When Uchiha Obito finally managed to catch three fish using Kamui, night had already fallen.
The river gurgled softly, dotted with fireflies that mirrored the faint stars in the sky.
Putting down the bucket of fish and glancing at Uchiha Obito, who was still standing in the water, Nariya Ueshima thoughtfully extended his right hand.
"Come on, I'll pull you up."
Uchiha Obito froze for a second, looked down at his soaking wet clothes, and tried to laugh it off with a hearty grin. "No need! I'm a Chunin now, you know, I can at least manage this much!"
With that, he let out a low grunt and leaped out of the water, trying to look cool.
The resulting splash drenched Nariya Ueshima right in the face.
"..." This was precisely why he had offered to pull him up!
"Sorry, sorry."
Realizing his mistake, Uchiha Obito rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and offered a sincere apology.
Instead of acknowledging the apology, the person who had just been splashed picked up the fish bucket unbothered and strolled leisurely toward home.
Wringing the water out of his clothes, Uchiha Obito hurried after him in two or three strides and eagerly suggested, "Nariya, come to my place tonight!"
"What for?" Nariya Ueshima glanced back at him.
Catching Uchiha Obito's dark eyes staring expectantly at the fish bucket, he understood immediately.
"Fine. Seeing as your confession failed, I suppose I can cook something nice to cheer you up."
Uchiha Obito: "..."
"It didn't fail!"
He flushed and protested loudly, because he hadn't even managed to say it in the first place!
It was all Kakashi's fault—Rin's attention had been entirely on him the whole time! It was so infuriating just thinking about it!
"Right, right, it didn't fail. Keep trying next time."
His shoulder was given a few light pats, and the speaker's tone was calm, accommodating, and laced with a hint of gentleness—quite unlike his aloof and unapproachable appearance.
Nor was he anything like that stuck-up, sharp-tongued Kakashi.
Unable to help himself, Uchiha Obito stared intently at Nariya Ueshima's profile. A few seconds later, he abruptly closed his eyes, grabbed his hair, and averted his gaze.
It was too embarrassing! Even as a member of the Uchiha Clan who took pride in his Sharingan, he kept accidentally mistaking his good friend for a pretty girl!
...Still, you couldn't really blame him; the other's appearance was genuinely misleading.
Not only did Nariya Ueshima have a striking face, but even his eye color was uniquely striking. Those pale blue-gray heterochromatic eyes left a deep impression on anyone who saw them.
He didn't even bother to trim his white hair, which reached his shoulders, and he always liked to wear a cherry-pink cloak.
...Honestly, anyone seeing that appearance for the first time would definitely think he was a girl!
Of course, that was only because he himself had been thick-headed half a year ago, when he not only misunderstood the guy but almost threw punches.
A few seconds later, feeling a twinge of guilt as past memories resurfaced, Uchiha Obito turned his head back, pretended to adjust his goggles, and asked with feigned curiosity:
"By the way... exactly who designed this cloak for you, Nariya?"
"It's not a cloak."
"Huh? It's long enough to drag on your heels, if it's not a cloak, what is it?"
"It's my haori."
"A haori?"
"Yes. This is already the fourth time I've explained this to you. If you don't remember it this time, I'm going to start handing out cloaks."
Uchiha Obito: "..."
Even though he didn't understand that last remark, judging by Nariya Ueshima's expression, if he played dumb and asked what "handing out cloaks" meant, he definitely wouldn't get any delicious fish for dinner!
Twenty minutes later, Uchiha Obito brought his good friend back to his house.
Since neither of them had any adults at home, the house felt exceptionally empty.
However, with each other's company, Uchiha Obito—who frequently dropped by Nariya Ueshima's place—felt a touch of warmth in the chilly night.
The only drawback was that the Uchiha Clan forbade outsiders from entering the estate without permission, so the number of times Nariya Ueshima had sneaked into his house could be counted on one hand.
Fortunately, this didn't stop Nariya Ueshima from making himself entirely at home as he headed straight for the kitchen to busy himself.
Haha.
Laughing happily, Uchiha Obito couldn't help sneezing, then scurried off to his room to change out of his wet clothes.
By the time he came out, he suddenly realized there was an uninvited guest in the house.
"?!"
Seeing Uchiha Obito pointing at him, seemingly so shocked that his tongue was tied and he couldn't speak, Kakashi calmly stated:
"Minato-sensei had me let you know we have a mission outside the village tomorrow."
"I already knew that! Besides, don't just treat the Uchiha Estate like your own home and come and go as you please, you jerk!"
Ignoring the complaint, Kakashi fired back, "Knowing and not being late are two different things. That's why I came specifically to remind you—and to ask when you'll finally cure your bad habit of being late."
"It's none of your business, now get lost! If the Military Police Force finds you here, I won't be able to explain."
As Uchiha Obito tried to herd him out, Kakashi cast a sideways glance toward the kitchen and exposed him: "Besides me, don't you have someone else here who isn't an Uchiha?"
"Hey!"
Nimbly dodging Uchiha Obito, Kakashi leaned forward and locked eyes with the person carrying out a plate of food.
"Oh, it's Kakashi."
"Tonight's main course is fish. If you haven't eaten yet, care to sit down and join us?"
"Sure." Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi glanced at Uchiha Obito, whose expression had frozen into stone, and readily accepted the offer.
Then he naturally took a seat at the dining table.
At this, Uchiha Obito's eyes—already wide from removing his goggles—bulged even further as he frantically searched his memory for when exactly his most hated Kakashi had become acquainted with his best friend, only to find absolutely no memory of it!
Ahhh!!! Uchiha Obito was nearly tearing his hair out. Did he not spend enough time with Nariya Ueshima?! How else could he have missed such a major event!
By the time Nariya Ueshima finally finished and served the steaming-hot dinner dishes to the table, Uchiha Obito was still locked in his daily bickering with Kakashi.
"Since you're here freeloading a meal, you can wash the dishes before you leave."
"I'm a guest, you're the host. There's no reason for a guest to wash dishes."
"???"
"Nor is there any reason for a guest to cook a whole meal for you while you don't lift a finger to help." Kakashi pressed on.
Feeling a twinge of guilt as he glanced at Nariya Ueshima, Uchiha Obito argued loudly, "That's because Nariya's fish tastes better! I just—"
Kakashi cut him off smoothly: "So Nariya cooks, and you wash the dishes. That's a fair rule."
Uchiha Obito: "???"
Clearly losing this battle of words against his rival, Uchiha Obito's fighting spirit visibly wilted.
Noticing this, Nariya Ueshima wiped the water off his hands and, as he walked past, gave the head of the Uchiha household's sole straight male a casual rub.
"You two have so much energy, you must not be very hungry."
"Gurgle..."
Almost the moment the words left his mouth, Uchiha Obito's stomach let out a cooperative growl.
His face burned bright red instantly.
Fortunately, Nariya Ueshima pretended not to hear and calmly handed over the chopsticks. "Eat up. Eat early so you can rest early—don't the two of you have a mission tomorrow?"
Kakashi gently pulled down his face mask, revealing a handsome face that would make any girl swoon. "Then I won't hold back."
"..."
Casting an angry and disdainful glare at his rival, Uchiha Obito angrily gripped his chopsticks and aggressively stabbed at a piece of aromatic fish on the plate.
The next second, his chopsticks collided with Kakashi's with a sharp click; both of them had set their sights on the exact same piece.
The atmosphere instantly froze and grew tense.
Seeing this, Nariya Ueshima let out a soft sigh. Then, right as those two pairs of chopsticks crossed back and forth in an unyielding contest, he calmly reached out and picked up the piece of fish for himself.
Mmm, delicious.