Chapter 17
“What is this I hear about you being out and about in the village?!”
“Why does everyone keep snitching on me—-?!”
Minato give him a firm stare that Obito does not care enough to pay attention to. He could give him that disappointed, angry father look all he wanted. Finally, there’s a sigh, Minato sounding defeated.
“Obito, you can’t be doing that. You’re going to get in trouble. Big trouble.”
“I thought I already was in big trouble. I was in jail until about a month ago. The only reason I’m not is because I broke out. Which should put me in more trouble.”
Minato is rubbing his temples. If there was one thing that had stayed the same, it was Obito being stubborn.
“Obito, Kakashi——“
“I don’t wanna hear shit about Kakashi.”
“You could at least try to be nicer——“
“Nicer?!” Obito lets out a bark of laughter, though there’s no amusement. “I’m sorry, I forgot, your star student has to be treated like the royalty he is.”
“Obito——“
“I can’t walk away from him, but him calling me a failure is perfectly fine. Him saying I drag the team down? On the table.”
“He never—-“
“Are you stupid?”
Minato can’t think of anything to say as Obito glares at him. Had Kakashi really said those things to Obito? Had Obito really felt that way?
Had Minato really not noticed?
He feels his stomach sink to his feet, as if it had fallen out to the floor. He had noticed, he had just thought they were——- he wasn’t sure. Not joking, per se, but just being kids. They would grow out of it eventually. He had seen how Obito supposed death had affected Kakashi, and he figured it meant that he had really cared about Obito. He had just been kind of rough when expressing it, not sure how.
But maybe it had been guilt. For the way he had treated the boy. For the things he had said to him. For the pain he had inflicted.
Minato really was stupid.
“I’m sorry, Obito—-“
“Too late for that.”
Minato can’t help but flinch, as if he had suddenly been struck. But he guesses he couldn’t blame the boy. He was exactly that— a boy. A child. Minato was the adult. He should’ve stepped in. He should’ve been firmer. He should’ve done something. He shouldn’t have stood aside and thought it would go away. Just because they were children, didn’t mean what they were saying and doing wasn’t serious. Didn’t mean it couldn’t or wouldn’t do harm.
He had let Obito down. He could admit it. He had known about Kakashi’s situation– always had, Sakumo had been a friend of Jiraiya’s– but that meant he had been too lenient on the boy. Been too soft with him. He had been too worried about Kakashi, that he hadn’t worried enough about Obito. About Rin. Had he said the same things to her? Or had he been nicer?
He was ashamed to admit he didn’t know.
It didn’t help that he had been Kakashi’s teacher since he had graduated Academy years before Obito and Rin. Perhaps he had thought of Kakashi as a son of his own. And so, maybe he had played favorites. No, he had played favorites. He had been Obito’s teacher for three years, and it had taken him until only a couple weeks ago– two years after Obito’s ‘death’-- that he barely knew a damn thing about the boy. And while he had known why Kakashi was acting the way he had– pushing everyone away, refusing to let them close– that didn’t excuse the hurt he had done.
“Obito—”
“I don’t wanna hear it.”
He lays down on the bed, facing away from him, pulling the blanket over his head. And Minato can’t help the twinge of pain in his chest.
He can’t say he doesn’t deserve it, though.