Day 46: Sun Room

[human-sponge.livejournal.com]

Peter woke up suddenly, his body twisting in the bed and then forcing him to catch his breath in pain. Pain, which was coming from his middle because of the thing that had scratched him last night, and after that...

After that, Zach had jumped in front of him like some kind of martyr, like the exact opposite of everything Sylar stood for, to take the next hit for him. It got pretty fuzzy after that, so night must have ended right around then.

The man let out a pained grunt as he straightened himself up in bed. For some reason, he got the feeling that he'd slept in. There was no way for him to really tell without a window in the room, but he just knew. The fact that Sam's bed looked long since vacated was another clue.

Sam, but was he Sam again? Had the brainwashing worn off, as he and Roland had hoped, or was he going to have to go through this nightmare for even longer? He didn't know how long he could handle "Zach" and "Harrison" before he started going batty himself.

Pulling himself out of bed, Peter lifted his shirt and saw that he was tightly bandaged. The scratch most likely wasn't nearly as bad as the bite that "Zach" had received, but it still smarted. He let his shirt fall and then had to deal with a nurse chiding him for sleeping through the morning announcements. Not that Peter really cared at the moment. He was too busy thinking about last night and the fact that in a way, he now owed something to Sylar. Except it hadn't been Sylar. That was something he was sure of now.

Lost in his thoughts, Peter reached the Sun Room right as the rest of the patient populace was trickling in from breakfast. Sighing to himself, he headed over to the bulletin board and then saw a note written in familiar yet unpleasant handwriting. Holding his pen in a vice grip, Peter scribbled out a reply and then stalked over to an armchair and fell into it with a huff.

While Sylar was maddeningly frustrating, there was one good thing about the fact that he was himself again. It meant that Nathan was too.

[For Spock!]

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[itsdustdammit.livejournal.com]

At this point, Obito cared absolutely nothing about how or why he was here. He believed Kakashi, in that Rin had been saved, and now, that was what was important. Kakashi was an adult now,too, and an adult who somehow--it was hard to get his mind to accept, much less phrase--an adult who seemed to care deeply enough about others to have the trust of all of the Leaf-nin present. He'd followed his father's footsteps then, too, knowing what that could mean. Obito bit his lip and concentrated on a dust-less atmosphere. He knew that he'd personally see soon enough, but he really did believe Kakashi's words. As fiercely as he'd hated the jounin moments before, this was a different Kakashi, a Kakashi from years in the future. And somehow, Obito felt that this one wouldn't lie to him.

If Kakashi was an adult, it meant he'd had a long time to live that way, violating ninja code. He'd had a long time to protect the people he worked with, and apparently, he hadn't been shunned for doing so. In fact, he'd even been given a team to train. Things had changed, then. Not just in Kakashi, but in everyone in Konoha. He gave a small smile, genuine, and when Kakashi touched him in a way that was clearly intended to be supportive, he sniffed and tried to ignore the fact that his eyes were burning. He wanted to get home and watch these changes happen, both in Kakashi and everyone. Hopefully, like Sakura said, they'd figure it out soon.

It took a couple seconds of silent blinking--avoiding tears from happy things was practically unimaginable since life as a ninja didn't allow for it--but eventually, Obito nodded. "Okay," he said with a firm nod. "I'm ready." He didn't understand why there was something that Kakashi needed to tell him right then, when he was already overwhelmed and not very good at being overwhelmed and Kakashi knew that he wasn't very good at being overwhelmed, but Obito trusted him enough to accept it.

[lostonlifesroad.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately for all of them, being overwhelming was something that Landel's excelled at. So while Kakashi did know just how poorly Obito was likely to handle everything, he also knew that it was better to get what he could out of the way then. For one, it was day time, and they weren't being attacked by giant spiders or blobs of flesh. Now Kakashi had control over the situation, as much as possible, at least. And ultimately, Obito would have some time to absorb everything before night started. Kakashi already knew he'd meet the younger ninja in his room; that would give him time to prepare a map before dinner. And he was glad Sokka had ultimately rejected his knife, since he could also arm his friend.

"Why don't we start with who's here?" Which allowed Kakashi the opportunity to look around and see the answer for himself. Several familiar faces stood out in the crowd, although it looked like a few were missing. Kakashi couldn't help but feel concern regarding it, of course, but he'd have to keep that to himself for now. "A few of them replied to your bulletin, of course." And since he'd brought it up, he started with the two ninja standing closest to it. "The girl with pink hair is Haruno Sakura, and the boy next to her who is probably about to get punched through the wall--" Or so Kakashi guessed from that smirk, "--is Nara Shikamaru. They're both chuunin, like you. Sakura's one of my students, and she's a medi-ninja. I'd say Shikamaru could best be called our strategist, though he's also lazier than you ever were."

The remark was nothing more than teasing, of course. Next he pointed out a particularly pale young man. "That's Sai. He's also on my team, though I didn't train him." That had been left to Danzo, and while Kakashi didn't especially trust the man, he knew Sai was a different case. The boy had proven his loyalty even in Orochimaru's hideout; Tenzou's report even of that early mission was enough for Kakashi to have faith in Sai, and had only been reinforced by his actions in their work afterward.

The last ninja in the room wasn't Leaf, but Kakashi still considered Haku an ally. "Haku introduced himself to you on the bulletin. He's a talented ninja, though we haven't worked with him here." Something that the jounin almost hoped would change, but it was hard to say. He could understand Haku's reluctance to join them, after all. "Still, you can trust him; he's definitely a friend."

Which left the ninja not present yet to cover. Kakashi wasn't exactly eager to bring up Sasuke, since that would lead to those uncomfortable topics the jounin knew to be unavoidable, but that could also still be put off a bit longer. "Jiraiya-sama you'll remember, though he's a bit older too. He hasn't changed too much otherwise. He started writing after the War." Books that Kakashi utterly adored, but after a wary glance at the still young Obito, he wasn't sure if he should share. "You might be too young for those, though."

"And there's someone you'll be particularly interested in." Someone who had been particularly errant lately, and who just might need another of those lectures that Obito dreaded getting. "His name's Uzumaki Naruto, another of my students--and he's Sensei's son."

[itsdustdammit.livejournal.com]

It was a lot of information but Obito processed it with some effort, memorizing names and faces. He was still reeling from the fact that Kakashi had students. Sure, there was a possibility that he might have ended up doing that anyway, but the Kakashi he knew was probably going to spend the rest of his life in ANBU or something. The people who taught the next generation of ninja needed at least a little patience, and the person he'd argued with before appearing here couldn't handle waiting two minutes for a late teammate.

So some of these people (it was hard to think of them as kids, since all of them looked older than he was) thought of Kakashi the same way he thought about Sensei. Did Obito have students of his own? He had daydreams, of course, but he hadn't seriously considered the idea that they might actually happen, that there actually was a distant future where he and everyone he knew had grown up. Was he married? Did he have kids? Obito blushed slightly at the thought. No matter what, though, he knew that he served an important role in the village. After all, he was an Uchiha, so he was destined for great things.

The war was over now. Kakashi sounded so casual about it, slipping it into conversation like that. It must have ended long ago for him, maybe only a little bit into Obito's future. Obito knew that life as a ninja would never be safe, but life without the war...there was just so much to look forward to.

Then, another bombshell. "Sensei had a kid?" Obito said, mouth wide. And Kakashi taught that kid, so it must happen soon. If he was the same age as Sakura, he'd have to be born in the next year or two. The way Kakashi phrased it was weird, though, and it took him a second to figure out why. "Uzumaki?" Giving a kid their mother's name was strange, but not unheard of.

"But tell me about our lives," he said. Hearing about Kakashi's students was interesting and all, but he wanted to know about his own world. Obito's questions began at once. "Do I have students? Kids? What about Rin?" Another blush. "What's everyone like out there? And we're actually friends?" For a couple seconds before coming here he thought there might hope for Kakashi, however small...that he might just be acting out his life rather than living it. That was before they'd turned their backs on each other. But everything was about to change at home, even within a few hours. If this was the way his teammate ended up, it was easy to believe they'd be friends.

Obito could go on all day with the questions--what was Sensei doing now, aside from watching Kakashi train his kid? How much had Konoha changed, and when? How did the war end? But, with effort, he limited himself to a few questions, grinning as he waited for answers.

[lostonlifesroad.livejournal.com]

Kakashi of all people knew how Obito liked to rush ahead, and certainly this situation wasn't going to be an exception. They had been kids in a war, after all. So what could they really look forward to more than a peaceful future? Particularly Obito, who had always promised to show everyone just how great of an Uchiha he could be. He'd lived up to that promise too--by giving up the future he so eagerly asked about now.

Each question felt like a new wound, and Kakashi struggled to keep up his smile as Obito grinned at him. He'd caused that face to fall so many times before that he could picture it perfectly now. Just how close would it be to the look Obito gave him when he turned his back on Rin and their team?

"You're jumping ahead." Kakashi used a tone of affection, saving the anger for himself. He had to tell Obito, about his fate along with the Uchiha. But with his best friend so hopeful, he couldn't bring himself to do it just yet. "We need to focus on the situation here, first. Tell me what you've already learned about where we are."