After dinner at Shisui's house, Shisui held an umbrella and walked Xue Ge out.
"Should I take you home now, or... would you like to look around the compound?" Shisui tilted the umbrella a little toward Xue Ge.
Although Xue Ge was a capable fighter, Shisui, like everyone other than Danzo and Orochimaru, instinctively showed consideration for someone with a disability.
"I want to say hello to a classmate while I'm here," Xue Ge said. "Obito Uchiha. Do you know him?"
"Well... no." Shisui gave an awkward smile. "I can't possibly remember everyone in the Uchiha Clan."
"Then sorry for the trouble, but could you help me find his house? I have the address." Xue Ge took a notebook from his chest and opened it. "257 Izuna Road."
"Sure. Let's go."
The two strolled down the compound's main street. The rain had come suddenly, and with the sky gradually darkening, there were hardly any people left outside. The bustle Xue Ge had heard when he arrived that afternoon was completely gone, leaving only the patter of rain.
"Obito is your classmate too? I thought Lan was the only member of the Uchiha Clan in your class."
"Yes. His grades aren't good. I used to keep forgetting he was an Uchiha."
"Don't judge people by their clan like that. Not every Uchiha is a genius or a freak. Plenty of Uchiha go their whole lives without even becoming ninja. Obito getting into the Ninja Academy is already quite an achievement."
Along the street of closed doors and shuttered windows, only their occasional conversation mingled with the rain. Slightly murky rainwater flowed along the ground against their direction of travel, wetting the hems of their clothes. Dark clouds above and pale, gleaming water below were separated by a light gray umbrella.
"When will you visit again?"
"Not sure. When I have time."
"By the way, where do you live? I'll come visit sometime too."
"Better not."
"Huh? You're turning me down just like that?"
"It's for your own sake."
Most people were better off staying away from Danzo's house, especially the Uchiha.
Xue Ge wasn't sure why, but he could always sense malice toward the Uchiha between the lines of Danzo's words.
Chatting along the way, they reached Izuna Road and stopped in front of the house numbered 257. Xue Ge knocked, but no one answered.
"Not home?" Shisui asked, looking at Xue Ge.
"They should be..." Xue Ge wasn't entirely sure either. When he had talked to Kakashi about Obito before, he had learned that Obito's grandmother lived with him. An elderly person ought to be home in the evening...
He hesitated, then cautiously pushed the door. To his surprise, it wasn't locked and swung right open.
Beyond the door was an open courtyard, with a single-story house at the far end and a light on over its entrance. A black-haired girl sat on the doorstep reading. When the courtyard door opened, she glanced up at them.
...Obito's older sister?
"Excuse me, is Obito Uchiha here?" Xue Ge asked.
"You've got the wrong house," the girl said, lowering her head to continue reading. Xue Ge silently closed the courtyard door.
Shisui felt a little awkward. Why did that girl sound exactly like Xue Ge when she spoke... no, that wasn't the point.
"So... what now...?"
Xue Ge took a deep breath and pulled out his notebook for another look. After a long silence, he headed in a different direction, and Shisui hurried after him.
They stopped in front of the house numbered 251, and Xue Ge knocked again.
Shisui froze for a moment, then gave an odd look, while Xue Ge's expression darkened beside him.
"Coming, coming!..." Obito's muffled voice rang out. A few seconds later, the courtyard door opened, and Obito stared blankly at Xue Ge and Shisui with a piece of flatbread between his teeth.
"Stop joining your letters together next time. Your handwriting is ugly," Xue Ge said mercilessly.
"...Huh!!!???"
Obito clearly hadn't expected to see Xue Ge at this hour. When he opened his mouth to shout, the flatbread fell out, startling him into hurriedly shutting his mouth and stuffing it back in.
"Obito, who is it?" an old woman's voice called from the courtyard.
"Oh, it's my classmate, Grandma!" Obito called back, then turned to Xue Ge with a delighted expression. "Come in! We're just having dinner! Oh, oh, and this is..."
"Shisui Uchiha." Shisui nodded to Obito.
"So you're Shisui! I hear people mention you all the time." Obito smiled with easy familiarity. "Want to join us for dinner, then? Come on, come on, let's get you inside first."
"No, I just came to say hello. I already ate at Shisui's house, and I have something to do tonight." Xue Ge politely declined Obito's invitation. "Now that I know where you live, I'll bring a gift next time."
"Oh, I see. All right, then..." Obito looked visibly disappointed. This was the first time a classmate had ever visited his home. Before long, however, he perked up again. "Then you have to visit me next time you come to the compound! I'll write you an invitation too."
Xue Ge had intended to refuse, but after thinking it over, he agreed.
They chatted for a while longer before Obito reluctantly said goodbye to Xue Ge and watched the two leave.
After they left Izuna Road, Shisui still found the encounter amusing as he thought back on it.
"Obito's personality really isn't like an Uchiha's. Well, no wonder he went to the Ninja Academy."
Some children of the Uchiha Clan were sent to the Ninja Academy, but many were taught within the clan instead.
Xue Ge thought back for a moment. "He said he wants to become Hokage someday."
"...Hokage, huh." Shisui's expression grew a little complicated. "He really isn't like an Uchiha child."
Xue Ge glanced at Shisui without saying anything.
It seemed he would have to find some time to sort out the tangled web of relationships within Konoha.
When they reached the entrance to the Uchiha Clan Compound, the rain happened to stop as well. Shisui put away the umbrella and stopped just inside the gate. "I'll see you off here, then. Be careful on your way home."
"Mm." Xue Ge nodded and disappeared alone into the darkness outside the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Watching Xue Ge's figure disappear, Shisui stood there for a long time, lost in unknown thoughts. Only after a while did he turn and leave.
Arriving at the familiar secluded spot, Xue Ge followed the familiar path to the familiar building. He looked at Orochimaru's Laboratory before him and thought for a moment.
That morning, he hadn't planned to come see Orochimaru so soon, but after talking with Shisui for a while that day, he had changed his mind.
A genius's way of thinking was worth learning from, and guidance from a seasoned genius like Orochimaru was even more important. Even his strangling
wire, which he had thought was perfectly fine, had gained new possibilities thanks to Shisui's inspiration. Looking at it that way, perhaps he had problems he wasn't even aware of himself.
If that was the case, waiting a while before coming to Orochimaru would be no different in terms of results from coming now. Besides answering Xue Ge's questions, Orochimaru could also offer advice on his training. In the same amount of time, he could answer roughly the same number of questions.
Since that was the case, sooner was better.