sunshineverse | [Closed] Look, you were kind of over the top.

Gai had a ton of pent up energy and was still excited at how far his interpretation of footwork had come. He could also routinely anticipate certain maneuvers Kakashi regularly did (well, two, but...), and when Genma was going to throw his senbon (...half the time), so he had put together in his notebook a list of other people to ask to spar with him. He wasn't positive this would be effective against all Sharingan (after all, Kakashi's was ...well, weak because it wasn't actually Kakashi's, and still relatively new), but so far Kakashi had yet to snap him into a genjutsu. So long as Gai managed to not make eyecontact, at least.

If nothing else, it was worth a shot! Plus, Gai was sure being able to fight based on an opponents' footwork could find other practical applications!

He was in the middle of recording more ideas in his trusty notebook when he spotted Obito hobbling up the way. Even to Gai's ears, Obito was loud, his feet tripping over the carefully masked steps most ninja walked with even in casual environments.

Kakashi's teammate might have been taller than he was before the accident, but he looked so small, like a flower that was missing the sunshine. Gai had never spent much time noticing Obito before; Obito had been loud, brash, and not as talented as Kakashi. He was hardly an obstacle to overcome in the same way his genius teammate was. Now Obito had his own set of obstacles, ones Gai was hopeful the Uchiha could overcome.

He just wished Kakashi would lend a little more support to Obito instead of hovering like a neurotic mother hen! It was exhausting even to Gai!

Gai flashed a ridiculously optimistic grin and pumped his fist in the air in a cheer. Everyone needed a cheerleader in their corner.

"Your recovery is coming along nicely, Obito! I am impressed you made it all the way out here! Are you doing laps around the village?" Probably not, but that's what Gai would be doing. Shoot for the stars, after all! "Would you like me to join you?"

There were a lot of ways Obito could respond here. He knew there were, but what was he supposed to do? Just up and declare what he-

Okay. Actually... that was a pretty good idea if he thought about it.

It's not like Gai wouldn't appreciate it given how absolutely roundabout any conversation with Kakashi could be. So... straightforward it was.

He leaned on a tree, only hesitating for a moment before nodding to show he was more than accepting of the compliment... even if it made him wince inside to have his recent invalid state highlighted.

"Maybe not around the village but... I did come looking for you, so that's something, eh?" He paused a beat, leaning his head on the tree. "I had a question for you."

"For me?" Gai pointed at himself and looking appropriately surprised. People rarely sought him out unless he had done something wrong or was needed for a mission. Even Kakashi, his own Eternal Rival, rarely actually came looking for him. Most people avoided Gai, or waited for Gai to find him.

So, he was really kind of flattered that Obito came looking specifically for him! ...And kind of suspicious, too, but he kept that unwanted feeling tucked out of sight, out of mind.

"Sure!!" he tried to keep the over-eager-puppy tone out of his voice, but it was nice to have someone seek him out. He was determined to not disappoint. "Did you like the ideas I left with your nurse about recovery training? I have more if you are interested!!" He flipped a few pages in his notebook.

He shifted a little, hesitant. He knew that look when he saw it, and wow, it had never once occurred to him that... this guy might have maybe had that in common with him. It left him a little confused but... more sure that hunting him down to ask about this was...

Well.

It had been a good idea.

"I don't think I'm up to any of those just yet but... maybe when I can walk around without sounding like a dragon mm?" He let out a little sigh and gave him a thoughtful frown. "I'd kind of like to know why you're so worried though. I'd think you'd be over the moon to not have to fight for Kakashi's attention for a while, now that I'm doing better, I mean."

Gai shrugged. "I always have to fight for Kakashi's attention; it is not something he gives out casually. I do not know for certain, but maybe if he gave it out easily, I would not want it so badly!" That sounded awful, but Gai felt it was largely true. He was driven by things held out of his reach. Kakashi was always withdrawn.

Just because Obito's injury had nothing to do with Kakashi's attention on Gai, that wasn't to say he wasn't jealous of Obito. He was. Badly. Kakashi never paid Gai attention like that, no matter how many missions had banged Gai up badly, but then Gai had never...well, rumor had it, Obito nearly died for Kakashi. And that eye...

"I do not know how to answer your question, though," Gai admitted, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "I worry because you are a comrade, and Kakashi's teammate, and you are injured." His gaze flickered to Obito's bandaged left eye. And because Obito saved Kakashi and in many ways, it made Gai notice something--a passion, a fire, a selflessness--he had never noticed in the tardy, flaky Uchiha before. Obito...protected something he cared about. It made Gai regret ignoring Obito and forced him to realize that he might have missed knowing this person had that mission ended differently. He could offer Obito something--indomitable hope, enthusiasm, a cheerleader in these trying times--if Obito wanted it. He could help! He knew a lot about beating the odds! "And I know what it is like to overcome hardship and hurdles, and I want to help! I do not want you to stop here, not when you have so much more Youth ahead of you! I am good at training, and all you need is a little re-training!"

"And perhaps," he added with an enthusiastic twinkle to his eyes, "you should not be too hasty to put the Dragon behind you! Own it! Conquer your weakness! That could be your new nickname! I will be Konoha's Beast and you can be its Dragon! After all, Uchihas breath fire!"

"Kakashi..." He frowned, then sighed, shaking his head. "Kakashi's an idiot." There was no hesitation to him saying this, and he looked to the side for a moment, then shook it off entirely, looking back to Gai. It was true though.

Kakashi, as far as he was concerned, was the most brilliant kind of idiot, and it drove him nuts, but what could be do about it, honestly? Nothing but kick it and use what advantages came his way.

But this was actually not intended to be about Kakashi, and Gai had said a whole lot more than that. "I don't want to be the kind of dragon that crashes around if I'm gonna be one Gai, sorry. I am good at being sneaky... or used to be. But I guess I gotta start all over eh? You don't have to worry about me giving up though. No can do if I'm gonna be Hokage, y'know?"

He faltered for a second, but rallied quickly. "I'm sure everyone else'll come around to see it someday too."

Edited 2014-04-21 07:12 (UTC)

Gai wanted to be offended on behalf of Kakashi, mostly because they were Rivals and he felt he should, but that was...really nice of Obito to say. At least for Gai.

Hokage, huh?

Gai's grin grew as he reevaluated Obito again. Hokage. That was a high aspiration! He could get behind a dream like that, especially from someone who had already shown the kind of character Obito had in this last mission. "I would be honored to serve a Hokage like you, Uchiha Obito! Others will see that you are fit for the position too! Soon enough!" And that was not lip service. Obito was shaping up to be the kind of person one wanted for a Hokage, well, aside from that always-late thing.

"But I still like the nickname," he grumbled, refusing to let go of the Dragon nickname yet. "Dragons can be plenty sneaky. We can work on getting your sneak back first, if you want!"

Obito... looked surprised. With good reason really. The only person who had unreservedly supported the very idea was Rin, and even she was doing it more as a 'supporting my friend' than a 'I'd serve you as a Hokage' kind of way. So... he didn't know how to react.

There hadn't been an Uchiha Hokage before, after all, so there were a lot of... doubters. The smile it drew to his face was a little embarrassed, and a lot of startled happiness. Maybe he should have looked closer at Gai sooner instead of just seeing him as someone busting in on his team.

"I- ah... Well." He cleared his throat, one hand coming up to fuss at goggles that weren't there before self consciously dropping back to his side. "So. Dragon huh? I'd definitely have to work on the whole lightly stepping thing. And the graceful thing. And the 'how not to outpace myself with my own eye' thing and just... baaaah there's a lot. But, well... you had ideas on how to tackle that lot right? No point turning down freely offered help, mm?"

Had he...left Obito speechless? Usually that was met shortly after with laughter, not the embarrassment Obito was displaying. Gai beamed back with an encouraging grin. Sure, there were plenty of doubters, but there had been plenty of doubters about Gai's abilities, too. And he was going to prove them all wrong. He was proving them wrong now, with every chance he got. Obito would have his chance too!

It wasn't until Obito reached up for the goggles that Gai realized they weren't there. Those were Obito's trademark, or something. Gai could remember Kakashi griping about Obito's eyes. He wondered if all Uchiha needed them or just Obito? ...Did Kakashi need goggles now?

"Outpace yourself with your eye?" Gai wasn't sure exactly what Obito meant by that, but yes, he was full of ideas! And he could find more if they needed them! He was good at coming up with training plans and working hard and... Wait. So Obito was...agreeing? "I have loads of ideas," Gai blabbered. "Tons! I will make sure you are well-trained, Obito, have no fear! You will be the sneakiest--I will even teach you how to get the drop on Kakashi!" It occurred to Gai only after saying this that measuring himself to Kakashi might not be a thing Obito did. Maybe that was just Gai. "We will start by working on your mobility again, because being steady on your feet is the first step to being light on your feet! We can do laps around the training fields!" Walking, of course. ...Maybe a little fast..er walking.

He puffed a soft laugh. Clearly he wasn't going to get out of this without some kind of laps but... but that was okay. His lags hadn't really been damaged so much as from the waist up anyway, so that was just... overall weakness at play. And getting tired way too easy, but that was fixable too. Carefully pushing away from the tree he'd been using as a glorified leaning post, he padded over to the other boy.

Currently a shorter boy too. He felt like a damn giant. A scrawny, unfinished giant.

Ugh.

Onto better topics. Still, he knew technically he shouldn't talk about these things with people outside the clan but... He'd always trusted his instincts and they were telling him that his family wasn't where he should be going right now for this sort of thing.

"Yeah. I can see a few steps ahead of myself and it kind of throws me off. I guess it's worse since I skipped a level when I leveled up on the eye factor. I started at two instead of one, so... yeah. Not... that you probably even know what that's supposed to mean but..."

"Two?" Gai squinted up at Obito's eye like it was going to provide answers, but he was just as curious as before. Two instead of one...as in the number of eyes Obito once had? Didn't most Uchiha start with two? Or did the Sharingan evolve one eye at a time? Gai was perhaps in over his head with this fighting-a-sharingan thing, but he was going to do his best!

And he could see how being able to anticipate an enemy would throw one off. Gai had never been that smart or that powerful (although he heard the Nara's could anticipate actions up to several places ahead, without any powers), and his own ability to anticipate attacks was limited to the moment and reflex. But he imagined it was kind of like watching a video where the audio and sound didn't match up, or looking through magnified glasses and trying to catch one's bearing.

"There is a lot I do not know about your eye," he admitted, unsure if he should even mention Sharingan aloud. Was Obito supposed to talk about that outside the clan? It seemed the Uchiha was super-secretive! There was a lot Kakashi didn't know about the Sharingan, either, and it was in his head now. "But if you will be patient as I figure it out, I will do my best to figure out how to help you with it! It may even be an advantage to your recovery!"

He blinked, since winking wasn't an option anyway, then after a moment of peering at the other boy, realized the issue. Ah. He turned it on. He hadn't really had the energy to do much with it yet, but there was two tomoe drifting lazily around his eye. "Yeah, two."

And then he shifted to try eye contact so Gai could see if he'd let him. He knew how weird people could be about the whole eye-contact-with-an-Uchiha thing. He knew most people didn't get that it was... kind of disheartening to have people dodge eye contact, so he knew not to take it personally at least.

"And I'm sure you will. You've always been smart, even if you are obscenely loud half the time."

Two tomoe. Gai supposed he had never paid enough attention to the Uchihas' eyes before, because he didn't realize they had varying amounts. He knew they were different...it just...never occurred to him in what way. How high could they get? Could they achieve an ultimate level? And if so how? ...How did one exercise an eye--by using it? What repercussions came with achieving an ultimate Sharingan?

"I am not!" he declared reflexively. Obscenely loud, he meant, only now fully registered the compliment added in there. That...was one of the only times anyone actually said aloud that he was smart. Most finally acknowledged it by simply...not calling him dumb anymore. "I mean," he looked down, blushing in embarrassment and laughing a little, "thanks."

Against his instinct, Gai met Obito's gaze, and, after a moment, boldly reached up to tilt the other boy's head to the side and scrutinize Obito's spinning pupil. It didn't even occur to him what the gesture of returning eye-contact could mean to Obito, nor that Obito might not enjoy being manhandled into showing off his eye.

He wished he understood better how Kakashi and Obito saw the world! That would make things so much easier. But, nothing was ever easy, and hard work would triumph over difficulties anyway, so he just had to start working!

"You seem to have a fair amount of mobility already," Gai said, unsure what else to offer and eager to prove that he would be a capable trainer. He poked at Obito's limbs, checking them out. "I think we should start by getting you some light leg-weights!" Leg-weights helped everyone, Gai was certain of it. "So as you move, you will build back up your strength! With strength will come better control of your body, and so more grace and coordination! Then you can step lightly again." No more lumbering dragon!

"And then we need to give you exercises to get you moving a lot, to increase your stamina! As for your eye, I think you will adjust to it as we work, and we will learn ways to work with it the more you have to use it!" It made sense to Gai. One knew the functions of their hand or arm because they used it in a variety of situations, not because they thought about how to use it. They would just put Obito's eye through its paces!

Obito was amused by Gai's reaction to his admitedly backhanded compliment... right up until the other teen grabbed him. He figured out what he was on about quickly enough, of course, but he couldn't prevent the way he tensed slightly... nor the mortified blush because no one ever touched his face.

In fact he couldn't recall anyone having touched his face since he got all the scars in any way that wasn't medically related and it sort of made his brain stumble as he tried to figure out how to react. This whole conversation had gone really weird really fast and he really didn't know how it had happened.

And why didn't the other teen take his hand back...???

He didn't pull away though, letting himself be handled as his sharingan was looked at. He hadn't really been up to showing it off and that part was... nice.

He finally found his voice when Gai finally started talking again though, otherwise that could have gotten... awkward. "I don't do holding still very well. I fidget unless I make myself stop so... yeah. Not surprised I'm properly mobile again. But. Um. Are you sure weights are a good idea while I'm still leaning on trees?"

Gai saw nothing awkward in the touch, personally. Obito's face was just a face, scars aside, and Gai could easily be an overly-physical person without much effort or thought. But he noticed the tensing and couldn't miss the blush, and so he wondered belatedly if maybe he had overstepped his bounds.

After all, that had always been Kakashi's complaint about Obito: that he was ~~a cry baby~~...sensitive. If they were to work together--were to be friends! (because surely Gai wasn't being too optimistic here)--Gai would have to learn his boundaries, since they were likely very different from those of Gai's own teammates' and from the boundaries Kakashi had drawn. What Obito was comfortable with letting him do would have to be, as all things were with Gai, a series of trials and errors.

"Weights are always a good idea!" Gai declared, loudly as if loud meant it was a statement not to be doubted. Still, he took the moment to give extra scrutiny to Obito's legs. While skinny, they looked sturdy enough. They certainly wouldn't break under the weight of a few light weights! And if he got winded, or dizzy, or just needed something to lean on, leaning was acceptable in this case. "They help build muscle strength and tone! We will start out light! And if you must lean on something, lean! You can lean on me!" he offered, before remembering that he should be polite and consider Obito's boundaries better. "We could even get you crutches, though it is not as if your legs are broken, just not well-used as of late! But that will change soon! My exercise plan will make sure you get a lot of use out of your legs!"

Obito's boundaries were fluid in some respects. He didn't really have a personal bubble, but he was so used to people imposing into said not really bubble that he didn't know how to react when new people did it. This was just a case of those, and he felt his eye narrow a little as Gai was shouting in his face, and that wasn't exactly appreciated.

At all. "You know it's easier to talk with you when you're not shouting right? Losing an eye didn't mean I lost my hearing too y'know."

But, right the point. There was totally a point in there. "I'd rather lean on you than crutches, thanks. Crutches would just encourage me to be lazy and I'm not really into that."

[[~~slowly eases back into rp with a terrible reply, IAMSOSORRY~~ AND ONE MONTH LATER. I SWEAR, I AM MORE OF A LATE-SAMA THAN YOU.]]

"Ah, I--I apologize," Gai dialed back his volume sheepishly. Obito was right. He had not lost his hearing. Though words spoken loudly were more emphatic, right? Basically! Obito would adapt to the expressiveness with time! And then he would have to be motivated by it!

Words spoken with passion had a way of catching one and sweeping them away with inspiration!

"I would not want to encourage laziness!" Gai agreed. "Me, then!" He offered a hand to his new friend? ...no, that was not too optimistic...so Obito could lean if he needed to. "Should we start right away? Do you think you are up to the challenge?" he asked, a hint of a dare behind his grin. Kakashi could generally be provoked with a little dare, surely someone far less stoic and aloof could as well.

He looked Gai up and down and then at the hand, aware that the other teenager hadn't taken the other one back yet. And it was still on his face. So, that meant he used both hands, lifting one to lift the one at his face away, and the other to take the one being offered.

"You just want me to collapse so you can carry me around. I'm not exactly spry right this second."

Gai pouted as his hands were rejected. Well, fine. Okay.

But any disappointment was quickly lost behind childish bravado. "Ha! Why would I want that? You are not nearly heavy enough to be a challenge for me to carry!" he declared, crossing his arms over his chest in a display of pride. "Perhaps if you were wearing leg-weights..." Though any added weight would be better training than none at all. Gai considered this, looking over Obito again.

"However, if you would like to carried, I would be willing!"

He noticed the pout even as he released his hands, a flicker of confusion touching on his expression as he tried to figure out the reasoning of it. Had he really wanted to have a hand on him that much?

"How am I supposed to know what you want? You've always been that loud guy busting in to steal Kakashi off, remember?" It was a grumble. He didn't like being confused. It made him... defensive.

"Borrow," Gai insisted. "I always gave him back!" Even if sometimes Gai didn't really want to. After all, Eternal Rivals needed time together, to bond, and as it was, Kakashi didn't really seem to be...bonded to him all that much. Someday! It would just require some extra effort to get through the thick wall shutting his Rival off from the world.

"Do not worry so much about what I want, Obito! What do you want to do? If you would prefer to walk home yourself, I do not mind..." As long as Obito could. With that in mind, it might be wise to follow him back down to the village, to ensure his safety. ...Secretly, of course. Plus, sneaking behind an Uchiha--even an injured one--might be a good test of Gai's stealth skills!

"Steal." It was an almost rebellious murmur, and he glanced away from him, finally blinking his sharingan away so his eye was dark before glancing back to his face. And then, he stalled, frowning at him for the question, almost accusatory.

"I came all the way out here didn't I?"

As if Kakashi would allow himself to be stolen by anyone, he thought bitterly. Was all of Team Minato so ...difficult? Stubborn. Annoying, Gai thought before doing his best to banish that rude idea and his frustration.

But really! Obito and Kakashi were so defensive! Sheesh! Well, tempting as it was to return in kind, Gai knew better than that.

"You did! I am really very honored you came to see me yourself!" he replied with a broad smile, hoping that would have a positive effect on a conversation that had obviously taken a downward turn. "And very glad to see you up and moving! But if you decide you need assistance getting back, just let me know!"

His smile softened. "As I said, you are not heavy enough to be a burden to me."

He stared at him for a moment more, then huffed a sharp breath, breaking off eye contact to stare at Gai's shoulder instead, a small scowl on his lips. The confusion was definitely not abating. They'd barely ever spoken before he got hurt and all of this... this was kind of disorienting.

"We had things to talk about."

Gai tilted his head, trying to make eye-contact again with his odd Uchiha comrade. Was Obito feeling okay? Maybe the sun and standing was getting to him.

Honestly, Gai was certain he had said something wrong, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what he had done that made Obito so grumpy. It was probably still best to treat this with optimism and a smile.

"So you still want to talk? Okay!" Gai took a seat on a little patch of grass near his feet and patted the area across from him. "Have a seat!"

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