New comrades

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Kakashi took notice of a dark-haired boy hurrying toward them, out of breath and apologizing for his lateness.

"Late! Obito."

He turned back to his sensei for the final time with pleading eyes. "NO!" Kakashi rejected. He looked rather unimpressed at what he saw. "I don't need any teammates," he whispered harshly.

"Calm down! Kakashi," the jounin said strictly.

"But!" he protested, eyeing over his new teammates with disapproval.

Minato hadn't been expecting this much resistance from him. Ignoring him, he whipped himself around to face the other two. "Rin...Obito. I apologize. Your new teammate..." he said, grinning apologetically and plopping a hand onto his cynical student's messy hair, "is this brat!"

Kakashi squinted his eyes up at his sensei in annoyance. "This brat"...

The boy called Obito removed the large goggles from his face and laughed aloud, wiping the tears from his coal-colored eyes. "Haha! Sensei! That person looks dumb!"

The eyes of the annoyed ninja in question turned to the one laughing, who abruptly stopped and quickly straightened up upon feeling the intensity of the gaze. "Aa...sorry. Uchiha Obito," he introduced, with a hint of pride in his voice.

"...Hatake Kakashi."

The girl next to him put on a kind smile. Stepping forward, she held out her hand. Her dark brown hair shifted in the wind—a sight openly admired by the Uchiha. "Nohara Rin."

Kakashi was hesitant, and stared nervously at the hand outstretched towards him. He stepped forward as well, releasing himself from under Minato-sensei's familial grasp. Reluctantly, he held out his hand and met hers, and felt his own shake once in a relaxing sort of firmness. Feeling a bit less irritated, he looked into her eyes this time. They were big and round and colored a deep shade of brown. He felt lost in them temporarily, not noticing that he had already broken the handshake. He soon broke the gaze as well, as he turned his eyes back to Obito, who was looking at Rin in a wistful sort of way. Kakashi quietly observed Obito for a long moment, and then looked back up at his sensei, who was also quietly observing the young ninjas. Dismissing his initial thoughts on the somewhat taller genin, Kakashi decided that maybe having this new team wouldn't be so bad.

Obito pointed outwards, clutching his trusty goggles with a confident grin. "One day, I'll become the Hokage!" He heard a loud sigh and subsequently leaned back, folding his arms behind his head.

Laughter and bickering ensued the statement. Their voices ranged from low to high, from ecstatic to sardonic, from tired to lively, yet the aura in the air was one of pure exhilaration. Everyone was at ease, and genuinely enjoying each other's company. The conversation continued, betraying what each really felt about each other.

When Kakashi wasn't looking, Minato studied the look on his face. The young ninja was hiding his immense, unyielding interest in the other two genin behind that mask of his. It was a look that Kakashi would never dare to reveal to anyone. The young sensei smiled. He had finally found some precious people for Kakashi to protect.

They really are well, no...?

"Let's go, you guys," Minato said. He led the group away from the spot from where they had gathered, steering them towards a small bridge where he intended to dismiss them. "Tomorrow morning I will have a special kind of test for you three. Meet me here at seven sharp!" He eyed the curious glances from all three of them, and raised a pointed finger. "But don't eat breakfast..." he added mysteriously. "Dismissed!"

The three eagerly watched their sensei disappear with a poof! and gave each other looks before running back toward their own homes.

"I'm gonna ace that test!"

"Don't be so sure of yourself!"

"Haha, we'll do just fine guys!"

Their voices echoed in the distance as they raced down Konohagakure's main street, conversation never dwindling, to prepare themselves for this mysterious 'test' their jounin sensei had planned for them.

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A/N: Now, the end! ^_^ Hope you enjoyed the story.

Edit: There is a confirmed sequel ^o^ The length shouldn't be much different from this story. And it's almost finished *raises eyebrows* :D (Never mind. I extended it)

The Right Direction: It focuses more on Obito and Kakashi in the beginning, but has since expanded to a full-fledged Team Minato fic, taking place about a month and half before the events of Kakashi Gaiden, and is planned to lead all the way up to it. So if you're curious as to what happened before Kakashi Gaiden, go read it! :3

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Chapter 3 of The Burden of Knowledge (based on the events of ch 618+) is now up!