Gasps and murmurs sounded faintly at the sight of a silver-haired five year old wearing Konoha's forehead protector with pride, demonstrating his new status as a genin.
Aki, along with others present at the graduation ceremony, gazed dreamily at Kakashi Hatake. Not only was he the youngest student to graduate the academy, but he was also a good-looking boy with an aloof demeanor that mysteriously attracted many girls. It was not surprising that Aki had a crush on him with many that crushed on him as well.
Yet Kakashi noticed only Aki.
It was not as if she was a remarkable student, bullied him, or flirted with him. Rather, she kept her distance and conformed to the crowd.
So how did he know her?
It was shortly after Sakumo Hatake, Kakashi's father, abandoned his mission. Rumors were pervasive, staging not only Sakumo the center of attention but also his son. Even students at the academy gossiped about Sakumo's failure.
"Kakashi's dad abandoned the mission."
"I heard! My parents said that is the worst thing you could ever do as a ninja."
But only one girl stood up for Sakumo.
"But saving your teammates is a good thing..." she interjected.
"Aki, you're so dumb. Don't you know rule number four?"
"A shinobi must always put the mission first?" she asked rather than answered.
"Yeah! Exactly why–"
It could have been the loud slam of the door opening or the appearance of Kakashi that silenced the children. Their eyes followed Kakashi as he walked in and grabbed a stack of papers from the teacher's desk. Not once did any of them say a word until Kakashi walked out silently without meeting any eye contact.
"Hey, Aki, wait–"
Loud footsteps indicated someone behind Kakashi, and he turned around. A girl with short, red-brown hair in a braid and large, turquoise eyes looked down immediately to her nervously twiddling hands as if their eye contact was poison.
"Aren't you ashamed of my dad's actions?" Kakashi asked unemotionally, knowing in his gut that she was the girl that stood up for his father.
Aki looked up to meet his black eyes full of sadness, looked down, and looked back up. "I think you should never abandon your friends," she replied deliberately, "If I had to save Mama or complete my mission, then I would save Mama!"
Kakashi gazed into her bright eyes that contrasted his dark eyes, not only in color but also in the emotions that dwelled in them. Then he turned around and left silently.
After this encounter, his eyes would meet hers unexpectedly in the crowd.
It didn't happen by chance though.
They both unconsciously searched for each other. Even after Kakashi graduated, they looked for each other at the training grounds, the Hokage's residence, or the popular Ichiraku.
It wasn't until Obito's death that Kakashi finally realized the deeper meaning in Aki's words, the first warning to him that could have prevented the impending doom. If he searched for the hidden value in her words and not for those piercing eyes in the mass, perhaps Obito and Rin would still be alive.
1/1/19: published