In the dim basement, an old incandescent bulb cast a cold, yellowish glow. With a soft creak, the door opened, and the light fell precisely across the pale profile of the person who had just entered.
Noticing his arrival, Shimura Danzo, who had been waiting there all along, asked without even lifting his head, "How have things been lately?"
"Not bad."
Orochimaru spoke naturally as he walked over and sat down in the chair opposite him.
His golden pupils sized up Shimura Danzo, whose face was half-hidden in the shadows. After two seconds, Orochimaru asked directly:
"You don't look so good, though. Has something happened recently?"
"There is indeed a matter that hasn't been going smoothly."
Hearing Shimura Danzo mention that the source of his frustration was Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru looked slightly startled.
"It seems the impact of what happened a few years ago has faded quite a bit; he's still just as active in the village."
Shimura Danzo replied with a gloomy expression, "For one reason or another, people rarely mention that incident nowadays. I'm afraid even he has forgotten how much damage his own foolish decision caused to the Land of Fire and to Konoha back then."
"What are you going to do?" Orochimaru asked. "Suppress Hatake Sakumo the way you did back then?"
"Even if I wanted to, it wouldn't be so easy to pull off now," Shimura Danzo said coldly. "Sarutobi hasn't given up on him yet, and the other high-ranking officials won't cooperate with me the way they did back then."
"Since there's nothing you can do, let it go. Just like me, simply look for a satisfying disciple elsewhere." A smile hung on Orochimaru's face.
Catching that smile, Danzo seemed to recall something and spoke up, "That Tsugawa Yibito at the Academy is one of your people, right?"
Orochimaru reined in his smile and remained entirely composed. "We merely had some past acquaintance; he can hardly be considered my person."
The look Danzo gave him gradually carried a hint of profound meaning, as if he didn't believe those words.
"Regardless, I need your help with something."
"What is it?"
"Through Tsugawa Yibito's hands, bring me that boy's monthly status reports."
Orochimaru turned his head to look at Danzo, and after a few silent seconds, he readily agreed. "Very well."
Shimura Danzo's furrowed brow relaxed, his tense expression softened, and he nodded with satisfaction. "I will provide what you want as well, as soon as possible."
***
The next day, close to noon, the door to the house was banged on forcefully.
Nariya Ueshima opened the door, and before he could even see who it was, he was engulfed in an eager embrace by Obito, who lunged forward.
"Nariya, I'm back!"
It was obvious that the boy was overjoyed to have returned from a mission.
Nariya was just about to tease him and ask if he'd made any progress with Miss Rin on this trip, when Obito, who had just let go of him, suddenly raised his voice to a trembling pitch.
"Ah! What happened to your eye?!!"
"…It's nothing."
Startled by the volume, Nariya rubbed his ear, then lifted his eyepatch to reveal his normal left eye.
"I just thought it was a bit too conspicuous, so I covered it up."
Seeing this, the tension in Obito's eyes finally subsided.
"You scared me—you scared me to death! I thought something had happened to you while I was gone, Nariya…"
"Wish me some luck, will you?" Nariya turned around, pulled Obito in from the doorway, and shut the door behind them.
Acting as if he had entered his own home, Obito stretched lazily, sat down on the sofa, and launched into a familiar, enthusiastic recount of the interesting parts of this mission.
Ever since the two of them became friends, it was as if they finally had someone to confide in. Obito often talked to Nariya about these things, and whenever they had free time together, they always had an endless stream of things to say.
Nariya never minded his chatter either, listening intently every single time.
Obito loved the feeling of having someone care about what he had to say.
That was why he had come straight here.
Over by the counter pouring him a glass of water, Nariya noticed how excited Obito was and didn't interrupt.
When Obito had more or less finished talking, Nariya handed him the cup.
Just as a thirsty Obito expressed his thanks, unsuspectingly took the cup, and tilted his head back for a gulp, Nariya asked:
"So, you didn't make any progress with Miss Rin on this trip?"
"Pfft—"
"…"
Sitting directly across from him, Nariya took a mouthful of water straight to the face.
"Ah! Sorry, sorry!" Obito flusteredly scrambled to find some tissues to wipe him off.
"You always tease me about this stuff, Nariya! So you're partly to blame for this happening!"
Nariya grabbed a tissue to wipe his own face and said, "I never would've guessed you'd have such thin skin when it comes to this."
Obito's face turned an unbelievable shade of red, standing in stark contrast to Nariya's calm demeanor.
"You're not even that old, so why do you talk like such an old man? You act like you've been alive for decades."
"Call me big brother."
"You've gotta be kidding me! You're clearly younger than me! How could I possibly call you big brother?"
"…"
Hearing this, Nariya frowned. If he had known, he would have set his character's age and appearance a bit older than Obito's.
Seeing him frown, Obito thought he had said something wrong and hurriedly rubbed his hands together. "By the way, I brought back a gift, so don't be mad at me!"
Fumbling through his pockets in a flurry, he pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch.
Nariya, who had been holding out some expectations, stared blankly. "So perfunctory?"
"Wrong one, wrong one." Obito awkwardly shoved it back, fumbled around for a few seconds, and handed him a bamboo-green short flute roughly the same length as a kunai.
"?"
Nariya took the flute and examined it for a moment. The longer he looked, the more apprehensive the Obito sitting opposite him became.
"What is it? Doesn't it look good?"
"No." Nariya raised an eyebrow.
At that, Obito's expression froze.
Realizing he had misunderstood, Obito then heard the other person speak again:
"It's very pretty, but why suddenly give me this? Are you so sure I know how to play it?"
Obito sheepishly scratched the back of his head and grinned as he confessed, "I just wanted to give it to you, figured it fit your personality."
Besides, he hadn't bought it; a female musician on this mission had taught him how to make it.
Yet it was his first time learning, so he had been a bit clumsy. To make matters worse, Kakashi had been standing nearby mocking him every so often, making him so nervous that he had nearly ended up just arguing with Kakashi instead of sticking with it.
Before long, after listening to Obito's story, Nariya fell into a bizarre and stunned silence.
"…You have that kind of patience and method, and you use it on me?"
Not catching the meaning, Obito looked up. "Huh?"
Seeing those innocent, pure eyes behind the orange goggles, Nariya was instantly rendered speechless.
If he had given this to Nohara Rin, wouldn't this kid Obito be one step closer to romance?
"Thanks, I really like it." Feeling both exasperated and anxious for Obito-kun's romantic pursuits, Nariya solemnly put the flute away. "I'll learn how to play it and let you hear it sometime."
Hearing those words, Obito's heart blossomed with joy in an instant, and the smile on his face grew even brighter.
"It's a promise, then!"