The meal started off filled with a lively, everyday warmth. Fortunately, Kakashi quickly got to savor the delicious fish and had no time left to keep competing with Obito.
Five or six minutes later, he put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and swiftly pulled his mask back up, covering most of his face and revealing only a pair of eyes that looked lazy yet were dark, calm, and intelligent.
"I'm done. Thank you for the meal." The boy of around eleven spoke with a maturity unfitting for his age.
Seeing him put on such a solemn act, Obito said with dissatisfaction, "Hey, Kakashi, you—"
Before he could finish, the Kakashi in front of him suddenly went "poof" and vanished in a puff of white smoke.
At this sight, Obito stood dumbfounded for two seconds before clenching his chopsticks in a rage: "He actually ran off the second he finished eating!!!"
Eating and drinking at his place, coming and going as he pleased—it was really infuriating.
The least he could do was stay and wash the dishes, you idiot Kakashi!
"Alright, stop fuming. Eat your own food."
Seeing Obito muttering to himself, the rice in his bowl practically stabbed to pieces by his resentment, Nariya Ueshima shook his head with a chuckle, then stood up from his stool and walked into the kitchen.
Kids bickering meant they got along pretty well.
Besides, in the original story, the two of them at this period were naturally companions and rivals—though the rivalry was entirely one-sided on Obito's part, it definitely wouldn't damage their friendship.
"I already prepped the last piece of fish. Do you want me to cook it for you to take on your mission tomorrow?"
Obito, still sitting at the dining table, felt his face grow slightly warm. "No need. If I actually bring a packed meal, Kakashi that guy will definitely make fun of me for being a mother hen again."
"Then I'll put it in the fridge. You can cook it yourself when you get back from your mission."
Obito, whose mind was wandering elsewhere, nodded blankly, not really listening to what Nariya Ueshima had said at all.
Watching the other person busy moving back and forth between the kitchen and the living room, Obito asked with sudden curiosity, "Nariya, just when did you meet Kakashi anyway? How come I had no idea?"
"You definitely wouldn't know."
"?"
"Because I met him slightly earlier than I met you."
"?!"
What on earth? It turned out he was the newcomer here?
Obito widened his eyes in disbelief. It was really strange—the two people he was closest to actually knew each other, yet he hadn't had a single clue!
Clearly, having given his answer, Nariya Ueshima had no intention of elaborating further.
Curious to the point of maddening itchiness, Obito hurriedly shoveled down the last mouthful of rice, only to choke on it. His face instantly turned red, and he thumped his chest in frustration for ages without being able to swallow it down.
"What's the rush?"
Accompanied by a resigned sigh, a cup of water was handed to him just in time. Obito quickly took the cup, tilted his head back, and chugged it down, letting out a long breath afterward as he felt his whole body brought back to life.
"Nariya..." He panted thankfully, then grabbed Nariya Ueshima's slender arm. "Do—don't go back tonight."
Nariya Ueshima tilted his head in confusion. "Why?"
Not wanting to admit directly that he wanted to learn about his history with Kakashi, Obito scrambled for an excuse: "It's so dark outside, it's not safe to go back."
Nariya Ueshima was taken aback. What was this déjà vu?
Still, Obito was probably just worried that someone like him, whose only skill was cooking, would wander around outside and get into trouble.
Obito insisted, "Sleep at my place. We can catch up."
Nariya Ueshima raised an eyebrow. "Catch up on what? Teenage romantic heartaches?"
Hearing this teasing remark, steam practically shot out of the top of Obito's head, and his face flushed a brilliant red.
"You—you're just a kid, how do you know so much?! Did you hang out with that brooding pervert Kakashi behind my scenes for too long and learn bad habits from him?! Damn it, I'm going to settle scores with him tomorrow!"
"That's not it at all. From the time I met Kakashi until now, we've only seen each other three times in total."
"Huh? Only three times?"
Obito's excited expression froze. In that case, didn't that mean he was the one who spent the most time with Nariya?
Almost in the blink of an eye, his slouched back straightened right up, and a nameless, faint joy bubbled up in Obito's heart.
It felt just like something you thought was about to be snatched away had effortlessly found its way back to you.
"What are you smirking at?"
Nariya Ueshima once again failed to keep up with Obito's emotional shifts. One moment he was filled with righteous indignation, and the next he was happy again—did kids' emotions really come and go this fast?
Little did he know, in Obito's eyes, Nariya was the "child" who needed looking after.
Since he was the older one by a year, Obito felt he had to act like an older brother. Gathering his cheerful smile, he pressed both hands against Nariya Ueshima's back and said, "Alright, it's settled. You're sleeping at my place tonight. Nariya, you go rest, I'll take care of the rest!"
He meant cleaning up the mess on the dining table.
"Really?"
"Why are you looking at me with that suspicious face? I've lived alone for so many years, you know; I can definitely handle a little thing like this."
"..."
Not expecting Obito to be able to say he had lived alone for years with such casual lightness, Nariya Ueshima fell silent.
After all, his own orphan status was fabricated, but Obito's was real.
For a moment, he sighed with complicated emotions, turned around, and patted Obito's shoulder with a very serious look.
"I'll leave it to you then. Just try not to break the bowls."
Obito jumped up in protest. "Don't look down on me!"
A short while later, as he sat quietly in Obito's room, he unsurprisingly heard a clattering commotion from the kitchen, followed by the crisp sound of a shattering bowl.
"..."
Picturing Obito right now carefully clutching his head with an "I'm doomed" expression, too terrified of being heard by the person inside to dare come out and ask about the situation, Nariya Ueshima found it rather amusing.
Still, he decided to spare Obito's pride and didn't go out to mock him and make things awkward, choosing instead to sit innocently at the desk as if he knew nothing.
On it sat a newly placed photograph of Minato's team—four people, two of whom bore expressionless faces, yet the overall atmosphere of the photo was remarkably harmonious.
Obito was barely over eleven now; there was probably less than two years left before he would go missing in the battle at Kannabi Bridge.
It was hard to imagine how someone so sunny and kind—someone who would repeatedly help old grandmothers cross the street and end up late as a result—would later turn into such a cold, merciless, and ruthless existence.
"Nariya, what are you looking at?"
At that moment, Obito walked in, wiping his hands.
Nariya Ueshima calmly replied, "I'm looking at someone's unrequited crush."
"!"
Panicking, Obito scampered over and scooped the photo frame into his arms, his face turning thoroughly red once again. "You—you guys always make fun of me over this kind of stuff!?"
"I'm not making fun of you, I'm envious."
"..."
Obito suddenly froze. He stared into the other boy's grey-blue heterochromatic eyes, noticing that they seemed filled with a lingering sadness under the lamplight.
He figured Nariya must be like him, perhaps without even a single group photo with anyone in this place, which was why he was envious of him.
After pausing for two seconds, he silently forced down the heat on his face, walked over to set the photo frame back down, and spoke up: "No need to be envious! When I get back from my mission tomorrow, let's go to a photo studio and take one together to put right here."
Obito raised a hand to ruffle Nariya Ueshima's hair, flashing a sunny, standard bright-white-toothed grin.