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]

"Harmless, remember," he told Itachi. "Word it carefully. Tactfully." And here he took a few steps backward, in the direction of the town, obviously preparing to part ways with the two of them.

[youngesthokage]

He laughed softly and flashed Obito a smile, then canted his head as it turned into a smirk. "I'll give him nothing but the -truth- Obito-nii~."

[bunsofsteel]

She just hums and offers a small wave. "I'm sure it won't be terrible. Sasuke's never anything but reasonable, after all~"

Well. When it's something she wants, anyway.

[mooneye]

"Ah, truth? What good's the truth ever done?" But he shrugged. They would work it out between them, he was sure. And more softly. "I ought to go. I'm glad you stopped to speak to me, Itachi."

Turning his attention to Tenten. "Lovely to meet you, my dear. Look out for my cousins, hm?"

[youngesthokage]

He tightened his fingers on his sleeve for a moment, looking intently at him. "Don't... don't just vanish again, okay?" It was a very soft murmur before he forced himself to release the cloth caught in his fingers. "The truth can be powerful, when it needs to be."

[bunsofsteel]

"Of course I will." She keeps her hand on Itachi's elbow, giving Obito a respectful bow and watching Itachi's face. She almost, almost feels bad for disliking someone Itachi's so obviously close to, but-- well. "Take care, Uchiha-san."

[mooneye]

He watched Itachi closely for a moment before nodded. "I'll be around," he said. "If you need me, come find me, little cousin."

And a short bow back, to Tenten. "You too."

He gave them both a little wave and then turned and walked back the way they had come, heading into the town again.

[youngesthokage]

He looked after him for a moment before turning to Tenten, drawing a deep breath. "Why?"

[bunsofsteel]

She draws her hand back at his tone, casting her eyes to the ground. "Why, what?"

[youngesthokage]

He reached and took her hand, holding it in both of his. "Why do you want to keep him away?"

[bunsofsteel]

Her fingers curl around his, but she doesn't look up. "I don't like him." It's childish, she's aware of that, but... "I don't like how familiar he is around you. Sure, he's your cousin, but cousins aren't... like that."

[youngesthokage]

"When I was four, he died." His tone was even, low. "I stopped talking, I barely ate, and as I was already easily tired and sickly, I could very easily have died from that. If mother hadn't been pregnant, I might have, but I got attached, and when Sasuke was born he became the most important thing in my whole world." He looked down at her fingers, running his fingertips over the back of her hand.

"He still is, now. I did point out to Obito that as much as I love him, I love Sasuke more. But... when I was small, Obito was the only one other than mother who held me in any value in my family."

[bunsofsteel]

She's quiet for a long moment, her hand slipping itself from his to rest against the middle of his chest, eyes still on the ground. Her throat works for a moment before she answers, "I'm sorry, I didn't... I didn't know." Her fingers curl against his chest as she finally looks up, lips twitching. "But... he's not dead, and according to him, he didn't die. That would be what, thirteen years he didn't come back?" She shakes her head slowly, eyes going back to the ground. "There's something about him, I don't know..."

She huffs an uncomfortable, humorless laugh and tries to draw her hand away. "Or maybe I'm just jealous."

[youngesthokage]

He let her take her hand back the first time, but for the second one he caught it again. "He... I know what happened, more or less. I have guesses. I'm -going- to say he died in my world because it's better to think of it that way." He took a deep breath and shook his head. "Do you know what Obito mentioned to me? He said if he ran across one of the other versions of himself he was going to, as he phrased it, 'try to kill it'. If he's the only version of himself that's not -that- then I'm -not- going to lose contact Tenten. I'm not."

[bunsofsteel]

She wants to tell him that of course he would say something like that, if it was really so terrible, but she's hurt him enough already today. It would be enough to keep an eye on him and make sure that he was truly who he said he was, nothing more, nothing less.

Shaking her head slowly, she tugs at his hands and glances up to him again. "I know... I shouldn't try to force him away from you. It's... pretty childish, huh?"

[youngesthokage]

He tilted his head to meet her eyes. "Do you still not trust me?"

[bunsofsteel]

"Don't be stupid!" Her eyes narrow as her free hand comes up to trace one of his eyebrows and along his cheekbone. "It's him I don't trust."

[youngesthokage]

He gave a faint laugh and tipped his face into her hand. "Obito-nii wouldn't hurt me, and he can't steal me." He turned his face to kiss her palm. "You have several virtues he really can't boast."

[bunsofsteel]

She curls her fingers to run them gently over his lips and huff quietly through her nose. "Like what? I'm no one from any clan, let alone a close cousin of yours. And I think it's pretty clear that it's not just because I'm a woman, either." One shoulder rises and falls in a shrug as she glances away again. "There's really not all that much."

[youngesthokage]

"Well, your weapon collection, for one." He stepped forward, leaning down to breathe in deeply. "Your pretty brown eyes, for another."

His hands moved, coming to rest on her hips. "The way I can't undress you without catching my fingers in something sharp is another point."

He brushed his lips over hers and took another of those deep breaths. "And you just smell so -nice- all the time."

[bunsofsteel]

She leans up into the kiss to brush back, then pauses, raising an eyebrow. The first one she couldn't really dispute, but her eyes were boring. "Your eyes are prettier than mine," she points out, fingertips grazing his temple as she stares at them. "The Sharingan is amazing, sure, but you and Sasuke have such beautiful dark eyes. They stand out and actually mean something."

Her hand trails down the side of his face to press the center of his chest again as she huffs a short laugh. "What do I even smell like, polish and sweat?"

[youngesthokage]

"Maybe I like yours better than mine." It was a murmur and he kissed the corner of her lips. "You smell sharp, vivid. Hmmm. You smell like determination and safety."

[bunsofsteel]

"Those aren't smells," she points out, but with a pleased hum as she lets her hands trail around his shoulders to play with the ponytail behind. Returning her own small kiss to the corner of his lips, she sighs. "I guess I'm just going to make sure that I'll be able to keep your attention, huh?"

[youngesthokage]

"I really can't think of any way where you might be able to lose it Tenten." He brushed his lips over her cheek. "Do you really believe me that fickle?"

[thepuppetuchiha]

"Besides, those qualities would be meaningless if you were an idiot who needed constant attention and protection, or one who couldn't keep her priorities straight."

He had been watching, and more than a few times he had been tempted to lunge at Obito. But, the fact that he was family caused Sasuke to barely reign himself in enough to not attack, although his temper only started to die down once the eldest had left. Without the need to conceal himself any longer he slipped down from the tree he'd been scouting in, approaching with quiet steps and eyes focused intently on the two before him, "Smart, brave, dangerous, and beautiful because of it. We won't have anyone else."