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Why, out of all the shinobi in existence, did Obito have to get bumped up a grade in the academy just because he was the son of Hashirama and Madara? And to top it all off, why did he have to be seated right next to him?
"Jōki, Jōki, Jōki, Jōki, Jōki, Jōki..." Obito’s relentless voice drilled into his ears like an unyielding needle.
"What do you want?" Jōki snapped, barely making an effort to mask his burning irritation.
"Hi," Obito beamed, his smile stretching from ear to ear.
"Hi," Jōki muttered, trying to re-focus on the lesson. Even though Obito was three years younger, he possessed an absurd level of stamina that far outmatched Jōki's—a fact that Jōki absolutely loathed to admit.
"Did you know you're my favorite cousin?" Obito asked, his tone playfully sing-song.
"I’m your only cousin," Jōki replied, rolling his eyes hard enough to see his own brain.
"Exactly! Even if another one showed up, I'd still love you best," Obito added with pure, unfiltered childlike enthusiasm.
"Sure..." Jōki deadpanned, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Jōki-senpai, don't ignore me!" Obito pouted, making an exaggeratedly sweet face like a schoolgirl in love. Jōki let out a heavy snort of sheer annoyance.
The lecture droned on, but with Obito by his side, time seemed to grind to a screeching halt. Every minute stretched out into an eternity, and Jōki's patience was wearing down faster than the chalk on the blackboard.
"Did you know I trained with Papa yesterday? He told me I’ll master the Wood Style soon!" Obito chatted away, his grin never wavering.
"Fantastic," Jōki murmured, praying to whatever gods were listening that the teacher would notice the distraction and separate them.
"And he said that once I get it down, you and I can train together. Wouldn't that be awesome, Jōki-senpai?" Obito looked genuinely thrilled by the prospect, which only caused Jōki's internal irritation to spike.
"Yeah. Awesome," Jōki replied, staring rigidly at the front of the classroom, wishing he could use a jutsu to spontaneously combust and disappear.
The absolute worst part of it all was knowing he had to endure this for the rest of the period—and who knew how many more days to come.