patreon.com/mati6x
Kara's underground hideout was a cold, soulless place. The metallic walls and flickering systems only served to remind its inhabitants that there was no freedom, no mercy there. Obito, standing in a corner of one of the hallways, silently watched the scene before him.
Kawaki lay on the floor, breathing heavily, his face stained with blood and dust. Jigen, imposing, looked down at him with a mixture of contempt and absolute coldness.
"You're pathetic," Jigen spat, landing one last kick to his ribs before walking away without looking back.
Obito didn't move. He had seen that bastard treat the children in this place like this countless times… but each time, an old, smoldering rage burned in his chest. There was no option to confront him yet, not without ruining everything.
When silence returned to the room, Obito slowly approached. Kawaki, panting, looked up, surprised to see him stop beside him.
"You here to mock me too?" the boy spat, trying to hold onto some shred of dignity amidst his misery.
But Obito didn't answer right away. He crouched down beside him, observing him with that Sharingan that seemed to pierce right through the soul.
"Get up," he ordered, voice dry but without disdain.
Kawaki frowned but tried to obey, failing on the first attempt. Obito sighed and extended a hand. Against all odds, the boy took it.
"You don't need his approval," Obito said bluntly. "Only strength."
Kawaki wiped the blood from his lip.
"And how am I supposed to get that if he crushes me like an insect?"
Obito tilted his head slightly, studying him, and after a few seconds, spoke.
"Come see me after dinner. I'll teach you something."
Kawaki's eyes narrowed, suspicious.
"Why would you help me?"
Obito turned, walking toward the exit.
"Because I've seen too many monsters… and I know how to recognize someone who wasn't born to be one."
Kawaki watched him leave, a strange sensation stirring in his chest. For the first time in a long while, someone in that hell hadn't called him a 'tool.'
And so it began.
Obito started showing up here and there during training sessions, correcting his stances, teaching him little taijutsu tricks, basic chakra techniques, and, on rare occasions, even briefly demonstrating a jutsu. Never too much, never enough for Jigen to notice.
But Kawaki noticed.
Every bit of advice, every silent correction, was etched into his memory.
Little by little, the initial mistrust between them began to shift into something else… a quiet respect.
Hours Later
The hideout was in its usual nighttime silence, broken only by the hum of the equipment. Obito waited, leaning against a wall, arms crossed, a cloth-wrapped bundle in one hand.
Kawaki arrived, limping slightly, a mix of wariness and curiosity in his expression. No one ever asked him to go anywhere unless it was to beat him or experiment on his body.
"Thought you forgot," Kawaki grunted.
Obito glanced at him sideways.
"I never promised anything."
Without another word, he held the bundle out to him. Kawaki eyed it like it was a trap.
"What's this?" he asked suspiciously.
"Food," Obito answered flatly.
Kawaki took it, and when he unwrapped it, he found something he didn't expect: a simple rice ball wrapped in a leaf, still warm. His eyes widened slightly. It was the first time in forever someone had given him something without a hidden motive.
He held it in his hands for a moment, unsure whether to take a bite.
"Why…?" he managed to say, but his stomach betrayed him with a loud growl.
Obito raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you want it… or I'm tossing it."
Kawaki didn't hesitate any longer and started devouring it with a desperate hunger, unable to stop a strange glint from appearing in his eyes. When he finished, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sighed.
For a moment, the hardness on his face cracked, and… he smiled. A clumsy, small smile, but a real one.
"Thanks…" he murmured, avoiding eye contact.
Obito turned, hiding a slight smirk that might've counted as a smile too.
"Don't get used to it," he said, walking away toward the exit.
Kawaki watched the door where he left. For the first time in years… he didn't feel alone.
The Next Day
During the next training session, Kawaki blocked one of Obito's simulated attacks with more strength than before. When he stopped, panting but with a spark in his eyes, he looked at his improvised mentor.
"You think… one day I'll be able to beat him?" he asked, clearly referring to Jigen.
Obito observed him in silence, as if weighing his answer.
"Not if you keep being the scared kid you were yesterday. But if you keep moving forward… maybe."
Kawaki clenched his fists.
"Then teach me."
For the first time, Obito approached him without saying a word.
And so, in that forsaken corner of the world, a monster scarred by tragedy and a boy robbed of everything began forging a bond no one in Kara would ever suspect.
To be continued…
patreon.com/mati6x