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His plan was foolproof!
Obito had threatened all the boys in his class to make it happen, and he was just a hair’s breadth away from bringing his stroke of genius to fruition!
As groups began to form around him, he approached Rin, more confident than ever, and gave her his best smile:
“Hey, fancy doing it together? All the lads have already found someone…”
But, contrary to what he’d expected, his friend gave him an apologetic smile.
“Sorry, I’m going with the girls.”
She gestured towards them, before turning away and resuming their conversation, leaving him speechless.
That wasn’t part of the plan!
As he slowly came to terms with the failure of his ‘foolproof plan’, he spun round, gradually realising that everyone had already paired up. Except that there was an even number of pupils in the class, so he absolutely had to find out who was on their own – just like him.
Finding out it was Kakashi wasn’t even a surprise.
It wasn’t so much that the other baby – he was seven, whereas he was eleven. He was practically an adult! – didn’t have any friends (out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Gai busy with Asuma), but simply that… everyone thought he was a bit odd.
No one had ever heard him laugh (to see him smile, they’d first have had to see the lower half of his face) or had any of those passionate conversations that they’d all had before. As well as overwhelming them all with his intellectual superiority and his bloody genius marks, he also seemed as cold and sad as a gravestone.
However, he had no choice; the exercise required two or more people, and as his Plan A had failed despite his best efforts…
“Hatake!” he exclaimed grandly. “I grant you permission to take part in the kimodameshi with my illustrious self!”
Well, it sounded like something Gai would have proclaimed (in fact, Gai was watching him with stars in his eyes – bad idea), but it had seemed important to him, so he could look cool in front of the others, and not let them think it was just a fallback option.
Image was important; that’s what Grandma always used to say!
However, instead, the brat didn’t even look up from his book to glance at him when he replied, even though they were the centre of attention amongst their classmates:
“No way.”
“Wh– what?” he stammered.
“I’m not taking part. It’s a baby’s game; I’d rather finish my book. Have fun.”
Humiliated by this second snub, but above all by that reply, Obito felt a rage welling up inside him that he hadn’t known he possessed. Fortunately, their teacher stepped in at that moment, calming things down and practically ordering Kakashi to take part. He had no choice; it was part of the evening’s programme. The only ones who could get out of it were those with a specific medical condition.
Willingly or not, the pupil stood up, handed his book to the adult and went to stand next to the only one of his classmates still available, giving him a blank stare.
“I hate you,” he declared in a gloomy tone.
“The feeling’s mutual,” hissed the person in question.
Once they were both satisfied that there was no love lost between them, they resolutely turned their backs on one another, arms crossed and cheeks puffed out in indignation.
Already exasperated by their behaviour, Minato clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the whole small class, and repeated the established rules and explanations. He still found it just as daft as the first time Headmaster Sarutobi had explained it to him, but what say did he have in refusing? The parents had signed the consent forms; all he could do was cross his fingers that the children would return in one piece and with dry trousers. And start charging the torches for when he’d have to track down those who would obviously have got lost in the bushes.
At least they weren’t being driven mad by their hormones yet; that would make the search a bit less awkward…
Before long, the first groups set off, cheered on by the increasingly small crowd.
Walking with Kakashi wasn’t much fun.
With Rin, they’d surely have chatted, told jokes… He’d even considered confessing his feelings! And, if it came to that, he’d have played the knight in shining armour, protecting and comforting her when she got too scared!
But here he was, trudging along in an awkward silence, barely illuminated by the dim light of the torch they’d been given.
The usual sounds of the forest were already starting to get on his nerves, whilst he stood on his guard, ready to laugh off the first challenge.
He wasn’t a baby anymore! He was sure the tests the teachers had planned weren’t that terrifying and that it would all be utterly ridiculous and lame.
Kakashi, on the other hand, was a baby, so he’d surely scream in fear and want to run away.
If he acted like a knight in shining armour for him—and not just for Rin’s sake—and helped him get through the kimodameshi unscathed, Rin would think he was really cool, wouldn’t she?
Bolstered by this new resolve, he clenched his fists and puffed out his chest, ready to give it a go.
Then, a huge spider had the misfortune to choose that very moment to descend along its thread, suddenly revealing itself in the faint beam of light.
“Did you hear that, Asuma?”
Kurenai turned to her teammate, looking worried.
“Yes, it must have been an animal,” he said, trying to reassure her.
“An animal?” she repeated, clutching the torch as if it were a weapon.
“Yes, a sort of owl. Do you know the call of a barn owl?”
His attempt was well received, and he gradually managed to calm his girlfriend by talking to her about his favourite animal.
Obito’s soul was leaving his body, under the jaded gaze of Kakashi, who was wondering – not for the first time – what he’d done to deserve this.
“It’s just a spider,” he pointed out.
But it was too late; his comrade was gradually slipping away from this world. Farewell, cruel world and hairy spider.
Sighing at this idiot’s theatrics, he bent down to snatch the torch from his hands, switched it off and slipped it into his pocket. Having done so, he struggled but finally managed to hoist him onto his back, lifting him with difficulty.
The sensible thing would be to turn back; Professor Minato should still be at the starting point, and they were still only in the first part of the course. They hadn’t even come across the first challenge yet; a measly spider had been enough to knock this empty-headed fool to the ground!
Quickly recalling the plan the adult had laid out for them to ensure they didn’t stray from the path, Kakashi finally changed his mind.
Admittedly, the starting point was definitely closer than the finish, but they were even closer to the first test, and there were bound to be other adults there, weren’t there? Besides, as far as he could remember, there were bound to be others patrolling the area to prevent accidents of all kinds.
The spider was just… an unexpected complication.
Among the thousand gifts Kakashi possessed, he was night-blind. Or nearly so.
In any case, it was far easier for him to make his way by switching off the torch than by relying on its pitiful beam.
On top of that, they avoided attracting nocturnal wildlife, and mainly those bloody mosquitoes that seemed to enjoy feasting on his blood, leaving nothing but nasty spots on his delicate skin, despite every insect repellent under the sun.
His father had tried everything; at this point, all that remained was a sacrifice to the gods. Or an exorcism.
Or both.
On his back, his burden grumbled and stirred listlessly, a sign that it was about to wake, but he preferred not to stop. If it turned out to be a false alarm, he’d find it hard to set off again.
Although not particularly muscular, he’d imitated his father during his training sessions, which had amused him. Nevertheless, he was still a seven-year-old boy, with all the physical limitations that entailed. Lifting his friend had already been a bit beyond his limits, but moving forward whilst carrying him was even worse. If he had to take a break, it would be when his comrade was able to walk again.
The idea of abandoning the idiot to his sad fate (just long enough to go and tell a teacher, of course) crossed his mind several times, particularly when his muscles were aching, but he refused to do so.
After all, Dad always said that only nasty people left others behind! And Kakashi wasn’t a nasty person. Dad had sworn it!
So he’d carry on, until he couldn’t take it any more. Dad would be proud of him, wouldn’t he?
A grumble snapped him out of his daydreams.
“Back with us?” he grumbled.
Thankfully, yes – his companion had woken up and could be helped back onto his feet, much to the relief of his carrier, who spared a thought for tomorrow. He was going to hate his wake up. Definitely.
Naturally, Obito quickly mumbled his thanks before lashing out at him over his decision to press on rather than retrace their steps, or his refusal to light the torch.
They were so absorbed in their argument that the activity leader watched them for a long moment before interrupting them with a clear of the throat.
Whilst he did indeed get the attention he needed, he was mainly met with two angry stares fixed on him. Mind you, they were the angry stares of two kids, so he wasn’t about to run off through the forest either, but he still felt a shiver run down his spine, which he put down to the light breeze that had just picked up.
“Boo,” he tried, despite everything.
Unfortunately, he was dealing with a difficult audience, more preoccupied with slanging off at each other than with taking any interest in his rather rubbish costume.
Definitely not being paid enough – and certainly not enough to force two brats to pay attention to him – he simply clapped his hands, cutting them off.
“Carry on before I change my mind,” he sighed. “And just a quick reminder: you’re here to be scared, not to argue.”
Deciding to take their time disappearing from the adult’s field of vision – though not from his hearing, unfortunately – they nodded obediently and continued on their way.
“Why have you stopped?” snapped Obito.
Sulking, he trudged along, dragging his feet.
His mate had refused to give him back the torch, let alone light it, claiming they could see perfectly well as they were.
To be honest, he wasn’t wrong—the moon provided enough light for them to walk without any trouble—but he had no intention of admitting that out loud, oh no!
So, instead, he sulked, hands in his pockets and puffing out his cheeks.
Until he realised that Kakashi was no longer beside him.
“I’m tired,” Kakashi admitted. “I just need a little break.”
Normally, he’d have teased him, called him a baby, and that’s exactly what he’d intended to do! But then he remembered that the ‘baby’ had carried him on his back after his rather inglorious fainting spell.
They might as well have a bit of a rest, couldn’t they? At worst, the group behind them would catch up and they could join them.
“Okay, but not for too long,” he added, for appearances’ sake.
Sitting down beside him, he looked up at the sky, marvelling at all those stars he wasn’t used to seeing from back home.
It shouldn’t be too bad, should it, to take a breather for a few minutes? As long as there were no spiders, they were safe anyway…
Minato was currently reflecting on all his life choices.
Why had he felt it necessary to become a teacher? His original passion – apart from his fiancée – lay in scientific experiments, the dark corners of this world that were still waiting to be discovered!
But no, here he was, exploring a different sort of dark corner, whilst hoping both that his torch wouldn’t give out, like in horror films, and that he’d find the only two missing students.
It could have been anyone, but no, it had to be the ones who’d been arguing from the very moment they arrived right up until they left.
Horrible images had been haunting him ever since he’d realised this, and so it was with resignation, hunched under the imaginary burden of his task, that he scoured the woods in search of the two missing pupils.
He really hoped they’d simply got lost and that it would all end like in fairy tales. Well, the ones suitable for all ages, at least.
So far, he’d found nothing, which was as much a good thing as it was a bad one. It was nothing, really.
His colleague had taken the other end of the route, which reassured him somewhat.
After all, if something terrible had happened, he’d have a one-in-two chance of stumbling across it, given the layout, wouldn’t he?
Wouldn’t he?
His knuckles were turning white from the pressure he was applying to the poor plastic of the torch, whilst an owl soared across the night sky.
Minato had only one desire right now. Well, obviously, to find the two little rascals. But, above all, above all, to get back to his cosy little flat and hold his fiancée tighter than he’d ever held her before.
But, yeah, he had to return all the kids to their respective guardians first, before he could do that.
When the faint beam of light illuminated a pale patch, his heart nearly leapt out of his chest as his mind conjured up a scenario as implausible as it was terrifying. He quickly reassured himself upon realising that this wasn’t some sort of threat – well, actually, Kakashi was a threat – but the very targets of their recent panic.
After giving them a cursory glance by the light of his torch, he quickly grabbed his mobile to alert his colleague on the other side of the trail, then those waiting for their return, to inform them of the good news.
And now, he had to wake them up…
Perhaps he should seriously reconsider his career choices.
When Obito opened his eyes, he wasn’t looking up at the night sky but at the ceiling of the dormitory where the boys from his class were staying during their school trip.
Disappointed, he pouted slightly.
It had been so beautiful yesterday! All those stars, previously unknown to him, revealing themselves to his untrained eyes, as he realised that the night sky wasn’t actually that black after all. Dotted with those white pinheads, it reminded him more of the stole on his mother’s evening gown—a large piece of black velvet adorned with diamonds. Grandmother had often shown it to him, very proud of her daughter’s elegance and even more so of the love her husband had shown her at the time, giving her this accessory as a promise of more outings like the one where they’d met.
Naively, he had raised his arm, as if he were capable of reaching for one of the stars, or one of those precious stones, but, in either case, it was impossible for him.
A soft chuckle beside him had suddenly reminded him that he wasn’t alone and that, once again, he’d made a fool of himself in front of Kakashi.
Well, give or take a bit…
Sighing in anticipation, he turned towards him, ready to reply as he had done since the very first day.
But he stopped short as his eyes fell on the little boy’s completely uncovered face, as the boy smiled at him without a trace of malice.
“Mum always said that, if you wish hard enough, Mother Wolf will come and take you away with her and look after you like one of her cubs,” he said. “Have you tried to get her attention?”
However, Obito didn’t understand what he was talking about. Normally, he would have given up, looking for answers on his own or asking an adult, but not this time. Perhaps it was down to the magic of the night, or something like that.
“Mother Wolf?”
At once, the younger boy seemed to shine as brightly as the night itself, his eyes filled with the stars of the sky, as he clenched his fists with excitement.
Obito had just enough time to take a deep breath to prepare himself for the impassioned discourse on all his clan’s – somewhat outdated – beliefs, which allowed him to learn more about the stars and the stories told about them. But also about Kakashi.
He learnt a lot about him, despite themselves.
It was quite nice; we should do it again!
… Though without the spiders this time…