Chipped Mask

Part II - Forgive Me?

Disclaimer: Only Mia is mine! Everything else belongs to their respective owners.

Warning: Romance? Uh... Anko.

Beta: featherstofly

Second Beta: Lavendor Queen

Editor: Sansho

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

"So where were you last night?"

I shifted nervously on my feet, changing my stances. It was past breakfast and the team had gone off for the first part of the exams. It would last roughly two hours before they would be given a one-hour break to gather whatever they deemed necessary for the second exam, and then they would meet for the first time at the Forest of Death and the second exam would begin.

"With Kakashi," I finally answered.

Obito froze immediately, his obsidian eyes flashing the faintest red before he forced himself to consciously relax. However, there was an edge to his tone when he said, "I see. You seem to be spending a lot of time with him, lately."

"I suppose," I allowed.

We still had some tension leftover from Amegakure. We had had fights before, but never really a fight. After all, for the longest time we thought the other was only in our head, so why fight with your head? It was strange. This uncomfortable conversation and awkward silence we seemed to shift between. I missed our old banter. Hell, I missed our normal contact. Obito hadn't even looked at me for too long since then, let alone held my hand or patted my head.

You never quite realize how much you treasured something until it was gone, I guess.

"You suppose?" Obito mimicked back. "Why are you spending so much time with him?"

"Why do you care?" I retorted, immediately rising to the bait.

"I don't."

"Clearly, you do."

"No, I really don't. What you and he do in your free time is none of my concern."

"Then why are you getting mad at me?"

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are!"

"No," Obito said again, his voice starting to lose its even pacing. "I'm not the one yelling."

I flushed.

"Yeah, well, you're being possessively childish," I remarked snidely.

Obito froze, his posture stiffening as his eyes narrowed in anger. "What?"

"You heard me," I retorted. "Ever since I started hanging out with Kakashi, you've been getting very hissy and temperamental at me, which is ridiculous, by the way. You have no reason to be mad at me. It's not like I'm going to blab our secrets to him, or that he's going to steal me away and you're never going to see me again. He's a friend, Obito. And he's been alone for a long time."

"I am not—"

"Whenever I bring him up, you snap at me," I pointed out.

Obito clenched his hands into fists, closing his eyes and counting to ten. When he opened his eyes, his voice lost its previously sharp edge, but still wasn't quite even. "And? Is it wrong of me to feel that way?"