Naruto Shippuden: girl from whirlpools

Sakumo's Mistake

Chapter Twenty-Two: Sakumo's Mistake

After the bell rung it was only a matter of seconds before the stampede of little feet belted out of the academy doors into the sunlit yard where their parents waited for them. Tattered art projects were presented triumphantly to approving coos and some magnificent injuries sustained during a typical day's training were shown off with equal pride. A lot of the children hung back, waiting to see an adult they belonged to before plunging into the crowd, while plenty more just scampered off into the streets, evidently belonging to no one. A long time ago, Minato would have been one of the latter, although it was hard imagining he had ever been that small and scrawny looking.

Kushina would have said it was only last week.

The larger groups of kids that passed him had a tendency to cease all conversation as they drew near and stare at him blankly as they shuffled by before bursting into animated chatter the moment they were comfortably out of reach. They were the shy ones. The bold ones simply ran right up to him, demanding to know what he was up to and if he would share the prized secret of his jutsu with them.

The answer to that was always, "I'm only here for Hatake Kakashi."

Parents and children dispersed and the schoolyard gradually emptied. A couple of kids remained standing around, waiting for parents who were unconscionably late. A scattered handful continued to trickle out through the doors – the ones who were slow to pack their bags and lace their shoes. One with dark hair and thick goggles ambled past blithely, late to leave and obviously not expecting anyone to meet him, which was odd for a child of the Uchiha clan.

"Obito," Minato called out to the boy, making him jump. It wasn't like he'd been skulking in shadows trying to frighten unwitting children but perhaps those goggles obscured his peripheral vision.

"M-Me?" The young boy stammered, unable to understand why a legend was addressing him. Minato didn't remember names well, but Obito had stuck out in his head for no reason he could think of – except that his bumbling and assertive self reminded him strongly of Kushina, and Minato was known to have an inexplicable fondness for idiots. "I haven't done anything!"

"Have you seen Kakashi around?" he asked the guilty-looking boy.

"Kakashi?" Obito pulled a face as he hitched his backpack more securely over one shoulder. "Didn't see him leave the classroom. He's bragging to everyone that you're mentoring him. Is that true?"

"Not yet," Minato told him honestly.

Obito pumped the air with savage satisfaction. "I knew it – that Kakashi is such a liar!"

"So he's still in the classroom?"

"Yeah, I don't know. Probably."

With that ringing certainty, Minato gave up waiting around and headed inside the academy, giving Obito a pat on the head as he passed (who would then refuse to wash his hair for the next three weeks).

Not much had changed about the interior of the academy since he'd last set foot there for the chunin exams. The same walls still needed repainting, the teachers' lounge still stunk of coffee and cigarettes, and the coat hooks were still covered in decades of stickers and glitter and ink and anything else kids used to personalize their tiny bit of property. The only things that had really changed were the children's arts and crafts that covered the walls. Another generation, another art project. Minato walked past a wall that was now hidden under a collection of masterpieces denoting what the artists wanted to be when they grew up. The whole class apparently wanted to be the Hokage. Except that one kid who'd drawn some kind of man made of ice cream.

Kakashi's classroom was 2B, though Minato didn't know that until he passed by the door and noticed the small figure within, whittling away at the surface of his desk with a compass. His back was to the door so Minato took the opportunity to silently creep inside and up behind the boy.