C-rank Mission

The next day.

"Nooo!"

Obito jolted awake on the bed.

Only when he saw that Kakashi was no longer beside him did he breathe a sigh of relief.

His whole body ached, and he struggled to get out of bed.

"Honestly, Kakashi. He just had to make me stay over last night..."

After getting himself together, Obito dressed and left the room.

He ran straight into Kakashi, who had also just gotten up.

Kakashi said with a cold expression,

"Come on. We're going to be late."

Obito gave an irritated snort.

"You use me, then act all cold? Weren't you the one who insisted yesterday...?"

Kakashi spoke, flustered and annoyed.

"Enough. What happened last night stays between us. Let's never bring it up again."

Obito nodded in wholehearted agreement.

On that point, he and Kakashi had already reached an understanding.

"Come on, let's go do the mission."

Obito slung an arm around Kakashi and opened the door.

There stood Rin, staring at them in a daze.

All three of their expressions turned awkward.

This is bad, Kakashi thought.

When did Rin get here?

Did she hear what Obito and I just said?

Damn it... She isn't getting the wrong idea, is she?

Rin's imagination was indeed running wild.

Not that anyone could blame her.

What the two of them had said made it far too easy to get the wrong idea.

Rin felt like her whole world had gone sideways.

No wonder Kakashi never likes dealing with girls. He actually...

Obito's expression was no less complicated.

He didn't know Rin had come looking for Kakashi because she couldn't find Obito and wanted to ask if Kakashi knew where he was.

He thought she had come to see Kakashi!

"W-what a coincidence."

"Y-yeah."

"We're going to be late. How about we talk on the way?"

"Ah, okay..."

The three walked side by side, each wearing a complicated expression.

They remained silent all the way to the meeting place.

Kakashi knew Obito liked Rin.

Obito knew Rin admired Kakashi.

And Rin now suspected something was going on between Obito and Kakashi.

When the three of them spent time together, awkward situations like this were bound to happen.

Each thought they were the third wheel. The whole thing had come full circle.

Somehow, the three of them could form three different couples!

On the west side of Konoha Square.

Minato looked at his three students and said,

"Now that everyone's here, I'll explain our team's mission for today."

Normally,

Minato would have noticed something was off between his three students.

But he wasn't in great shape himself. His lower back still ached faintly.

After assigning the mission,

Minato made an excuse and left first.

As soon as Minato was gone, Kakashi hurried away too.

"I'm heading out!"

"I-I'll be going too."

Rin turned and started walking away.

Obito gritted his teeth and jogged after her.

"Rin, wait. I need to tell you something."

Rin stopped and gently bit her lip.

Is Obito-kun going to stake his claim?

Tell me to stay away from Kakashi from now on?

But the one I like is clearly... Rin's thoughts ran wild.

Obito stood before her and explained helplessly,

"Rin, you've got it wrong. What happened with Kakashi yesterday was..."

Obito told her everything that had happened the night before.

As it turned out,

Kakashi had insisted Obito stay and demonstrate the Sexy Jutsu over and over.

It had worn Obito out so badly that he had spent the night at the Hatake Clan's home.

That was how this morning's misunderstanding had happened.

After hearing his explanation, Rin's cheeks turned bright red.

"So that's what happened. I never thought Kakashi was that kind of person..."

Obito nodded emphatically.

"Exactly!"

Rin suddenly asked, puzzled,

"But Obito-kun, how did you come up with a jutsu like that?"

Obito: "..."

I didn't think this through!

An awkward silence fell.

"Rin, I'm going to get started on the mission." Obito fled.

Watching him go, Rin couldn't help smiling.

"Obito-kun, you really are an idiot..."

The days went by.

After sending out jar after jar of Fruit Wine, Obito had nearly used up all the medicine he'd bought.

He decided to take a break from sending wine for a while.

For one thing, he wanted to save money for when he got married.

For another, he figured Minato-sensei needed a rest.

He was genuinely afraid that, at this rate, Minato-sensei might work himself to death.

One day.

At Team Minato's meeting place.

Kakashi touched his Forehead Protector and said thoughtfully,

"Minato-sensei seems to be doing much better these past few days."

"During our last few combat training sessions, his footing seemed unsteady. He looked like he was about to run out of strength."

Obito coughed twice, feeling a little guilty.

"Ahem. You're overthinking it. Minato-sensei was probably going easy on us on purpose."

Kakashi wasn't entirely convinced.

Just as he was about to say more,

Rin raised a hand and whispered,

"Shh. Stop talking. Minato-sensei's here."

Minato appeared before the three of them, looking radiant.

He was bursting with energy!

Minato smiled and said in a strong voice,

"The village has posted a C-rank Mission. What do you say? Interested in taking it?"

Obito pumped his fist in delight.

"Of course! I've been wanting to take on a real mission for ages!"

C-rank missions carried some risk of injury and a degree of danger.

They mainly involved

small-scale combat, escort duty, intelligence gathering, capturing or hunting dangerous beasts, and transporting confidential documents.

Kakashi was quietly excited too, his eyes full of anticipation.

Rin asked curiously,

"Minato-sensei, what's this mission about?"

Minato smiled.

"We'll need to leave Konoha for this one. I'll explain on the way."

With Minato leading them, the four left Konoha and stepped onto the land beyond the village.

Obito looked around with curiosity.

It was his first time leaving Konoha.

Everything around him felt new and interesting.

The four sped due south.

As Minato led the way, he explained,

"Our mission is to gather intelligence at a Black Market in central Land of Fire."

"The village received word that a suspected rogue ninja from Konoha was spotted near that Black Market."

Obito asked in surprise,

"A Black Market? The Land of Fire allows those to exist?"

A Black Market was a market that operated illegally without official approval.

Before Minato could answer, Kakashi said,

"Black Markets keep springing up no matter how often they're banned. So it's better to let some operate under official supervision."

"That way, the authorities can limit their size and quickly gather intelligence from various sources."

Obito nodded in understanding.

"I see!"

Minato gave Kakashi an approving look.

"Right. The target of this mission is Inosuke, a former Special Jōnin of Konoha."

Minato pulled a scroll from his robes and tossed it to Obito beside him.

"It contains his portrait and detailed records. Pass it around, you three."