"Why bring up that guy Kakashi at a time like this?"
"And did he really say such terrible things about me right in front of you?"
"I wouldn't call it terrible, more like the truth." The other's voice held a smile.
Obito, currently crying: "......"
He gave a mechanical sniffle, but his grip didn't loosen at all, hugging the person tightly.
It was only through this hug that he noticed the other's build was unusually thin and small.
"Eat more, you guy. Hurry up and grow up with me."
Nariya Ueshima was torn between laughter and tears: "We're only around ten years old. How tall do you expect me to grow?"
At a loss for words, Obito paused for a few seconds before declaring, "Anyway, once we're grown up, we can do a lot of things."
Like working hard to become Lord Hokage.
Hearing this and thinking of the original story, Nariya Ueshima felt a wave of emotion. "Yeah, you really are going to have a lot on your plate in the future."
He kept his voice deliberately low, so Obito didn't catch every word.
In high spirits, Obito let go of him, gave his shoulder a hearty slap, and flashed a grin as he envisioned the future. "When I grow up and become Hokage, Nariya, would you be interested in being my assistant?"
Hearing the other's grand ambition of becoming Hokage, Nariya Ueshima blinked in surprise, then smiled as requested. "Well, the future Lord Hokage will have to offer me a pretty high salary, otherwise I'm not doing it."
Obito: "......"
After a moment of thought, he gritted his teeth. "Don't worry, I definitely will! If you're not satisfied, you can even manage my money for me."
Nariya Ueshima, who had only been joking: "?"
"That won't be necessary," he said. "Even close brothers settle their accounts clearly. You should save up your own money to get a wife."
"Whoa!!!" Hearing a kid talk so naturally about getting a wife in the future made thin-skinned Obito's face turn instantly red.
"G-Get a wife!? Marry... who?"
"What do you think?" Nariya Ueshima gave Obito-kun a heavily suggestive wink.
"You'd better step up your game when it comes to Miss Rin."
Seeing a flash of mischief on that usually calm and composed face, Obito froze in sudden realization.
When he came to his senses, his heart skipped a beat, and he scratched his head in utter confusion.
Was he just too happy about other things? He hadn't even thought of Rin once in that future scenario just now.
"All right, go wash your face. We're heading to the photo studio in a bit."
The voice right next to his ear interrupted his thoughts.
Obito reined in his thoughts, muttered an acknowledgement, and stopped dwelling on it.
-
Around two or three in the afternoon, the sunlight was just right.
There were very few people at the photo studio, and their turn came up quickly.
Only, Nariya Ueshima needed to take a solo photo first, so Obito obediently waited to the side, knowing this was for the enrollment records.
Before long, Nariya Ueshima finished up and beckoned to him. "Come on."
At that, Obito immediately brightened and hurried over.
The two of them sat side by side. Obito looked left and right, feeling that simply resting his hands at his sides looked too stiff, so he threw his right arm around the other's neck, pulling him in like a couple of close buddies.
Then he broke into a brilliant smile. "Mister, take the picture like this!"
Nariya Ueshima nodded along.
The photo studio owner didn't waste words with them. Seeing that the pose was set, he adjusted the camera and prepared to press the shutter.
Right at that moment, a deafening shout exploded outside the photo studio, impossible to ignore.
"Kakashi!"
Along with that voice, a black shadow flew into the shop at high speed.
The next second, the crisp click of the shutter went off. The side profile of the person who had burst into the frame was frozen in the picture, perfectly blocking everything from the neck down, leaving only two somewhat bewildered faces visible behind him.
"......"
"......"
Realizing what he had accidentally done, Kakashi, who had barged in, stopped in his tracks and spoke first. "Sorry."
An angry Obito bounded to his feet, pointing a finger at Kakashi as if he wanted to jam it right up his nostril. "What are you doing here?!"
"Kakashi! Hahahahaha, found you! It's useless to hide in a place like this! Let's settle this!"
Might Guy, who had chased him inside, put his hands on his hips and shouted out his challenge, completely oblivious to everyone else in the room.
Seeing this, Obito's expression turned even uglier, his temples throbbing with rage. "Honestly, why are all my peers such freaks!"
Just as he finished complaining, taking advantage of the moment Kakashi was entangled with Might Guy, he saw out of the corner of his eye that the studio owner had put away the camera and seemed ready to go develop the photos.
Obito hurriedly shouted to stop him. "Mister, don't leave! That last one doesn't count, we need to retake it!"
"It's fine, just use that one." Nariya Ueshima pulled him back. "Kakashi got into the shot too, it's pretty good."
What?
Obito's jaw dropped, and his already sour mood instantly turned even foure.
They had agreed it was supposed to be a duo photo of him and Nariya, so how did Kakashi end up crashing it?
"Is that so? Then mister, please print a copy of that last photo for me as well."
The finishing blow from Kakashi on his left made Obito cough up a metaphorical mouthful of blood.
He whipped his head around and pointed accusingly at Kakashi. "How do you even have the nerve to ask for a photo?"
"I didn't do anything heinous, why shouldn't I have the nerve?"
Hearing Kakashi's retort, Obito took a deep breath, unable to take it anymore. He rushed over to the photo studio owner, grabbed his sleeve, and said, "Mister, in the copy I want, edit this guy out!"
He clenched a fist, stuck out his thumb, and pointed backward with utter disdain toward Kakashi a few steps away.
Kakashi returned the exact same gesture and said calmly, "Cut him out of my photo too."
The troubled photo studio owner: "......"
In the end, the owner stated clearly that his technical skills couldn't do that, and the most he could do was print the photos and let them cut out the eyesores themselves with a pair of scissors.
Though if they did that, the photos would end up looking terrible.
"I knew it, we should just retake it," Obito said through gritted teeth, not forgetting to glare at Kakashi.
"Hahahahaha, Kakashi, as expected of my rival, even crashing someone else's photo is something you pull off with such flair!" Might Guy praised.
Yet not a single person present was happy to hear that praise.
Kakashi even clutched his head in a headache. "Guy, if you hadn't suddenly chased after me, I wouldn't have made this kind of mistake."
"Were you scared of me, Kakashi?" Might Guy rubbed his palms together, looking somewhat excited. "Could it be that you have a weakness when it comes to courage? Then let's have a contest right now to see who's bolder, what do you say?"
"No, now's not a good time for a contest." Kakashi motioned with his eyes for Might Guy to look at Obito, who had been glaring at them with his fur standing on end.
Might Guy, being a simple-minded fellow, wasn't scared of Obito's death glare at all. Instead, he finally noticed the white-haired young boy opposite him, whose hair color was remarkably similar to Kakashi's, right down to his detached expression.
"Your brother?"
"I wish," Kakashi replied.