“That headband really does suit you, Naruto.”
“Haha, you think so?” Naruto laughed as he continued to re-adjust his headband before turning and grinning to the woman sitting beside him. “Yeah, I think so too!”
“So, today’s the day you’ll be meeting your new sensei, yes?”
“Yup, but I’m not nervous at all. In fact, once he sees how great a ninja I am, then I’m sure I’ll be the top in the team. The only problem will be Sasuke.” Naruto crossed his arms with a snort, gaining a small chuckle from his white-haired companion.
“Surely having him on your team can’t be that bad, can it?” Hisayo asked, having gone through a few experiences where first impressions of teammates were not always the correct ones—her most recent of course having been with Raido.
Naruto swiveled his chair around to face the golden-eyed woman so fast that Hisayo actually gave a small jump in surprise by his sudden actions. “But it is! And to make it worse, I finally got the chance to get close to Sakura-chan, but all she can see and think about is ‘Sasuke-kun’.” Naruto imitated before taking an angry bite of his ramen, swallowing, and then continuing. “With Sasuke on my team, I’ll never get her attention!”
Hisayo blinked a bit in response to Naruto’s words, being a bit taken off guard. She didn’t quite understand. “Why is it so important that you get her attention Naruto?”
Naruto’s face grew red as he flinched back at the question. “W-well because I…I like her, okay!” He confessed out loud, gaining a loud chuckle from Teuchi who had been eavesdropping over his shoulder as he cleaned behind his bar. “H-hey, what’s so funny?!” Naruto whipped his head around to face the ramen shop owner.
“Nothing, nothing.” Teuchi continued to chuckle though, before he gave a heavy sigh. “Why, I’m just remembering back in the day when I was a young boy in love.”
Naruto sunk down in his seat, hovering inches over his ramen bowl and mumbled, “Old timer.”
“What was that?!” Teuchi held up the ladle he had just finished washing.
“Time to go, Naruto.” Hisayo was quick to get Naruto and herself away from the offended man and his ramen shop; putting a large bill on the bar, hoping that it would be enough to cause Teuchi to momentarily forget his anger.
“Hey, I wasn’t finished!” Naruto whined as he continued to be led by his arm.
Hisayo glanced down with a smile. “I promise to make it up to you later.”
“Ooo, you mean by training with me?” An excited and hopeful glint was held in Naruto’s eyes.
“If you want to get certain people’s attention, then you have to keep improving, right?” Hisayo wasn’t entirely sure if what she was saying to be true.
When Naruto had told her who he was trying to get the attention of (a female) and the reason for it, it got her mind ticking…So was that how it all started? Boy likes girl, boy tries to get girl’s attention, and…then what? Does girl like boy back? What does that all even mean anyways?
“It’s called love.”
Hisayo stopped for a moment in her tracks, still having her gentle hold on Naruto’s arm. She heard that phrase being chanted in her mind—the one that Kurenai and Yugao had spoken to her of, many times, in fact. And it hadn’t been just them.
There was Myukyu…darn that little wolf, trying to compare wolf relationships with humans. That was where things became confusing, but…at the same time…his comparisons seemed to make sense and matched up here and there with what her fellow kunoichi were saying to her. But how could she verify all of what they were saying? How did she know if she was experiencing a feeling of love and towards…Kakashi?
Okay, well she felt different around him that much she could tell, and her thoughts the other night had led her to begin to think of it. She dropped barriers around him even when she didn’t realize it at times; acting almost out of character, but really, wasn’t that what she was wanting for herself? To be able to act freely without any kind of reserve in emotions or fear of what any outcomes would be, especially since she was a—
“Hisayo-san…” Hisayo looked down to see the concerned look on Naruto’s face. “Are you alright?” He then asked.
Letting out the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding, she gave a tiny smile and nod. “Yes, I’m fine. Do you have a bit of time to train, or did you want to go meet up with your team early to meet your new sensei?”
“Oh yeah, that’s right! I should start heading over there!” Naruto then began running, before he turned his head and shouted over his shoulder to Hisayo. “Sorry, Hisayo-san, but I’ll have to get back to you on that later. Bye!”
Hisayo gave a light smile as she watched the boy disappear into the crowd. It hadn’t escaped her notice however, of how many people had been glaring at him as he had run passed. That in turn caused the smile on her face to be replaced by a frown. She hadn’t seen any improvement, in her two years of living in the village, in the attitude or feelings that the villagers had of the boy. It caused her to then think of herself.
Looking down at her cuffed wrists, before bringing one hand up to touch the cuff around her neck that was hidden by her Leaf headband, she thought, ‘Will we ever achieve our dreams if we are what we are…?Yes…we have to keep trying…I have to keep trying.’
With a deep intake of breath to inwardly regain her composure, she headed off to the training ground area that she and her Chunin always used. Her three brats were waiting for her, she knew, but it hadn’t stopped her from spending some time with Naruto and offering to train with him and her Chunin.
There had always been those times in the past where he came along with her when the opportunity presented itself. The teens never had a problem with him and were always happy to let the boy join in on small training exercise that they knew wouldn’t cause heavy strain on him, but Hisayo knew that Naruto wouldn’t stand for ‘kid’ stuff anymore since he was now a Genin…for however long that might be.
Hisayo frowned yet again, thinking of that last thought. She knew that Naruto being a Genin might only be temporary due to the fact that the Jounin instructors would be trying to weed out those that weren’t ready for such a rank.
******
“Hey, guys, so I was thinking…” Ken began to voice something he had been thinking about as he skimmed over a scroll, trying to memorize the seals for creating a fire-resistant barrier. He was moving down the list of the different resistant types of barriers—lightning and earth were already under his belt thanks to Akira’s and Hisayo’s help.
Suzume’s eyes grew out of curiosity. “What is it, Ken?”
“Don’t you think it’s about time we start to think about working towards becoming Jounin?”
“How come?” Akira asked as he basked in the morning sun, continuing to wait for their sensei. “I say we’re fine with the ranks we hold right now. Besides, if we did that and passed, wouldn’t that mean that our team gets separated?”
“Hmm, that is true…” Suzume looked up at the visible clouds from under the tree she was leaned against, “but starter teams go their separate ways eventually, Akira.”
“I know that Suzume.” Akira huffed and turned his back to the kunoichi, hiding his red face.
“Hey, don’t get mad at me for stating the facts!” The little sparrow was quick to jump on her teammate for being unnecessarily angered.
“Hey you two, I was just bringing it up in light conversation. I’m not saying we have to do any of that right this second.” Ken blandly said as he continued to concentrate on his reading.
“Even if you three do decide to move up in rank, that doesn’t mean that I won’t still be around to watch out for you all or that we won’t be able to meet.” Hisayo made her presence known up in the tree.
The Chunin all scrambled from their spots in surprise, looking up to the branch on which their sensei stood on. “Sensei!”
“We were just saying-“
“I know, and it shouldn’t be something to be afraid of, Akira.” Akira took in a sharp, but quiet breath, surprised that Hisayo had been in their presence at least long enough to have seen him act that way at just the mere thought of having their team split to go about their different goals in life. “Everyone grows and changes eventually. We all go through different experiences…even ones that we don’t quite understand, but the four of us will always have a strong bond, will we not?”
“Always, Hisayo-sensei!”
The very open smile Hisayo gave to the three of them, made their jaws nearly drop, and their eyes to sparkle in joy. “Now, enough of this…today is supposed to be a training day.”
“Are you okay to train though sensei?” Suzume looked at her sensei’s leg in concern.
Akira only laughed. “Are you seriously asking that Suzume? Who do you think sensei is? Of course she’s okay to train!”
Hisayo dropped down from the tree, landing without a fault and showing that she was, in fact, quite alright. Ken rolled up his scroll and stood up with a smirk directed at Suzume. “See, she’s fine. The whole demon thing has its quirks.”
It had taken a good while for such a word to ever be uttered from the Chunin—demon—for fear of offending their sensei, but she was always unoffended, having told them at one point long ago, that she wasn’t bothered by it. The only thing she had requested of them not to do was to refer to her in public or with any joining teams during missions as such. She was still very much so, sensitive about letting others whom she wasn’t close to, know what she was.
“So, you are moving onto a different barrier today, Ken?” Hisayo turned the conversation in a new direction as she made her way out to the open with her Chunin following close behind.
“Yeah, a fire-resistant barrier. I need someone with fire-based jutsus to help though.”
“I think I know just the person to help.”
…
“Me?” Akio found himself in the training field with four expectant people staring at him. “But I only have a couple to use that would help.”
“That’s fine sensei. Even just using the Blazing Wolves Jutsu would help, though if Ken is really adamant, then he’ll want something with a bit more bite. However, just to be careful, start off with the weaker jutsu first, sensei.”
Akio gave a nod, agreeing with Hisayo. “I guess I could use the Fireball Jutsu later then, but will you be okay Ken? It’s quite powerful.” He gave warning.
“Woah! Akio-sensei, you know fire releasing jutsus like that?! I thought you only knew earth-based stuff.” Akira was surprise but happy to learn more of Akio. Never once during his training with him when he was both a Genin and now as a Chunin, had Akio ever shown or even hinted at such abilities.
“Weren’t the Uchihas the ones who developed and used that technique the most though?”
Suzume nodded, agreeing with the information Ken had on the topic. “Yeah, but other shinobi like Hatake-san, and Yamashiro-san, can use the technique.” The red-head then turned to her sensei, “Right, Hisayo-sensei?”
Hisayo nodded, thinking it would be the end to the conversation, but it wasn’t.
Akira turned his full attention to both of his sensei. “So wait, how does Akio-sensei know fire-based jutsus? I thought you two weren’t from the Land of Fire…”
Hisayo and Akio glanced at each other in a brief moment of silence, before Akio lightly cleared his throat and put on a big smile after. “We aren’t, but I believe we are getting away from the task at hand, Akira. All that matters at this point is that I have the means to help Ken with his jutsu. So, are you ready Ken?”
“Yeah!” Ken nodded enthusiastically and pointed out where he needed Akio to stand. “After I put up the barrier, hit me with whatever fire jutsu you see fit to use, but I think Hisayo-sensei is right; I should start off with a small blocking of fire.”
Hisayo, Akira, and Suzume were quick to move out of the way, and watched from a relatively safe distance away. Ken gave one last glance at his scroll, making sure he fully understood the correct placing of hand signs, before he expertly rolled it up and put it in his back pocket.
As usual with Ken, his hand seals were made quickly and efficiently, even though it was his first time attempting the technique—though he must have had some practice with forming each seal beforehand. The dome-shaped barrier that formed around him in a defensive manner was a red-ish color that was a good ten feet in height and had an approximate diameter of five feet.
“Alright, Akio-sensei, give it a good hit or two. I want to see if I need to make any adjustments in my chakra flow in order to maintain it.”
The testing went on for a several minutes with Akio deciding it best to just use the Blazing Wolves Jutsu and have the wolves attack in succession rather than all together. Once Ken grew accustom to the attacks and knew how much chakra to add into the barrier, he then asked Akio to take it up a notch. With a hesitant glance to Hisayo, who gave a small nod to proceed, Akio dispelled the fiery wolves and began the Fireball Jutsu. It wasn’t much of a surprise that the young male was able to hold back the fierce attack; he had shown several times in the past of his great, and still increasing, skill of creating and maintaining barriers of different kinds. It was to the point where Hisayo, at times, wondered if Ken’s potential in this area would have been unknown had he still had Jiro as his sensei.
“Ken, why don’t you take a break and let Suzume and Akira work on a few things of their own?” Hisayo suggested after nearly twenty minutes into Ken’s training.
Wiping some sweat from his face, Ken nodded and went to rest for a little while under the trees, while Akio gave a smile to Ken as he walked over to Hisayo.
“That was a really good first go, Ken. I’ll help you some more later if you like.” He kindly offered.
“Sure, that’d be great! Thanks Akio-sensei!”
With Suzume and Akira now out on the training field, and Ken sitting far behind them, Akio looked to Hisayo with a knowing expression. “So, today is the day. Are you nervous for him?”
“Of course I am. Who knows what kind of sensei he will have and if that sensei sends the boy packing or not.” Hisayo then looked over to Akio with a pair of stern questioning eyes. “Do you happen to know who his new sensei is?”
Akio’s shoulders slumped slightly and he gave a small sigh. “Not a clue I’m afraid. We’ll just have to cross our fingers and hope things aren’t so bad for him.”
“Hmph, well that’s no good, sensei. And here I thought you had every inside scoop on the students and instructors since you’ve been assisting and teaching there for two years.”
Akio gave a mock pout at his companion, “Do you really think so little of me that you’d assume I spy on people’s everyday lives? I’m hurt, really Hisayo.”
Hisayo gave a small smirk. “Somehow I know you’ll get over it.”
******
As Kakashi made his way home in the early evening, he wondered, behind his little book, how the three Genin brats would take tomorrow’s test. The Uchiha, he figured, probably wouldn’t do so badly. It was the other two that he thought might not do too well. Sakura was too blinded by the opposite sex to probably pay any decent amount of attention, and Naruto, well he was…different to say the least.
Oh boy, that’s right, he would still have to deal with that problem, well, if it did turn out that way—which he was pretty sure it would. He would more than likely have to deal with her fury over the matter, but maybe he’d get lucky somehow and be able to avoid her inevitable anger over the arrangement of things (which the Third was responsible for, not him.) for a little while?
The light sound of a person dropping in from behind him as he opened his apartment door caused him to give a small sigh. Nope, luck was not with him this lovely evening. When his visitor made no sound or attempt to get his attention, he snapped his book shut and turned around with a smile, knowing exactly who it was.
“I wasn’t expecting you to drop by. Would you like to come inside?”
“Have a good day I take it?” Hisayo asked as she walked inside, with Kakashi following behind and closing the door.
“Hmm, not particularly, no.”
A flat expression covered Hisayo’s face as she took to leaning on the door after Kakashi slipped passed and made his way to his tiny kitchen to make some tea. “I wasn’t really expecting as much. So I guess your first day with a new set of Genin is just as taxing as the last?” Her lips twitched into a tiny smirk.
“Ouch, Hisayo. Might I help you recall your experience with your brats when they were Genin?”
The smirk on Hisayo’s lips was quick to disappear and she shifted in her stance, and crossed her arms. “I’m getting away from why I’m here.”
Kakashi gave a smirk over how quick Hisayo was to drive the subject away from herself. Having Genin, though her first and so far only which she had had, must have really been a pain to deal with at times and she more than likely didn’t want to spill any embarrassing stories about them.
With the kettle now whistling, he poured the boiling tea water into two cups and walked back over to Hisayo, handing her one cup, which she quietly accepted, and then taking a seat on the arm of his small couch to face her.
It was quiet a few moments with Hisayo staring down into her cup, before her eyes shot up unexpectedly. “I came here to talk to you about something important.” Hisayo’s gold orbs made solid contact with Kakashi’s single one, showing just how serious whatever matter she had to discuss was.
“Okay, sure.” He lazily replied, keeping his usually calm and laid-back composure even though he already knew what was coming—an angry lecture.
“You’re one of the new senseis that are to test the recently graduated students of the academy…”
Kakashi gave a careful nod. “Go on.” He mentally prepared himself for the soon-to-be angered kunoichi.
Hisayo’s eyes then looked away from his; an action which he had taken several notes of in the past from her to mean that she was nervous over a matter. “Naruto…do you know what instructor he has?”
‘So, she still doesn’t know after all.’
Kakashi was quiet for a moment seemingly in thought, when he decided to answer her. “I do,” he began in a serious tone of voice, “buuuut I don’t feel like telling you right now.” He ended, leaning forward with a closed-eye smile for Hisayo to see.
Yup, he’d avoid her wrath for one more evening at least. The last thing he wanted right now was to go to bed with an argument between him and Hisayo that would surly keep him up all night. He had a long day tomorrow and he hoped that if anything, that Akio would at least be around to help quell her anger and keep her from mauling him.
“Kakashi.” Hisayo gave a low growl of warning, demanding to know what he knew.
His only reply was a soft chuckle as he set his untouched tea down on the table. “Don’t worry Hisayo. Naruto will be just fine tomorrow during his test…probably.”
“Oh, is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Well, did it?”
“No, not at all.”
“Then how about this: Naruto will more than likely run home crying after he fails the test…Sound better?”
Hisayo’s eyes narrowed dangerously, causing Kakashi to hold up his hands in a nervous apology. “Alright, sorry. I know that this must be stressful for you, but at least you know that he’ll be out there giving it his all, right? Naruto isn’t one for letting people easily overlook him.”
“Yes, I know. So then…you still aren’t going to let me know who his instructor is.”
“That sounds about right. I’ll be keeping that information to myself for the time-being.” Hisayo turned away to face the door with an unreadable expression, but Kakashi knew that she was bothered by not knowing. “Hey, he has to grow up sometime, Hisayo. This whole test may be exactly what he needs in order to see that. Pass or fail, he’ll understand that there is no easy path to becoming a shinobi and that there are stakes in life that could cost him and his teammate’s their lives if not careful.”
“I know that, but…” Hisayo’s eyes sadly cast to the ground as the hand she had held around the knob of the door, tightened.
“You’re worried because he’s a Jinchuuriki, right?”
Her small, frail-like nod made Kakashi rise from his seat and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Hisayo twisted around at his unexpected actions and met his dark and sincere orb. He had always known how sensitive the topic was with her, even though she wasn’t a Jinchuuriki herself. He could always see how hard it was sometimes for her to look at Naruto without sadness in her eyes over his unfortunate fate to have the nine-tails sealed away in his body and to see the treatment he received.
The strong protective bond she had with Naruto would always have her looking over her shoulder to see that he was alright and safe, for she equally felt the pain he had of being feared and hated for being different. But he could also see, and had been seeing, the strength that Naruto had, and his ever persistent dream to be a person that everyone in the village would look up to and respect.
“He’s fought all these years just like you have been, Hisayo. He’s a strong kid. A bit hyper and bratty at times, but he’ll be alright—whatever happens. So please, don’t worry so much.”
Hisayo was silent, being unexplainably drawn in by his closeness. Her eyes then slightly widened, seeing how close they, in fact, were to each other. She thought that perhaps he might do something. What though, she didn’t quite know as she continued to feel the heat rising on her face. Her hands also began to feel a bit shaky, and that’s when it happened…the forgotten cup of tea in her hand fell to the floor, breaking and spilling tea all over the mostly carpeted floor.
“Sorry.” She quickly bent down to pick up the broken cup, but she ended up slamming her forehead into Kakashi’s chin as he had also began to bend down to pick up the mess.
This caused both to frantically put distance between them as they shouted apologies to the other for being in the other’s way. In the process however, Hisayo had reeled back, hitting the back of her head against the door which then caused her to shoot forward as she clasped the back of her head—which was now in more pain than her forehead. What was more, Kakashi who had leaned back to give her space, saw what had happened and attempted to step forward to hold her steady.
However, he slipped on a piece of the broken cup as his hands made contact with Hisayo. He tried to correct himself by taking a step back to balance himself, but he was met with the arm of the couch (darn it for having such little space in the tiny apartment!) and ended up falling backwards, accidentally taking Hisayo with him as it was an instinct to try to pull himself back to an upright position.
With combined feminine and masculine grunts, the two shinobi both fell into the couch; with Hisayo’s face planted in the crook of Kakashi’s neck and one of Kakashi’s arms firmly over her back and around her waist in order to keep her from rolling off of him and to the floor.
“Well, that was fun.” Kakashi gave a sheepish smile as his sat up on one elbow, while he kept his hold of Hisayo, though by this time, it had loosed a bit.
Hisayo pulled back from Kakashi with a blush covered face and an uncertain expression as she inwardly was frantically trying to get her emotions under control, all the while that phrase bounced wildly in her head, growing louder and louder in her mind.
“Love…It’s called love. It’s called love—It’s love!”
Kakashi looked down at Hisayo in a curious yet concerned manner after he saw he jerk her head down and shut her eyes tightly as if trying to escape something in fear. “Hisayo…are you...okay?” He gently asked.
Her eyes then shot back open and she made a hasty retreat from his grasp. “I-I have to go. Sorry about the tea cup.” She then slammed the door shut on her way out, leaving Kakashi to stare at it; still in his seated position, with a confused expression.
Had he done or said something wrong—apart from the horribly embarrassing situation that they had just gone through? He hadn’t thought he’d done anything, but upon further thought and analysis of what had happened, he gave a deep sigh.
“Great. Way to go and make her feel uncomfortable Hatake…A big pat on your back.” He lazily said in irritation of himself.
*****
Akio glanced up from the book he had carefully been reading over the past couple of days, and leaned over a bit to view the closed door to Hisayo’s room in concern. She had come home last night and had rushed off to bed without a word. One thing he was able to tell upon her return home, however, was that a heavy scent of Kakashi had surrounded her as she had sped passed him.
Akio brought his cup of warm tea to his lips and took a sip in thought, wondering if something had transpired between the two which had then made Hisayo upset. He didn’t expect that she would let him know though, but crossed his fingers anyway, in hope that she might.
The sound of Hisayo’s door opening and closing made Akio quickly lift his eyes from his book and close it in a rather calm manner before he slipped it under his arm to hide the title. As Hisayo quietly made her way into the kitchen to get a cup of tea, Akio lifted his cup again to his lips.
“Good morning.” He said with a warm smile after taking another sip of his tea.
Hisayo paused in her actions and looked over her shoulder, before giving a small nod and saying, “Good morning.” as well.
Deciding to take a small chance, Akio carefully asked if something had happened last night, but she only shook her head, saying that it was nothing; that she had simply been tired. The real truth however, was that she had spent a good deal last night at the memorial after what had happened at Kakashi’s place. With a racing heart and flushed face she had tried to ascertain what it was she was truly feeling.
That continued phrase was still strong in her mind as well as the many instances where she had found herself to be in Kakashi’s company in some form or fashion; ending it all with her most recent encounter with him. It was to the point where she had found herself asking out loud if her actions…and his…led to that one conclusion, and if it truly did…then what would that mean for them in the future.
She never did receive any reply, but what had she really expected—the spirits surrounding the memorial to speak up and give her an answer? Without coming to a solid conclusion and without any kind of help to direct her at that time, she had gone home. And now, here she was, inwardly debating if it was time she sought out some advice from Akio.
With the whistle of the kettle, she stopped herself from thinking to ask, deciding that maybe it was better to speak to Kurenai and/or Yugao about what was going on in her chaotic mind.
With a quick pouring of tea and a swift yet graceful movement towards the table to take a seat, she looked up from her cup with a small smile, covering up her previous state of thoughtful silence. “Are you going to the academy today?”
Akio lifted a single brow, wondering what had happened to her earlier demeanor which he now had further suspicions of. “No, I was actually going to go take care of a few personal errands today.” The look on his face then turned to a more playful one as he asked, “Why?”
“I think you know why.” Hisayo gave a small sigh at Akio’s covered-up tease, glancing down at the table and finding Akio’s arm resting on top of the green cover of a book.
It was of a decent size and looked like it came off of some dust-covered self that had been long forgotten, as the color was dull in appearance. Her eyes lit up slightly in curiosity as she continued to examine the book more. “What’s that you’re reading? It looks like you dug it out of a trashcan or something.”
“Ah, this?” Akio carefully slid the book off of the table and held it under his arm with his hand holding it securely on one corner as he stood from his seat. “It’s just something I checked out from the library.”
Hisayo couldn’t see very much of the book after that as the large sleeve of Akio’s haori hid it from view. She gave it no mind though since her attention was now more set on Akio’s actions of leaving. “Should I go to the market later since you’ll be busy doing other things?”
“I should have everything taken care of quickly, so no need. You’ll probably be needed by the Hokage anyway, which by the way, shouldn’t you have already gone to see him? It’s already mid-morning you know.”
Hisayo nearly choked on her tea, setting the cup down rather roughly, and leaving for the door herself. Akio chuckled as soon as he saw her reaction and was very much okay with Hisayo rushing passed him to leave first out the door.
*****
Hisayo was quick—with a calm exterior and style—to reach the Hokage Mansion, and began her trek up the stairs to his office. When she found him oddly missing, she decided to put her nose to work and tracked his scent all the way to the lounge at the end of the same hall, hearing voices as she drew closer.
“What kind of teacher is Naruto and Team 7’s Jounin?”
Hisayo paused just as she reached the door, as soon as she heard the familiar voice of Iruka. She narrowed her eyes in triumph; looks like she wasn’t the only one curious as to who it could be. Her eyes went wide however when she heard the name;
“Hatake Kakashi you mean? Are you worried for Naruto then?”
“It’s just…I’ve heard that he hasn’t passed a single genin that he has ever been given….Is that true?” Hisayo swallowed hard. She knew for a fact it was all true, and to hear that Kakashi was the one in charge of Naruto made her hair rise on end.
No wonder Kakashi had been keen to keep the information of who Naruto’s sensei was, because he was the sensei!
She figured that he most probably intended to keep it from her to both stop her from possibly interfering and also to keep the skin on his back for a little while longer. With small sparks of electricity flickering around her fists, she made a hasty retreat from the door and hallway to go find the source of her current wrath. As she disappeared down the hallway, from inside the lounge, the Third’s eyes glanced to the side just over his shoulder as Iruka quickly skimmed the book he had just given him on Kakashi’s pass and fail rate of the Genin he had in the past.
No doubt what had been spoken of between him and Iruka had her running to Naruto’s aid, but he thought it best that he stay to deal with Iruka, even though he had had a certain white wolf lurking about. The only questions now were…how would she handle the situation when she found Kakashi, and also…how would Kakashi take it? He tilted his hat down to hide the wry smirk on his lips. It would be quite the scene between the two indeed.
******
With a closed-eye smile, Kakashi leaned forward to the frightened and panicking Genin as the storm above his head raged. “You pass.”
“Eh? We…we passed, but how?” Sakura was certainly at a loss as to how they passed. She thought that they were all goner for sure. ‘And that I’d be forever without Sasuke-kun!’
Kakashi nodded, telling them again, before the clouds cleared and he went into the in-depth explanation of why his type of testing was so important. With Team 7 officially being declared, Kakashi turned to leave; being followed by only two of his three Genin, while the third—being Naruto—flailed around trying to get loose of his binding while yelling for them to let him go.
“Forgetting something, Kakashi?”
Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke, stopped dead in their tracks when Hisayo flickered onto the scene several feet in front of them with a low growl.
With a smile and a bead of sweat rolling down his face, Kakashi scratched at his cheek. “Oh, Hisayo…Hi.”
Naruto was then heard from behind in a quick excited flurry of words. “Hisayo-san, Hisayo-san! Hey, what are you doing here?! Oh guess what—we passed!”
Hisayo ignored Naruto for the moment, along with the shaking pink-haired kunoichi, and the dark haired Genin who had his hand fixed on his kunai holster and ready to attack. Her only focus at this time was Kakashi.
“Give me one good reason why I should leave you with any appendages.” She took a step forward with narrowed eyes in anger as she spoke venomously.
Kakashi looked up with a finger on his chin in a thoughtful manner, “Well, let’s see…because,” He then held up his orange book which somehow managed to produce a sparkling glow. “I haven’t finished reading my book yet?”
“You have some nerve joking around with me, Hatake!” Hisayo snapped.
Kakashi gave a small visible cringe at the sudden use of his surname. As he feared, he was in pretty deep trouble with her. He couldn’t blame her though; he did withhold the fact that he was Naruto’s new sensei and his zero passing rates of students didn’t help either—though today marked the end of that streak. Unfortunately for him, Akio wasn’t around at the time to help out, and he also had an audience which he was sure might be injured in some way if he didn’t calm the pissed off kunoichi in front of him down.
Hisayo chose the time to then disappear in a flash and reappear by Naruto, cutting the ropes in a single, nearly unseen, motion. Naruto then landed on his butt with a loud “Oof.” and a slightly pained, “Thanks Hisayo-san.”, as he sat and rubbed his aching backside.
‘Wow, she’s so fast!’ Sakura looked at the white-haired woman with surprised, teal colored eyes.
Sasuke turned to see her as well, but his thoughts and expression were more pensive. ‘Who is she?’ There was this strange and unexplainable feeling he had just now of her, and he didn’t much like it.
“Who is that, sensei?” Sakura lightly pointed out to the, still, angered looking woman.
Kakashi gave a sigh, already tired of the fight that would ensue. “A very angered woman, that’s who.”
“Damn. Right.” Hisayo calmly—a little too calmly—said, causing Naruto to flinch back in recognition of her tone of voice and what it meant.
He then quickly put himself in front of Hisayo and lightly tugged at the loose end of her scarlet top. “Hey, Hisayo-san, what’s wrong? What did Kakashi-sensei do to make you angry? Is it something so bad that you have to act this way?” He continued to ask, trying to calm her down.
“He was not up front about you to me.” Hisayo replied, staring angrily still, at Kakashi.
“Huh?” The very confused look on Naruto’s face made Hisayo continue.
“He knew…he knew that I was worried about you, and…” Hisayo then directed what was said next to Kakashi. “You said all of that, knowing. Why couldn’t you have trusted me enough to just tell me? We could have settled things then, instead of now in front of your new students.”
Kakashi’s eye widened slightly as it all donned on him. He had never thought of the issue to be about trust. He had thought he was saving and comforting Hisayo of the worry that she had yesterday. “Hisayo and I have to talk, so you three go home.” He calmly ordered of the Genin who reluctantly did so, though Naruto was the slowest at first to go.
“Hisayo-san, will you and sensei be okay?” He looked between her and Kakashi.
She gave a nod and gently pushed Naruto away from her and in the direction of his home. “Yes, I’ll catch up with you later Naruto.” With an unconvinced frown, Naruto finally left, leaving Kakashi and Hisayo alone under the noon-high sun.
“You knew how worried I was for him and yet you still sat there last night and spoke as if everything really would be alright.”
Kakashi gaze saddened for a moment as he walked forward, speaking, “I’m really sorry, Hisayo, but I was afraid that if you knew, that I’d-”
“Be pummeled into the ground.” Hisayo glared at Kakashi, causing him to stop in his tracks; he was only few arms lengths away from her now.
He gave a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head. “Well…that might have been one of the reasons, but really…if you found out that I was the one testing Naruto and the others, then you would have tried to stop me.”
“I would have, because Kakashi, you have never passed anyone before and in turn that has broken many students of their hopes and dreams of being a shinobi and I didn’t want the same to happen to Naruto!”
“My test is necessary in order to keep those that would create problems and let their comrades die, from being put out in the field. So really, I’ve been doing everyone a favor and you should understand this, Hisayo. Those that don’t, like Naruto and the others who almost didn’t understand, often go through tough situations where tough decisions are made and someone dies.” Hisayo glare lessened as she continued to listen to Kakashi. “Think about this…how would you react if Naruto’s team returned home and Naruto wasn’t with them because his teammates were too full of themselves during their mission and decided to act on their own, leaving Naruto behind to die? Or the reverse…How would you feel if Naruto was the arrogant and prideful one that ended up getting his teammates killed?”
“I…” the angered look on Hisayo’s face was completely gone now, replaced by a sad one as she saw the realization.
“Hisayo, I speak from experience. Going through that kind of experience…being the reason for a teammate’s death…it weighs heavily on the heart and hopefully, this first lesson that Naruto and the others have just gone through will stay with them and help to keep them from going through such harsh experiences—such as the one I’ve just explained to you.”
“You’re…right.” Hisayo gave a small nod, her anger now quelled. “I should already know it for myself. I had my brats go through a similar situation when I first was given them. They fought…they argued to no end sometimes. And when I finally had enough, thinking and knowing that it would spell trouble when on missions, I told them: “Five year olds have no place in the field.” That, “Taking missions are for Ninja, not babies.” …I apologize…I was just being so wound up and overly protective of Naruto…that I forgot to stop and realize a few things.”
Kakashi closed in the rest of the distance between him and Hisayo, and placed a hand on her shoulder with a closed-eye smile. “It’s okay to be protective of him, but like everyone else, he’s growing up and is determined to make his dreams a reality. Now…speaking of dreams; I had the most wonderful one about eating some yakiniku* last night. So, want to go with me to get some? We might run into Asuma over there.” Kakashi gestured to leave, gaining a small content sigh from Hisayo as she nodded her head in agreement.
He was doing it again, just like he always did…he was making her comfortable and…content.
But because she had her reputation and attitude to maintain—though that continued to go flying further and further out the door each day—she couldn’t help but cross her arms as she began to lead the way. “Well then,” She gave a small huff, “since you invited, you’ll be treating me, and I’m feeling pretty hungry today. I skipped breakfast you know.”
“I’m sure I can handle it.” Kakashi gave a light chuckle as his orange book found its way out of his pocket.
“Alright, then I want the beef and pork special, with the vegetable bowl and rice. I think I need a drink also to calm my nerves.” The book nearly fell out of Kakashi’s hands.
“Wh-what? That much?” He stuttered at the unbelievable menu that Hisayo had orchestrated for herself. “And a drink in the middle of the day?”
The smirk on Hisayo’s face was unseen as she was walking in front of Kakashi, with her back to him. “Of course. It was your fault that I became even more stressed over everything today.”
Kakashi slumped his shoulders a bit and gave a heavy sigh as he continued to follow. “I guess I’ve just dug myself a hole.” He mumbled to himself, though Hisayo was able to hear him.
“Maybe I should summon the pack for lunch too.” She spoke in a serious and thoughtful manner, though she was only just teasing. “They could use a break from running all over Fire, and I’m sure they’d enjoy it too. Oh, and how about we invite your own to eat too?” Hisayo then turned around, seeing Kakashi’s now drained expression. “What?” She questioned with an inward smirk. “I thought you said you could handle it, Kakashi.”
Boy, Akio was sure rubbing off on her nowadays. She’d better be careful he didn’t find that out though.
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*Yakiniku- Grilled meat. Bite sized pieces of meat and vegetable are served raw and are then cooked over a grill top in the center area by customers. The reference is to the favorite Korean B-B-Q place called Yakiniku Q, where Asuma goes and often takes his Genin too.