Shinobi Rule Number 4: A shinobi must remember the mission comes first.

"But okaaa-san, I'm going to be late!"

"No excuses! If you had done it when I had asked you yesterday, you would be with your team now!"

"But I had duty all day yesterday! I'm a shinobi! I can't turn down duty to do a chore!"

"The more time you spend complaining means the later you'll get to your team!"

"But - but -" Oh, what was that rule that Kakashi-teme always said - "Shinobi Rule Number Four says that the mission comes first"!

"I'm your okaa-san! This mission comes first! And that's final!"

"It's not a mission -"

"Obito. Dishes. Now."

Obito grumbled, muttering under his breath, but picked up a dish and started scrubbing. He glanced at the huge pile of dishes on his right. This was so not fair.

Darn, Kakashi-teme's going to state one of his stupid rules again when I get there! He stropped abruptly. If I get there, he thought, expression souring.

And Rin-chan, she'll give me one of those disappointed looks again. I don't know if I could bear that.

Scrub. Rinse.

Scrub again.

Rinse again.

Obito slammed his forehead against the large cooking pot he was holding. I hate this! Hate! Hate! Hate!

"Obito?" Uchiha Mikoto walked into the kitchen, noticing the unusual cleanliness. She glanced around for her nephew, wondering where on earth he was.

Snore.

Snore.

A mop of messy black hair poked out from under a pile of various pots, plates, and cups.

"Obito?" Mikoto glanced, concerned, at her sister's son. Four-year-old Itachi, who had come with her, poked the sleeping figure's form experimentally.

"Mmph..."

Young Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Okaa-san, is Obito really a shinobi?"

Mikoto sighed. "I wonder that sometimes..." She tapped Obito's shoulder. "Obito?" She tapped harder.

Itachi smacked him on the head with the butt of a kunai.

"Ouch!" Obito started, immediately waking from his reverie. He glared at his cousin, who was looking far too innocent for his own good. "Itachi..." he growled.

"Now, now," Mikoto sweatdropped and tried to distract the two. "I just wanted to talk to your mother. Is she here?"

Obito moodily pointed to his right, towards a hall which led perpendicular to the kitchen. Mikoto immediately walked in that direction, preferring not to hear the boys quarrel - which she was sure they would do.

After Itachi's mother had left, Obito resumed his tedious chore, scrubbing the dishes. Once he was awake, he would not be able to fall asleep again. And especially not with Itachi staring at him with those wide, blank eyes.

Speaking of the brat - "Why are you staring at me like that?!"

Itachi's eyes twitched ever so slightly. "Why are you doing dishes?" he asked, a hint of incredulity creeping into his normally apathetic voice.

Obito glared. "What, haven't you ever heard of chores before?" he shot back sarcastically.

Itachi stared at him.

Obito face-faulted. His four-year-old cousin was hopeless. "So, uh, what are you learning in the Academy?" he asked, changing the subject.

"History. Math. Weapon throwing."

Somehow the last item didn't seem quite right. "Weapon throwing?"

"Hai."

"..."

"..."

"... Uh, what else?"

"Taijutsu. Genjutsu. Ninjutsu."

"Oo-kaaay." Darn, he's like a mini Kakashi!

They stared at each other, Obito awkwardly, Itachi emotionlessly. It was so hard having a conversation between an ice block and an... well, idiot.

Too bad for Obito.

"Where is your team?"

Obito found, much to his surprise, that Itachi was not as bad as a conversationalist as he had first thought. That is, when the topic was on shinobi work. But Obito didn't mind talking about his team. "They're training. I would be over there, too, but..." his voice trailed off as he motioned to the dirty dishes on his left.

Itachi nodded, understanding his cousin's predicament. "Tell me about your teammates."

Where to start? "Well, my sensei's really cool. He's Namikaze Minato -"

"Also known as the Yellow Flash," Itachi cut in, a spark of admiration in his eyes.

"Um, yeah. Well, Minato-sensei's really cool. He's always smiling, and wears this awesome outfit. Then there's Rin-chan, she's really..." he trailed off, trying to describe his crush in a way that did not show his love in an obvious way. "... She's really nice." He left it at that. "Then Kakashi..." Obito's expression darkened.

Itachi noticed this. "Rivalry?" he asked, correctly guessing the problem.

"He's always so - so stuck-up! He's always quoting the Shinobi Rules, and he doesn't care about us at all!" Obito burst out angrily. "I don't know how Minato-sensei deals with him, honestly!"

Itachi blinked.

Obito sighed, knowing he might have overdone it. "Eh, I didn't mean to get all upset. It's just that he's so... so... arrggh!" Itachi blinked again.

Obito shook his head. I guess he'll never really get it.

"Inconsiderate."

"What?"

"Inconsiderate. This Kakashi teammate is always so inconsiderate."

"Yeah, that's it. Inconsiderate. Inconsiderate of all of his 'teammate's' feelings." Apparently talking about his rival soured Obito's mood.

Because after all, Kakashi was the genius of the Academy, and Obito was the dead last.

Kakashi tapped his foot on the ground impatiently. "Where is he?" he asked out loud, though he already knew what the others would say.

His sensei tried to placate him. "Now, now, Kakashi, I'm sure he had some occasion to go to..." It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than his student.

Rin frowned slightly, but said nothing. He was grateful for that; the young Hatake would rather have eternal silence than eternal chatter. He was not one for words.

"Kakashi-kun -"

Darn. And he was hoping he'd have silence from that brown-haired teammate of his.

"Um, maybe Obito is busy. Like Sensei said."

"Hn." The unspoken went something like this: I don't care if he's busy. Being here with his team is the most important thing he could possibly do. And he's a sissy if he can't get here on time.

Rin sighed, knowing her gentle, unspoken pleas would go unnoticed. She turned away.

"Hey all, what's up?"

Immediately three heads snapped to attention, eyes twitching. Obito was just crossing the lawn to get to them. He looked as if he had been pushed into water - soapy water, by the look of it - but otherwise was fine.

Minato's face was flat for once. "Obito, you were supposed to be here three hours ago."

"But - but - but sensei, I can explain!" Obito stuttered.

Minato, Kakashi, and Rin stared at him.

"Really."

"No, really, I can! You see, I was doing dishes when my Aunt Mikoto came over with my four-year-old cousin, Itachi! And, and, and he pushed me into the dishwater, and we got into a fight! And finally, Okaa-san and Aunt Mikoto scolded us for fighting! So, so, I have a good reason for being late!"

Minato sighed. "Well, Obito, just get here earlier next time. Or we'll go and do the missions without you. We had to skip out on a mission because you weren't here."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at his Uchiha teammate. "A shinobi must remember the mission comes first."

Obito sulked. "Rule-following freak," he muttered under his breath.

A few moments passed, then suddenly Obito tripped on a rock - Who put that rock there?! - and crashed into the startled Kakashi.

Dust flew up from the ground.

"Nice one, baka."

"Kakashi, you jerk!"

I guess I'll be posting the oneshots in pairs. Review!

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