mooneye | AU RP--

mooneye

...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

youngesthokage

As these things tend to work out, he finally had an issue that demanded Kisame's skills. He knew, truthfully, that he couldn't hoard someone as powerful as a former swordsman of Kiri all to himself, and thus, in spite of his condition, he firmly sent him on his way.

That left him with ANBU, who had never been particularly adept at keeping track of him in the first place, and he'd slipped that leash to go sit on the monument. The Hokage monument that is, to get some air away from -everyone-.

He missed Kisame, and was far from thrilled that the man likely wouldn't be back any time soon.

From:

mooneye

It always felt good to be home. Leaf, with its deep woods and wide open skies. This time of year there was a prickly chill he liked, too. So he hadn't minded being summoned back, though Tsunade's note had been vague. Not exactly urgent, but sort of--hinting around at something, he wasn't sure what. She wouldn't have sent it at all if it hadn't been important, though.

His path took him around the edge of the village and up toward the monument. There was a distant throb of chakra. Someone already up there--oh.

Obito approached silent as a ghost, quick and sure-footed. "Should you really be out here alone?" he asked, amused, voice quiet and raspy.

From:

youngesthokage

The fact that he was actually startled at the voice was more than enough to jerk him around and to attention, kunai coming to his fingers as his gaze landed on the one that spoke. There was a moment of confusion as the man looked familiar and... not. "...I know you."

There was a longer beat. "...Obito-nii?"

From:

mooneye

At first, stepping closer, all Obito really noticed was that Itachi looked older. Which made sense. It had been a while. Too long, he thought. He hadn't really meant to let so much time slip by before he came back to Leaf.

He stepped a bit closer. Still utterly quiet as he moved, tattery, a young man with one bright, keen eye and a sly smile. "Hey, Itachi! Otouto. Or I guess it's hokage-sama now, isn't it?"

From:

youngesthokage

"You haven't been back in.... since before the purge happened." And that was over four years before. "Yes, Hokage. You don't have to call me that though."

From:

mooneye

A single nod. He had heard that it happened, of course. And he thought of Fugaku. "I know. I should have..." His gaze slipped sideways a bit, and he didn't quite finish. Because of course he should have. "Tsunade sent me a message," he said instead, cheerfully, to explain his presence now.

From:

youngesthokage

He was at a loss, and looked away, back out over the village. "What did she say to get you to come home?"

From:

mooneye

"Nothing much. She mentioned you. Said they need a guard around that can actually keep track of you. Which I guess they do. What are you doing out here, anyway?"

From:

youngesthokage

"I just... wanted to be out. You can go, you know. You've been gone this long, haven't you? Surely you have something better to do."

From:

mooneye

"If you don't want me, I'll go, hokage-sama." He shrugged. And it wasn't clear whether that was true, and at a word he might vanish and be gone just as completely as he had been for years, or if he was just saying it, and would stay even if Itachi asked him to leave.

From:

youngesthokage

"Since when is that a factor?" His voice was very quiet when he said -that-, and he leaned forward, planting his hands on the stone between his knees. He would have pulled a knee up instead, but he'd found that particular motion wasn't entirely comfortable anymore.

From:

mooneye

That got a long silence. Obito had always had a hot temper, and he his anger flared up a bit now. Well. It wasn't like the kid didn't have the right. And he didn't have any honest way to defend his absence, so. He turned and walked away, to the edge of the monument and along it for a while, looking out at the village. His village. At length he turned and came back, standing beside Itachi.

"If you had needed me, I would have come back."

From:

youngesthokage

"You visited me all of twice since it was revealed you really hadn't died." His voice was soft, and he didn't look up. "And neither time did you really stop to talk to me. Forgive me that it seemed that as your little tag-along cousin I might have been pushed out of your thoughts."

From:

mooneye

"It's not like that." Obito kept looking at the village, frowning. Bristling, just a bit. "You don't know what you mean to..." No, that sounded stupid. He stopped himself from finishing it. "Anyway, you could have called me back."

From:

youngesthokage

He looked over, peering up into his face from where he was seated. "How was I to know that?"

His tone was rather soft, and there was an open vulnerability to his expression that the man had learned not to share in the years they'd been apart.

From:

mooneye

For a moment Obito saw not a young man, but the little child that he loved and protected many years ago. And the thing was--this was that child. His cousin, his family. He shouldn't have let everything else keep him away, the way it had. "I'm sorry," he said, and meant it. "I'll come if you call me, okay? I'll always come if you call me."

From:

youngesthokage

He wanted to blame the hormones of the pregnancy, but he had to look away as he felt his eyes start to tear up, one hand coming up to rub at his eye. "I missed you."

From:

mooneye

Obito hesitated, wondering if maybe he should pretend not to notice. But he was tender-hearted, and he was naturally demonstrative. And he had done enough backing off, he figured. So he sat down lithely, closely, and touched and tugged, and offered to draw him forward and embrace him.

From:

youngesthokage

he was stiff for a moment, then leaned into him, feeling rather childish. "I thought you were dead for the longest time, then you showed up and barely said anything and then you were -gone- again..."

From:

mooneye

Obito held onto him tight for a moment before leaning back, keeping just one arm over his cousin's shoulders. "...While I was gone, all I ever thought about was coming back here," he said. This was going to be difficult to explain. But he owed him the explanation, didn't he? "But then with Rin dead and... I'm not..." He thought of killing the Mist nin, and coming out of the haze of rage and finding the whole world bloody and dark. He thought of the cave. He thought of Madara. And honestly he has not stopped thinking about Madara, in all this time. "...I'm not fit for village life, the way I used to be."