how did this even happen...

[mooneye]

It wasn't a bad sort of place. Lots of things to do and people to see. Plenty of freedom to dart over the rooftops and down the alleys--or out of the village and into the woods and rocky wild places beyond. Obito liked Michi no Sato.

He had stopped for lunch and was eating at a table outside the restaurant, watching people walk past. The food was good. The cold breeze was nice. Ah, yes. Years and years trapped in a cave with a crazy old man and a bunch of plant monsters--it had left him really able to appreciate the little things.

[ooc: here is an AU Obito in his twenties. Got through the time with Madara, and Rin's death, but didn't go completely evil after all of it...]

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[mooneye]

"I wasn't," he denied. And he got up and got behind Tenten, admiring the thick brown hair for a moment before he slipped his long fingers through it once, pulling down from top to bottom. Not a single tangle. "I mean there was Aunt Mikoto's vase that one time, sure. And maybe I wasn't great at getting out of the way of stuff Kakashi threw at me during training. And sure there was the one... the insignificant two times the library caught on fire. But walking disaster is putting it a little harshly."

[bunsofsteel]

There'd be something seriously wrong if it had managed to tangle after she'd tied it up, and she forces herself to remain still, trusting Itachi to watch for her safety. Her fingers still drum uneasily against her thigh, ready to dive into the bandages on her legs for a senbon if necessary.

Distracted as such, it's a fraction of a second late when she laughs. "Is that really what happened in the Uchiha compound?"

[youngesthokage]

"I -knew- the fire was you!" He sat up straighter as he looked at him. "Shisui said that you denied it to him when he asked you, but you -did- do it."

He huffed a breath that was almost a laugh. "You helped me catch the kitchen on fire too. When father wasn't home, of course. I can make rice now!"

[mooneye]

"Yeah, that's because Shisui would have told. Anyway I didn't do it on purpose. And the kitchen thing was mostly your fault, you know." He pulled his fingers through Tenten's hair a few more times, tracing his nails against the back of her neck very lightly before he finally got it all into more or less three even sections.

"The Uchiha compound," he told her, like it exasperated him. "Is plagued by sudden, mysterious, large fires. Things are always going up in smoke or burning to pieces there. Particularly anywhere where our wicked broods of little, adorable children can be found at play."

[bunsofsteel]

Every time his nails brush her neck, her hand edges closer to the bandages on her leg, though she forces her breathing to remain steady and her smile to stay on her face. "Itachi-sama, you shouldn't say that like it's a major accomplishment, you know," she points out, smile more genuine as she looks to him. "You really should learn when Sasuke and I cook."

Her eyes slide sideways toward Obito, though she knows she can't see him from this angle. "Well, I guess that's to be expected from a clan obsessed with fire jutsu, huh?"

[youngesthokage]

"I'm not a natural fire affinity." He peered at Obito as he said this. "But I still picked it up by the time I was six." He hummed lowly. "And the kitchen only caught fire because you weren't paying attention. I was four, you -knew- I couldn't cook anything. You're just lucky you're good at cleaning."

His gaze drifted back to Tenten. "It -is- a major accomplishment! My rice is perfect."

[mooneye]

"We're a clan big on obsession in general," he commented to her, starting the braid one way and then pausing, undoing it and starting again the other way. "As far as that goes, fire jutsu are one of the more harmless things we let consume our waking hours."

And he cast a bemused look at Itachi. "So you never did learn to cook."

[bunsofsteel]

"Is that so?" It's harder now to resist the urge to turn her head to look at him, but through a supreme effort, she keeps her head mostly still. Trying to catch Itachi's eye, she tries to communicate that maybe later he should braid it, since it's probably going to be a tangled mess by the time Obito is done with it, but it can't be helped.

A glance toward Itachi, and she confirms, "He really can't. Rice is about pushing it."

[youngesthokage]

"I can make things that are edible. That does not make them taste like it." It was a low murmur. "She hasn't actually had the dubious joy of my cooking. Nor have you since I stopped charring everything to pans."

He leaned forward in his chair, peering up at Obito and while he noted her look, he wasn't entirely certain what she expected him to do. "Have you actually ever learned to braid Obito-nii?"

[mooneye]

"Well. I thought I'd sort of got the gist of it by feel from when you did mine." He gets to the end of the... okay, it isn't a braid. Not a braid at all. But it is sort of like a braid and after a moment's hesitation he winds the tie around it. "Ahem. This is just a... first try."

[bunsofsteel]

"You've told us both not to let you cook."

Loath to bring the other hand away from her thigh, she reaches with her free hand to run it cautiously down her hair. ...What there is of it. She goes a little pale and tries for a laugh. "Well... congratulations? Maybe you should watch Itachi do it, do you think?"

[youngesthokage]

Itachi got to his feet, one hand moving to gently push Obito to the side. "Stand behind me and pay attention. This is clearly why you never had long hair as a teen. Other than the goggles." He looked at her hair a moment, then took out the tie, gently untangling the mess he'd made of her hair.

[mooneye]

"I never had long hair as a teen because your dad kept making me hack it all off," he grumbled. And he stepped back, watching. He really did want to get this down. It seemed handy.

[bunsofsteel]

She stills almost immediately when it's Itachi's hands in her hair, eyes falling closed as she relaxes against the chair. Her hand moves away from her thigh to fold both in her lap, enjoying the light tug of his fingers in her hair.

[youngesthokage]

"Well... until you could manage a spar without getting it grabbed... He was very adamant about that ideal. I kept my hair short until I was nearly a chunin for exactly that reason. You -were- a chunin, so I can see his persistence with you." He carefully worked up her hair, touch gentle. "Then again, the clan never was as nice to you as I thought they should be."

[mooneye]

"Yeah. Nobody liked me back then." He remarked, observing. Under and over. It didn't look so hard. "Wasn't this the way I was doing it?"

[bunsofsteel]

Itachi's hands in her hair might be enough to lull her to sleep like this, but she glances sideways, trying to catch Obito's eye. "Not... quite. It felt more like you were knotting it than anything else. But hold on." She raises her eyes, trying to spot Itachi now. "How could that be? I thought this was the guy who taught you kunai, and you're pretty good at that. Why wouldn't they like you?"

[youngesthokage]

"-I- always liked you Obito-nii... but when I was that age my parents thought there was something wrong with me too." It was a murmur, and he unwound a bit before rewinding the part of the brain her movement had made lopsided.

"I said he taught me. I didn't say he was as good at it as I am."

[mooneye]

"I know," he said, and pressed his hand to Itachi's back. Since there was nobody watching, at the moment. And to Tenten, "I guess... have you met that Naruto kid? Okay, imagine that, but with all of the fire-starting habits and questionable socials skills of an Uchiha. That's why nobody liked me."

[bunsofsteel]

"Naruto?" Her lips quirk into a small smile as she nods. "Yeah, I know that guy. Turned Neji into a decent human being, kind of." She just shrugs and glances back. "But he's kind of a brat, too. Isn't family supposed to look past that stuff, though? Especially a clan..."

[youngesthokage]

Itachi shook his head sharply at this, comfortable enough with being touched as to not question it. He didn't realize he was stealth touching or he would have asked. "They're definitely alike... and in the clan there was conformity and then there was scorn. There was a time when I wasn't so different in my approach to everything from your friend Lee, if not as flowery. Then Obito died and that went away with it because he was the only one that -encouraged- me to be so... forward. Inquisitive."

[mooneye]

Again, a stealthy touch. How could he not? The hand against his back slipped up to clutch his shoulder and squeeze it, then let go again.

[bunsofsteel]

"Really?" The image of Itachi in green spandex was inevitable then, and she bursts out laughing, only belatedly clapping a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. "I'm... sorry, I'm sorry." Her laughter didn't suit the story at all, and she forces herself to sober. "That must have been hard for you, though..." Her eyes flick back again, though she still can't see Obito. "Clearly death was not so permanent, yes?"

[youngesthokage]

There was a pause at that point, and Itachi stilled for a moment. "Some details are better unrevealed. Obito died in my timeline. He didn't in his timeline." There was a flat sense of finality in the way he said it, then his tone lightened. "What made you laugh?"

[mooneye]

"Not so permanent," he echoed. And he might have said more--though he would not have spoken truthfully--but he let Itachi end the topic. It was better, anyway. And he wanted to know what had caused that short giggle, as well.