Author's Note: It's Obito's birthday today, so I thought I'd write a birthday fic. :) My apologies to all those who were expecting chapter 3 of Living Arrangements to be up already but I'm in a bit of a writer's block with that. Please enjoy this one instead.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Obito walked down the streets of Konoha, bundled up in a jacket and scarf. It was a cold day, though there was no snow and the winds attacked his hair and face but nothing could break the good mood he was in.
The date was February 10th, his birthday, and it had gotten off to a great start. First thing in the morning, his parents had let him sleep in, given him third and even fourth helpings of his favourite breakfast dish and presented him with all sorts of presents ranging from light weight alloy kunai to a free month's pass to Ichiraku. Now it seemed like nothing, nothing at all could ruin his already perfect day. Nothing that is, except the face of one Hatake Kakashi. Despite it being freezing outside and his birthday, he was still obligated to go to the training grounds at two in the afternoon, something he was not entirely looking forward too although it meant seeing Rin.
Arriving at the training grounds, he noted that he was early, a rare or even impossible occurrence. Moments later however, his sensei appeared, the rest of his team in tow. The other three members stared at Obito in amazement as Obito greeted them with a wide grin. Obito had arrived before them? What was this? Some kind of sick joke? A genjutsu? Each shaking their heads, Obito's teammates soon decided that the image before them was real.
They started off training, sensei going with Kakashi to teach him something new and spar, while Rin went off with Obito into a separate part of the training grounds. He had semi-expected, semi-hoped that Rin would wish him a happy birthday but it hadn't been the case. In fact, she had said no more than words of greeting to him on this particular day. No matter though, today was still going to be a good day. Rin and Obito sparred for about an hour until Obito suggested a break, to which Rin was more than happy to agree to. The pair took a spot against a near-by tree, both panting heavily from their vigorous training.
"Happy birthday by the way," Rin panted as she sat herself down.
"Thanks," Obito gasped back. He turned to look at her, complimenting, "You're really getting a heck of a lot better at taijutsu. Keep working hard, and you'll be able to beat even Kakashi!"
She laughed at the boy's words, "I don't think I'll ever be able to beat Kakashi but that's not really a goal of mine or anything so it's not a big deal."
"What I don't understand is, if Kakashi's so high and mighty already, why does sensei need to spend his time training him when you and I could probably make more use of that time?" Obito wondered out loud.
"Well, I mean, even geniuses have to train, right? But yeah, I guess that's a good point. I mean, if you really think about it, Kakashi's not really all that smart," at this point Obito gave her a questioning look, "Ok, look. He's better than us at any ninjustu or taijutsu or genjutsu even but sometimes it seems like he doesn't think. He's given orders to do something and he follows them to a T, never thinking about having to adapt to a situation or anything like that. It almost seems like he's mindless when it comes to following instructions and orders. I know he's not like that with everything, but when it comes to being a shinobi, it's like all he understands about it are the rules, you know what I mean?"
Had Rin just semi-insulted Kakashi? Oh, now Obito was sure that this day couldn't get any better but decided to be thoughtful about his reply. "Yeah, I know what you mean, I feel like that too about him sometimes. Even I have to admit though, he's an amazing person."
Rin's eyes widened a little at Obito's statement and her cheeks took on a bit of a pinkish hue. "Yeah," she agreed, "he is a pretty amazing person." When she saw his face falter however, she added, "So are you and I though. We're pretty amazing people too." Rin offered him a smile.
Obito flushed at the compliment in her words. "Nah, I'm not amazing. I'm a loser. Elite Uchiha? Who am I kidding? There's nothing elite about me," he confessed his insecurities. Talking to Rin and sharing with her his concerns or problems had always been something he'd found easy to do.
"You're not a loser, Obito," she assured him, "There's many things that you're better at than Kakashi. For example, socializing: you just have that nice person aura about you that makes people like you and makes them feel safe. Look, I can guarantee that a lot of people would feel more safe with you, regardless of how many thousands of jutsus Kakashi would know. You also have a nicer smile than him."
He gave her a grin, happy to hear what was coming out of her mouth. Rin always knew how to make him feel less of a loser, less of a disappointment. Comforting wasn't a trait that many people in Konoha possessed these days.
"Want to spar a little more?" he asked.
"Sure," he helped her up.
Just as they were about to start again, Minato popped in and told them that he was going to treat them all to lunch as a birthday gift for Obito. The four of them walked to Ichiraku's and sat themselves down, each ordering a different dish. Their meal was promptly placed in front of them and after finishing eating the giving of gifts began. Minato, on top of paying for the ramen, had given Obito the promise that he would be trained for two hours next time the team met up and Obito couldn't have thought of a better gift himself.
Even Kakashi, surprisingly enough, had given Obito a gift, a book on various types of jutsus and how to work them. "Maybe you can be less of a loser now," was the note attached in the front of the book. Obito had scowled at it but thanked Kakashi nevertheless. When it was Rin's turn, the girl looked to the side and said that she'd give her gift a little later.
Everyone became a little curious at her response but shrugged it off, each going his or her own separate way. Obito started towards the Uchiha compound, only to be pulled back by Rin.
"Huh?" he asked, wondering why she'd stopped him.
Pulling out a package from her rucksack, she handed the shiny wrapped gift to him. "Your present," she explained, smiling. "Go on, open it."
He took the parcel from her hands carefully, and peeled of the wrapping paper gently. Truth be told, this was the gift he'd been looking forward to the most, although the time he had spent with her today had been all the gift he needed. Finally getting through the layers or shiny paper, he discovered that his gift was a book. Correction, it was photo album, which had been carefully pieced together with quotes and images of their team.
"I know that it may not be as useful as Kakashi's book," the girl told him, "but I couldn't think of anything better to get you."
"No," he breathed, amazed by the handiwork that had gone into making the gift, "no, it's perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything more wonderful," he let her know his true appreciation by pulling the girl into a hug. It never ceased to amaze him how kind and inspirational of a person she was.
Rin hugged him back, not at all shocked by the physical contact. There was something safe about Obito, something he had in him that all other Uchiha males seemed to lack. Breaking apart, Rin held the boy at arm's length and for a few moments, everything was silent and still. Then, she brought herself closer to him, planting a quick kiss on his cheek. "Happy birthday," she chimed before walking home.
'Oh yes,' Obito thought, feeling with his fingers the place where she had kissed him, 'this is definitely the best birthday ever.'
Author's Note: Well, that was it! Hope everyone enjoyed it and please remember to leave lovely reviews filled with wondrous constructive crit!