Things are heating up. After Obito and Gai's competition, the whole school is now excited about the SCP election war.

Walking around, students would wave or acknowledge Obito with a smile or salute whenever he passed. Some people would run up to him with one of the old Kakashi team flyers, asking him to sign it. It was weird, but Obito wasn't going to complain.

Occasionally, he crossed paths with Gai and they would give each other a respectful nod. Seems like their little competition earned them each other's respect.

However, whenever he passed Kakashi, he still always looked at him with a glare. Well, whatever. Maybe now he's feeling threatened for real.

Even the Roots articles are somewhat positive when talking about Obito. But, they would still mention Kakashi being in the lead and how hard he will be to beat. 

There are still some challenges ahead, but Obito felt exhilarated! Finally, things were looking up. 

Feeling high on his upward climb, he felt like now it was time to charge.

....

History club/ Team Obito Meeting

"First order of business. Zetsu, got any updates?" says Obito.

"Seems like the previous attacks from Kakashi's team are now forgotten. Sounds like people don't think you're a loser anymore, Boss." says Zetsu.

"Alright, awesome! Good job everyone!" says Obito proudly.

"Woohoo!" says Yahiko. The rest of the team starts cheering.

"Now... for our next plan of attack," says Obito. The cheering stops and they all give him their full attention. "It was a great idea, Konan, but now that we're rising in the polls, we need to strike and take the lead away from Kakashi." He slams his fist down into his other palm.

He looks at them with a fierce determination. "We gained some points in the poll and we're getting close to Kakashi, but Gai also gained some points. The polls are just more even now."

The team all nods in agreement.

Obito lets the information settle, then he continues, his voice clear and serious. "I think it's time we use the devices."

Silence. He looks around the room at each of his officers. Each of their faces express forms of worry or deep thinking. He knows bringing up the devices is a sensitive topic-- Even a part of him feels weird about it.

Itachi's voice breaks the silence. "I actually agree with you, Obito." 

"Woah, really?" says Obito, a bit shocked. "Itachi, I thought you would be the one to fight me on this."

"You're right. I would've," says Itachi. "But now that we're so close to the lead, it's time we blind-sight them and steal the lead away."

Damn, thought Obito. Honorable Itachi is starting to sway away from righteousness. Perhaps I am a bad influence on him.

"Alright then," says Obito. "Let's figure out where to plant the devices."

....

It was night time and there were only a few lights on around campus.

Obito creeps around, slowly going around the buildings and heading towards the center of campus. There is almost no one around. But still, Obito felt really uncomfortable with what he was about to do.

Shiit, this is weird, Obito thought to himself.  Here he is, in disguise wearing a creepy mask and hooded cloak, wandering around campus after dark. Maybe the mask is a bit much? He must've really gone crazy... 

Obito shakes the doubt away. He's here now and he has a mission to do. All he has to do is get in, plant the device, then get out. Simple, right?

He sneaks around, finally making it inside the targeted building. The lights are dim and only a few lights illuminate his path. Which is great-- It allows him to hide more easily in the shadows. And it's really late at night, so likely it's just the cleaning crew walking around.

I'm almost there, thought Obito. I can do this.

He hurries down the hallway, trying not to make any noise. He enters the main gym area, carefully heading towards the lockers. He looks around one more time to make sure he's truly alone.

Again, he starts to feel uncertainty creeping in. Maybe this is crazy. What am I doing?

Obito reaches into his pocket and takes out the tiny device. He studies it in his hand.

Flashback

Back home, the sound recording devices arrive. Madara holds one in his hand, turning it over and facing it towards Obito.

"So this is how you use them," Madara says. "They are small and battery operated. All you need to do is plant them somewhere hidden, turn them on, and then collect them later. They can only pick up sound within a certain range. Keep that in mind."

Obito thinks on this for a bit. "You know what? I dunno. This is starting to feel weird."

"It's your choice. The government does it all the time," Madara says nonchalant.

"Well, shit," says Obito. He gives his uncle an exasperated look. "That still doesn't mean it's ok. And doesn't the government do it in the name of preserving freedom and protecting against terrorists? Not just spying on citizens, right?"

"I dunno," says Madara, shrugging. "It's a messed up country."

They continue to debate on the price of freedom... blah blah...

Present time

Now going down the final hallway before the lockers, Obito struggles with whether or not he should plant the recording device in Kakashi's gym locker.

What happened to personal space? This is too fucking creepy. But, he's so close to reaching his goal. He sure is committed now. Should he just do it?

Obito's thoughts were causing him a headache.

No. There's still time to go back and quit. Yea, he should just leave. Obito turns around and starts walking back to the exit.

A door behind him creaks open. Obito immediately stops in his tracks. Oh shit. Slowly, he peeks around.

Kakashi emerges out of the locker room, looking like he just showered. Kakashi is here! What the hell??

Obito quickly turns around and starts running in the opposite direction, only to trip and fall forward. The tail of his cloak flies up and over his head, as he falls forward on his face, ass in the air. Slamming on the ground, he drops the mini device on the floor. Omg no!

Kakashi looks over, surprised to see someone there. "Hey, are you ok?"

Prone on the floor with his ass still in the air, Obito panics as he searches desperately with his hands. His hand finally feels the device. There it is!

Kakashi, still staring at this weird dude asks, "Um.. What are you doing?"

"Uhhh..." Obito quickly grabs the device. "I'm not doing anything. Nothing. Nothing at all!" he squeaks, his frightened voice coming out higher than usual.

He gets up and yells as he runs away. "Uh... Good-bye. Have a goodnight!"

Speechless, Kakashi stares and blinks a few times as he runs off.

Obito keeps running till he's off campus. Once he has enough distance, he pulls off his mask and puts down his hoodie.

Damn, he curses mentally. He failed to plant the device in Kakashi's locker. Still catching his breath, he wonders, we don't need it there anyway, right?

....

Yahiko and Konan are still doing dog walks and getting closer. Turns out walking dogs is pretty fun and relaxing. Yahiko doesn't even mind picking up after the dogs anymore. He's enjoying his time with Konan.

Even she seems to enjoy his company now. It was surprising at first, but turns out she had a bit of a crush on him as well. Yahiko was so happy when he found out.

Konan reaches down to hold his hand. Yup, Yahiko enjoys these walks a lot.

They aren't learning much about Kakashi though, except that he loves animals and takes great care of them. Plus the customers love him. Oh well.

They finish their walk and return to the groomers. Kakashi isn't at the front room. Maybe he's in the back busy grooming a dog?

"I'm going to find a place to hide the device," says Yahiko.

Konan nods in agreement and he starts looking around. She starts looking around the room as well. She notices a pile of papers on the front desk. 

Hmm... that's not supposed to be there, she thinks to herself.

She walks up to the desk and looks at the papers. These look like college applications. Isn't it a bit early to be applying? That's strange. And a scholarship application for a college in Sweden? That's interesting.

She takes out her phone and takes a picture of it all. Who knows. It might be important information later.

Kakashi opens the door from the back room, allowing the noise of a bunch of barking dogs to enter the room.

Konan quickly looks over at Yahiko who comes toward her flashing her a grin. Oh good. He planted the device somewhere.

"How was it?" says Kakashi.

"Oh you know, same as usual. Everything went smoothly," says Yahiko. He picks up Pakkun handing him back to Kakashi.

"Alright, thank you. I'll see you guys again tomorrow," says Kakashi.

With a wave goodbye, Yahiko and Konan leave the store.

...

Meanwhile, back in Journalism club, Nagato was becoming pretty good friends with Kabuto.

It felt great to have a new friend. But over time, Nagato noticed that Kabuto kept asking him about Obito. 

All these questions became the main focus of Kabuto's conversations. He kept asking about who Obito is as a person, what were his whereabouts, what are his ideas for becoming SCP... It was pretty weird and invasive. 

So Nagato kept changing the subject, not willing to give away any information. It didn't work for long though. Eventually, Kabuto just flat out started asking why does Obito want to become SCP so much? It started to feel very suspicious.

Isn't Kabuto just a sophomore? Why does he care so much about the SCP race? And why this fixation on Obito? It just seemed like he couldn't drop the subject. He was getting more and more desperate with his questions.

Nagato had the sinking feeling that their friendship was one sided.

Was he being used? Maybe Kabuto just got close to him to ask about Obito. It hurt, but Nagato felt protective of Obito-- someone he is loyal to. And someone, who he knows for a fact, considers him as his friend as well.

Kabuto was starting to piss him off. Who does he think he is? 

Or maybe the right question is... who is he?

...

History Club/ Team Obito Meeting

"I think I figured out who Roots is," says Nagato.

Obito looks over at him raising his eyebrows. "Oh really?" he says, intrigued. "Who is it?"

"It's Kabuto Yakushi," Nagato says calmly. "He's a sophomore who goes to the Journalism club. He keeps inquiring about you and your whereabouts. I thought it was strange since he seems to be just a normal student. But it makes sense. He knows a lot about Roots, he's always at the Journalism Club, so he has access to all the equipment. And he is just way too good at lowering people's guard by becoming friends with them."

Obito's face brightens, genuinely impressed, "Wow. Well that does make a lot of sense. Good job, Nagato."

Nagato smiles and nods at him.

Obito smiles back at him proudly. "Ok. So Roots is a problem. He's totally biased toward Kakashi. If we can bring him down somehow..."

Rin speaks up, "Maybe we can try and catch him on one of the devices?"

Itachi shakes his head solemnly. "We wouldn't want to expose ourselves with the devices. If Kabuto is Roots, he can be pretty resourceful. We still don't know how he gathers his information."

"Even if we can catch him, we'll never get him to admit it," says Nagato.

The room grows silent, lost in their own thoughts.

Reclined on the teacher's chair at the front of the room, Obito looks up at the ceiling, stroking his chin. Then a devious smirk appears on his face. "Actually... we don't have to expose who Roots is."

They all look at him quizzically.

Obito tilts his head down and looks at them, still smirking. "We can just ruin his credibility."

Itachi studies him, then sudden realization hits him. "Wow. That is a good idea."

"I'm confused," says Yahiko, scratching his head. He looks over at Konan. "What's he talking about?"

Obito chuckles a bit, standing up from the chair. Then he explains, "We start spreading fake Roots articles that sound real, look real, but are easily fake. Satire. They don't have to be good, just good enough to look real and to cause uncertainty."

"What about the website?" says Konan, frowning. "How are we going to post our fake articles there. We don't have administrative control over it."

Itachi looks over at her, a small smile curling the corner of his lips. "I know someone who can hack the school news website for us," he says casually.

Obito spins around to face him, flabbergasted, "Woah, Itachi you've just gone full corrupt. I knew I was a bad influence on you!"

An amused smile appears on Itachi's face. "It's ok when the ends justify the means. It's for the betterment of the school. Besides Roots needs to be taken down. He's no longer unbiased and loyal to the students. He's now serving his own purposes. The once likable and trustworthy vigilante has become the villain."

Obito laughs, "Interesting way to put it." He crosses his arms, regarding his cousin with an amused look of his own. " So... who is this person you know who can hack?"

Itachi closes his eyes, still smiling pleasantly. "My boyfriend, Shisui, of course." 

______

A/N: Hello my lovely readers! I'm so glad you guys are liking this story. :D And thank you for all the votes! Like, Omg!! It makes me so happy! XDD

So Ch 10 is out! And Tobi's filled lizard jutsu makes an appearance!.... lol kind of. Except this one is in reverse and his ass is facing Kakashi.
:3 

When I first saw the frilled lizard jutsu in the anime, I knew Tobi was the shit. XD