To Be Lost On The Road To Life

Identity And Homecoming

Uchiha Obito."

Reluctantly, Obito shifted his gaze to the man that had addressed him—Uchiha Fugaku. He looked as hardened as Obito could remember: stern, and with a stick shoved up his cranky-ass, 24/7. "Uchiha-sama." His voice came out quiet and it cracked slightly, but he still managed to be heard.

Obito simply stared at the man, an impassive look in place, and he received an equally blank look in turn. Whereas Obito was simply staring, he knew that the man before him was assessing—assessing him. He briefly wondered how much Fugaku knew, and if the recent developments would cause the Uchiha clan to come after him. Whether "come after" was "come after his head" or "accept back into the family" he didn't know, but he preferred the first. At least then he could defend himself and be given an excuse to vent some anger.

It wasn't until Minato made a nervous cough that Fugaku seemed to remember what he had come for, and opened his mouth to speak. "I heard that you have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."

Ah. So that's how much he knew. Obito shifted his gaze to Minato, who looked slightly apologetic. He held no malice towards the man for notifying Fugaku, as his knowledge on the clan dōjutsu was minimal at best. It was the way how the Uchiha worked; they kept public knowledge of the dōjutsu to a minimum in the hopes of maintaining an air of mystery and power amongst the enemies. Minato could've simply dumped Obito off at the clan and allowed the elders to do whatever they wished with him, but the fact that the man instead opted to confide the "new ability" to a friend who just so happened to be the head of the clan spoke volumes on the blonde's character and care.

If Fugaku wasn't there, Obito would've surely hugged him. Maybe. If he really was his physical age and not trapped in some backwards reality wherein he is a fully-grown, adult male stuck in his twelve-year-old body.

"Yes. I have." Obito answered plainly, not caring to elaborate. He noticed a distinct twitch of the older Uchiha's brow.

"... When did you activate your Sharingan, and how did you awaken the Mangekyō?" Fugaku's eyes narrowed. "You do not know, but the only way to awaken the—"

"Actually, I do know how to awaken the Mangekyō, Uchiha-sama." The two adults stiffened, but Obito paid no mind. "I suppose it was gradual. I've been having dreams... Nightmares, about being put in certain situations. Certain situations that threatened the lives of citizens, the clan, and my team. I guess the Mangekyō awakened recently, when I had a nightmare about everyone on my team dying."

The clan leader crossed his arms and stared down his nose at Obito, who was unaffected by the motion. "The Mangekyō cannot be awakened in that manner. A simple dream would not be enough to awaken it, and if you knew half as much as you claimed then you would know this."

Obito kept his blank stare. "Uchiha-sama, the Sharingan isn't magic. It's activation isn't spurred on by the death or sacrifice of people. It's by the emotional and mental trauma induced by whatever the host experiences." He shifted so that he sat crossed-legged on the bed, facing the man. "My dreams were uncannily real, even more so than lucid dreaming. That's probably how I activated my Sharingan."

Fugaku opened his mouth to retort, but Obito held a hand up to silence him. His mouth shut with an audible click and he glared at the not-boy—whether it was out of humiliation of being silenced, or the fact that he actually obeyed, remained to be seen. "How else do you explain, then? I have these eyes, fully matured. I haven't killed anyone close to me, nor have I witnessed the deaths of anyone precious. You can probably see that, as my team is still alive. There is no other explanation, and quite frankly, I think it makes sense, if only because there simply isn't any other explanation." Obito knew that he was bull-shitting to the highest degree, and even though the Sharingan's activation was indeed caused by mental trauma, a dream would never be enough to activate it. Years of research already proved this; the mind's mental barriers wouldn't allow for such a scarring nightmare to take form in the mind, it would most likely awaken the host before reaching a peak. But no one in the Uchiha clan knew that—unless they turned to a Yamanaka for help, but for once, Obito was thankful for the incessant pride the Uchiha clan clung to. It meant that they would never turn to another noble clan for help, especially not in regards to their famed dōjutsu.