Chapter Two

Their first "official" meeting does not go well.

Obito—late as usual—drags the lost girl to their usual training spot, and no one else in the squad appears to mind her inclusion. Kakashi is the only one who sees her as a distraction. Their sensei spends more time with her than necessary, asking her how she is and if she is feeling better. Kakashi does not need to ask.

At the very least, she looks much better than before. In fact, she looks like a completely different girl. The bruises have faded, her hair is glossy and untangled, and she has put on a healthy amount of weight. She is engaged—flustered even—by all the attention she receives. Her rosy cheeks are certainly preferable to the sickly hue she sported weeks earlier. Kakashi supposes that he should be pleased with her recovery. However, he cannot seem to get close enough to speak to her even if he wanted to.

She still stares at him as though she is prepared to flee at the first possible moment. Her eyes turn downward whenever he meets her gaze. She positions herself so there is at least one person between them at all times.

It's almost an experiment for Kakashi. He takes a step in her direction—she takes a step back. He takes another—she moves further away. How close can he get before she cowers behind one of his teammates? It is as though the girl is hyperaware of his presence. Her presence, however, remains a mystery.

His sensei quickly catches on to his experiment and shoots him a disapproving look, so Kakashi continues his observations from afar. If Minato and the other high-ranking ninja discovered anything in their investigation, they aren't saying. But with the way Sensei fusses over her, Kakashi can't shake the feeling that his inquiries are more than just from the goodness of his heart.

Regardless, the village has accepted her into their orphanage. She's been given a roof over her head, food, and clothing. Oversized hand-me-downs, but clothing nonetheless, and according to Rin, the girl couldn't be more grateful. But that's not all she received. Obito took it upon himself to give her a name:

Rairakku.

Which is completely nonsensical, but the young girl doesn't seem to know better. Obito is her savior. She will gladly be his little "lilac."

Speaking of the Uchiha—

"Guess you were wrong about her, huh?" Obito gloats as he pulls Rairakku to his chest. He treats her acceptance into their village as though he has gained a personal victory over Kakashi's suspicions. And the girl's tendencies to use him as a shield whenever Kakashi gets to close make Obito beam, as though nothing could be funnier.

"You got lucky," Kakashi retorts, taking a step forward to watch the girl freeze in Obito's grip. "Next time, don't bring home strays." He turns away, but not before he sees the tears well up in her wide, plum eyes.

Obito turns red with furry. Rairakku darts away when he moves to throw a punch at Kakashi. Kakashi dodges it—too easily—and Obito stumbles into a mouthful of dirt.

He watches as their sensei block the young girl's path. The jounin kneels before her, palm outstretched, and says, "You're alright." As though it is a reminder. As if he's had this conversation with Rairakku before.

She does so— hand trembling—as she reaches to lace her fingers with his. Before he can blink, however, she launches herself into the man's arms, and he lifts her high overhead. Her tears quickly become giggles.

Kakashi misses what his sensei whispers in her ear when Obito launches another attack at him.

Rairakku follows Obito around like a chick to a mother hen. It is a comparison that the Uchiha adamantly protests, but it is accurate. There isn't a moment of downtime where Kakashi doesn't spot her at Obito's side. He brings her everywhere. He wants to show her everything. Everything that makes her new home so great. "I want her to love every second of her new life here!" he says.

It would be admirable if it weren't so annoying.

Obito starts bringing her to their various training spots on a regular basis. More often than not, she serves as a distraction. This is not a playground. Kakashi does his best to ignore her, but that's easier said than done. Every once and a while, Minato gently scolds them for being too rowdy, but for the most part, he allows her presence there.

It is an unusually hot day. The high afternoon sun was not helping. Minato and Kakashi have been training since dawn. "We've done enough for today," he tells his student. "Let's get out of this heat." The man looks around to spy where Obito and Rairakku have run off to, but when he sees them chasing each other in what looks like a game of tag, he leaves them to their own devices.

Rin is nearby under a large, shady tree with plenty of cool shade underneath. She is surrounded by scrolls and a few books, but more importantly, she has bottles of water waiting for them.

"Research?" Kakashi askes after he takes a gulp of water, which is disappointingly warm.

"No. Rairakku asked me a lot of questions about medical ninjutsu. It's way too early for her to be learning something this advanced, but I don't see the harm in explaining the concept," Rin replies as she rolls another scroll up to place in her bag. She notices the way Kakashi's eyes narrow in confusion, and she takes a moment to look back and forth between him and Minato. "Didn't Obito or Sensei tell you?"

"Rairakku was accepted into the academy," Minato clarifies with a small smile as he turns to watch Obito and Rairakku, who are both still running around with boundless energy.

"What?" It shouldn't surprise him that she would be interested in training— the way she idolizes Obito so— but it does all the same. Rairakku seems too fragile for shinobi life. Surely, her admission is a fluke. She will get weeded out eventually. Rin really should not be humoring her like this.

"She's doing really well!" Rin claims despite his doubts. "Apparently, she's sailing through the basics."

Now that is a surprise. Kakashi turns to again Minato for confirmation. "So her sensei tells me," he says, eyes still fixated on the girl in question. Rairakku is still focused on her chase. "She's hardworking, very eager to learn, and she's already interested in finding a specialization."

Now Sensei is getting regular updates on her progress? Kakashi opens his mouth to ask a question, but he's cut off by Obito letting out a sharp, "Ah!"

Minato can't contain his laughter at the sight. In their game of tag, Rairakku launched herself forward to tackle Obito at the waist, much to everyone's surprise.

She's gotten fast.