Mask Off, Spot On

Chapter 4.2

'[Y/N] realized... that it was me...?'
Was what Hatake Kakashi thought at the time, as he watched your figure disappearing off into the distance of the street incredulously.

You gasped for air once you arrived your apartment, before you began panicking over what just happened.

"I made a mistake. I made a real bad mistake. He'll definitely get suspicious. I'll have to continue acting like I just had the wrong person... oh my world, how ridiculous of me! I have to start paying more attention..."

You drop onto your chair, a sudden aching coming up to your brain.

"...He'd never let me see it otherwise, anyway..." You sight.

Lately, you'd began to realize how comfortable you'd grown to be around Kakashi, and at first, you simply shrugged the thought, thinking of things such as 'he's my sensei, so of course that I've grown to become more at ease around him', or 'as my sensei, no wonder that I'd trust him more than anybody else', and even, 'he was always one of the best characters in the anime, not to mention he's handsome, of course my heart beats faster around him sometimes.'

...But that wasn't it. Everything extra you felt, you only felt with him. And you didn't particularly hate it, but it made you feel worried. Perhaps deep down you'd known all along...

A sudden knocking on your door breaks your chain of thoughts, making you quickly reach for the door.
And there he was; when you least expected, when you wanted to see him and talk to him the most, he always appeared.

Once again, you remember the moment you shared before, making you smile at Kakashi netvously, who stood by your doorstep wearing a serious expression.

"O-Oh, sensei~, good timing! I've been meaning to talk to you for a while..."

"..."

"E-Erm... I'd like to ask for your help to train my ninjutsu... Sensei...?" At his serious expression which didn't answer to anything you said, you couldn't help but ask him to. And so, a smile finally finds its way to his one visible eye.

"Of course, [Y/N]. I do remember telling you before that I'd help, right?" He says.

"Y-Yeah... thanks..."

This moment suddenly became awkward. Right after you'd thought of how comfortable it was to be around him, what in this world happened now, you wondered.

"It's a very well kept secret, don't you agree?" He asks, pointing a finger to his mask.

"...Well, yeah. Everyone's curious about your face, I guess." You answer back, hesitantly.

"...Do you also want to see it, [Y/N]...?" Kakashi  asks,  his expression serious once again.

You stay silent for a while, thinking of the best answer to give him. You weren't particularly curious, since you'd seen his face plenty of times before, though it wasn't exactly live action.
You would, though, like to see it again, though probably under a certain condition...

"Sensei... if I asked you to put your mask down for me, would you?" You ask (being well aware that he has a double).

"... I would." (Again, because he always had a double).

"Then, that'd be enough for me." You state, smiling tenderly at Kakashi.

After a silent moment, he raised his hand towards your face, and for you unnoticeably, but stopped right before his fingers could touch your cheek, and ended up raising his hand even higher so that he could ruffle up your hair. You look up at him to see his one eye staring into yours, a glint of tenderness visible, making your heart tighten. His cheek created a small, almost invisible crease under his eye, and so, you could tell he was smiling.

You fall entranced in him...

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<POOF>

"..."

"A shadow clone... huh..."

*********************

Furthermore into the sunset of Konoha, you decide to go out for a small walk, to ease your mind. Today was a long day for you, and your brain needed some fresh air to clear up.

You stop in your tracks to see a familiar scene, though, this time, it was all happening right in front of you. Not in a screen, but in the real lifetime. You chuckle at the scene, knowing very well that they'd fail on their attempt.

"Today, Kakashi-sensei!  We caught you! This time, we'll really see your face, y'know?!" Naruto screams triumphantly, a shadow clone of Kakashi standing in front of him, trapped in the gennin's trap, while the real Kakashi, masked as Sukea, stood behind Naruto with his camera in hand.

The clone seemed to be in a panick, as Shikamaru's jutsu had caught him this time around again, and made him reach for his own mask to take it off.

This time, it didn't seem like anyone would've come to save him, so you decide to approach the scene.

You hid yourself well behind a tree in the street, and bit your finger, making it bleed.
You summoned Grey, making him appear from behind Shikamaru.

Grey ran past them, bumping into Mr.Pineapple, making him tumble down onto the ground, breaking the shadow that unified him with Kakashi.

Just before Grey could reach your hiding spot, he dissappeared in a bomb of smoke once again.

'Well, Kakashi-sensei wouldn't have needed my help if he went serious against everyone, not to mention they'd only get to see his backup mask. But still, letting everyone believe that it's the world's will to keep him from being discovered is probably just as much fun.'

You silently walk away without anyone noticing you were even there, humming a song inside your head delightfully. No one noticed you, except for, of course, the keen Kakashi.