to asking. Initiating. Asking about her healing techniques, asking about her opinions on the missions, asking about her evaluation on his performance, asking for tips on how to improve his lacking medic nin-jutsu, asking for more details in her stories, asking for more details about…
Her.
As they continued on in their walks, she began to throw jokes his way. And he’d snort quietly under his mask. She’d make a funny observation in their surroundings. And his lips would turn up, forming an outline under the fabric. She’d retell an amusing memory from her past. And his shoulders would shake for a second, his eyes crinkling.
The dark in them carried a light she could only stare at in awe.
There it is.
In the drumming rhythm of the rain against the rooftop, of the cacophony of flashing lightning against the windows, of the rumbling thunder against the walls, there was a small knock against her door.
Her cup of tea neatly landed on the coaster of the coffee table, her lavender blanket neatly fell from her shoulders to pool at the cushions of the couch, and her feet plodded against the floor to reach the entrance of the house.
A burst of wind slammed against her as the sight of silver shined in the wake of another flash of lightning. He stood, a tear on his uniform and a red gash painting the pale skin of his right shoulder.
She wordlessly stepped to the side, and his dripping footsteps plodded along the panels. The door closed behind them.
Rin stared at his back, at his slackened shoulders, and his drooping head as he trudged to the couch.
Tired. Hurt. Injured.
She knew he was sent on a dangerous mission, one with a few older ninjas- the group desperate for the young prodigy’s skills. In fact, he was sent on these missions quite a few times a month.
The first time he appeared at her doorstep at night like this, she had gawked at the sight of him, asking why he had not gone straight to the hospital for his injuries. He had shrugged at her, a “Not efficient enough.” rolling off his tongue as if that was the most logical answer. When he had come back again, and she had asked again, he replied that “The hospital smells dreadful.” She had understood, taking into consideration his skillful nose.
She would still ask sometimes. And he’d answer.
“There’d be too many people over there anyway.” “The doctors make me stay there too long.” “Their food sucks.” “They always fuss about me taking off my mask to ensure my identity.”
Yet here he was, throwing himself against the couch and yanking his mask down.
Yanking it down even though his injury was nowhere near his face.
Breathing in the air of her home.
She sped over to him and grabbed her kit from underneath the table.
They were quiet.
She had stopped asking. And he had stopped answering.
A while ago.
No words were needed.
They just…
Knew.
She sat by him, pulling his shirt down. The anti-septic kissed his skin, and he threw his head back, hissing in pain. Soon, however, his scrunched eyebrows relaxed as her own chakra took over, cooling the burning sensations that ran like fire ants down his veins. Drowning the pain away in waves. Her eyes scaled up and down along the teared edges rippling over his shoulders, watching as they began to connect with one another once more.
“They got you good.” She said, her hands glowing green above the disappearing red.
He snorted, his nose high up in the air. “ We got ‘em good.” The ends of his lips curved up as a sigh escaped through them.
There it was again.
They were now at the kitchen, having moved from the couch, with the warm, egg-yolk lightbulb casting a soft glow in the space above them. He sat upon one of the chairs, bandages wrapped around and upon his shoulder, his elbows propped upon the table, and his chin rested upon his folded hands, as he leaned forward. “I could make it with you.” He said, his voice quiet.
“No, you sit and rest.” She responded, her voice was just as quiet. Her footsteps sounded across the wood, walking about the space and gathering ingredients- making one of his favorites.
The scent filled the air, and he filled his bowl.
To the brim.
She watched him across the table, her own bowl forgotten, as his eyes closed, as the spoon met his upturned lips, as a humming emanated from his chest. As his head would roll back, as his eyebrows would scrunch, as whispers of “thank you” would repeat, as his eyes would remain closed. As his lips would remain upturned.
There it was again.
It was just the two of them again. Obito frantically waved, scampering away to a promised errand of his. Minato had grinned, waving as well as he strolled in another direction, hearts in his eyes.
Usually, they’d exit the field and stroll in the forest together.
But…
This time, both were too fatigued. Too tired to get up and walk.
No, they won’t this time.
Instead, they laid next to one another, the soft grass beneath them like pillows to their aching joints. The clouds rolled above them, their shapes soothing their overworked eyes. Minutes passed as the wind whispered peacefully in their ears.
Silence.
Comfortable silence.
Comfortable, peaceful silence.
Something they shared all too often.
But he was about to break it. “Rin…” he whispered, rousing himself up until his torso sat straight, shading her vision.
From her view, the sun’s outer edges framed the outlines of his face. Glowing around him like a golden ring. His silver hair shined like the moon, and the sight of him was an eclipse in her eyes. His lips curved upwards. His eyelids crinkled.
There it is.
Anything.
Anything. She thought.
Anything…
She would do anything to keep that expression on his face.
"When he's happy?" The girl smiled.
“That’s the easiest to read.”