Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I meant to write pure angst but it came out humor! I wish my stories would actually go along with my plans for once! It seems as though I don't create the stories, but rather that the stories create themselves!

oOoOoOo

"Who are you really?" Tsunade glared at the shinobi before her.

"You don't believe me?"

The sannin leaned further over her desk, "Not at all."

oOo

Now really, who allowed that troublesome weed to do that?

Kakashi sighed as he stood up from his ever-so-comfortable log and approached the offending foliage. Seriously though, weren't there gardeners that attended to such things? Sure, a memorial wasn't generally something that a gardener paid particular attention to, since such stones were often forgotten in the space of time, but surely not this stone?

Well, he might as well take care of it while he was there.

He pulled out a kunai and attacked the growth with the calm demeanor that a highly skilled ninja would give to an annoying group of bandits. The plant was persistant, but in the end it proved to be the one of weaker caliber.

"There we go," Kakashi muttered mostly to himself as he surveyed his work. Now the memorial was just as he remembered it last week.

A week was a rather long period of time for him to be away from it when faced with his usual daily routine, but he was used to the separation caused by his missions. Besides, he was here whenever he could be, and that's what mattered.

Deeming that order to the world been restored, Kakashi went back to his seat and took another bite of his granola bar that had been previously neglected.

He frowned at the familiar, mealy taste in his mouth. When was the last time he had a real breakfast anyway? Wait, he briefly recalled stopping to eat breakfast at a town he was passing through while on his mission. That had been a few days ago, while the rest of the days were spent in taking rations.

If it had been a long week without the bars, then he must have gotten tired of the food fast. Maybe he should switch back to fruit?

Kakashi sighed at his train of thoughts. He felt so distracted today. Then again, he hadn't felt much different in the past month. Maybe he should have purchased the brand of granola bars that claimed to increase focus? Or maybe he should go ask the Hokage for a really tough mission?

"I hate this," he said to himself idly. Actually, he wasn't entirely sure on what it was he claimed to hate. All he knew was that he felt something akin to boredom.

He probably should be grateful that there wasn't anything to be excited about, since anything exciting could include some tragedy like the village being rampaged or his granola bars tasting worse.

But lately, he didn't particularly feel as though his strength was progressing as much as it had (The Booger would probably say that his "Flames of Youth were dying"). His students were practically gone or leaving. He didn't really have a love interest. He even thought with progressing horror that his favorite books were probably never going to get another installment.

It seemed as though his life had become stagnant.

The copy-nin sighed once again and finally admitted to himself that he was probably just depressed. Probably. Maybe.

Reading books wasn't enough, maybe he just needed another hobby. His eyes traced the letters engraved on the stone before him. The subtle shine of the smooth rock reflected the rays from the rising sun.

Pottery.

What a strange thought. Of all the things, why would he even consider such a pursuit? He wasn't even all that fond of dirt and mud (getting boulders tossed at you can do that to a person). Then again, why not? He had always meant to see if he could develop a skill that had nothing to do with killing. Why not now? In fact, if he didn't take to it, he could always try something else.

Ideas filled his head. Thoughts of fishing, painting, dancing, cooking, and sleeping overflowed his mind.

Sleeping.

Wow.

Wouldn't that be a great achievement?

All of the sudden, he felt inspired. Maybe he had some sort of hidden talent just waiting to be discovered. So many things that he had always meant to try and now was as good a time as any to do them. In fact, he should go over to the village today and see what the world had to offer!

Realizing that he had already spent his usual time at the memorial, he gave it one last glance and headed on his way to start an entirely new journey.

This journey led him to the local information center.

He was briefly amused by the clerk who gave many puzzled expressions by the time he left. Then again, he supposed that it wasn't everyday a ninja came in asking for a bunch of brochures.

It was a nice day, so Kakashi decided to do his research outside.

Setting himself on a nearby bench, he got down to business. He randomly selected a pamplet and found that it was for a knitting club. He briefly imagined himself sitting among a bunch of old women talking about their adorable grandchildren.

Shaking his head at the thought, he tossed it to the side and selected another. He was surprised to find that it was for a modeling agency with a few "hot" men and women on the cover. So this was how people became models? He had always entertained the idea that models were actually people that got kidnapped based upon their good looks.

Out of curiosity, Kakashi opened the pamplet and was shocked to find a picture of Sasuke dressed in a fashion and poised in a manner that made his stomach turn. Maybe models really were kidnapped. If so, then he really couldn't blame Sasuke for leaving.

Kakashi was interrupted from his reverie by the sound of footsteps. Looking up, he recognized The Booger headed straight for him.

Crap, he's already seen me. There's no way I can hide now, Kakashi thought to himself and mentally prepared himself for the inevitable. It always seemed as though whenever he was busy with something Gai would always show up unannounced. Then rethinking, The Booger had a habit of announcing himself.

"Kakashi!" Gai boomed in his typical manner, "I have found you! Of course it should be expected since the bright Flames of Youth light my way!"

Oh dear god, Kakashi thought with annoyance, "Look Gai, I'm a little bu--

"I am here to inform you that the Hokage wishes to speak with you immediately! I have no idea on what it's about, but she expects you to come as soon as possible," the mad man said dutifully. To Kakashi's utter embarressment, he noticed the odd pile of papers and so caught sight of the pamplet in his hands that held the suggestive image of Sasuke.

Gai's face seemed to pale as he asked in a grave voice, "What . . . are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Kakashi said hurriedly and tossed the paper away, "I ran across it by accident."

There was a pause. Gai seemed to study him for a moment before changing the subject, "Anyway, did you do something to make the Hokage mad?"

Kakashi mulled over any possible reasons that Tsunade could be upset with him. Did it have something to do with the mission he had recently? Did he do or didn't do something during that time?

He couldn't think of anything of consequence so he replied in the negative and asked, "Did she seem very angry?"

"Uh," The Booger seemed to be at a loss for words, "Well . . . I don't think she was exactly angry. She acted more annoyed or upset when I talked with her."

Kakashi got amusement by of pointing out, "That's generally the definition of angry."

"Anyway . . . ," Gai trailed off and gained a thoughtful stare, "I was wondering, would it have anything to do with you seeing her this morning?"

"Eh?" was all the Kakashi could utter.

"She probably just forgot to tell you something important and got mad," Gai theorized.

"Gai," Kakashi hissed, "I didn't see the Hokage today."

Gai's eyes narrowed, "What? But I saw you go there this morning!"

Realization dawned upon him, "Someone's impersonating me?" For the first time in his life, Kakashi hoped that it was just Naruto causing mischief.

"Actually, now that I think about it," Gai started, "there was something about you that seemed off, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I can't believe I let this happen! I had a conversation with you--him today and he completely had me fooled!"

Kakashi quickly consoled the two of them by saying, "Well, everything must be fine now since it's probably the reason that Tsunade-sama wanted to meet me. If it was anything serious then she would have told you. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Naruto playing a prank."

They both calmed considerably at the explaination despite the fact that Naruto wouldn't be out of the hospital for some days. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry and so Kakashi departed with a wave, but not before grabbing a few random pamplets and stuffing them in his vest first. After all, this little ordeal wasn't going to stop him from his new quest.

oOo

Kakashi, for once, didn't take any detours when journeying to the Hokage's office. Really though, he wasn't that worried since from the way Gai had explained, he didn't think there was any immediate danger and no need to hurry. The only thing that was keeping him from stopping for a snack, taking a more scenic route, checking up on his students, or other occupations was that he was genuinely curious. So instead of trying to make sure he wasn't too late for a dangerous situation or going to his destination with a lazy and almost whimsical fashion, he actually walked with a normal pace and route for the first time in quite a while.

Due to his manner of travel, he arrived at the Hokage tower at a relatively reasonable time. Man, he had thought that today would turn out to be one of those really dull and completely normal days, but strange things were happening left and right. Sure they weren't eye-popping unnatural, but still different.

Kakashi politely knocked on the door to the Hokage's office and entered when he heard Tsunade's voice bid him to come in.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted automatically while his eye immediately fixed on the sight of the other person in the room. He had half-expected to find the perpetrator in the office, but he didn't really think they would have the audacity to stay in their henge when the ruse was clearly up. It was rude.

The criminal stared at him with hard eyes.

Kakashi studied him for a few seconds before acknowledging Tsunade, but the doppleganger's eyes didn't leave him, "I take it that this is what you wanted to speak with me about?"

Tsunade folded her hands together before replying, "He says he's you."

"Well, he's performed the most pitiful henge of myself that I have ever seen," the copy-nin commented lightly as his other self pointedly glared at him. Upon walking in the room, he had instantly noted that his supposed "mirror image" made the mistake of having two perfectly normal eyes. Come on, the headband over his left eye was a trademark of his that couldn't be left out.

Of course, the person could be really stupid, or more likely there was a long-ass explanation to the nearly identical person staying in his form and having a painfully sloppy disguise.

"Is there a simple way to tell me about this?" Kakashi inquired.

"Actually, I can pretty much sum it up in four words," she stated it matter-of-factly.

Kakashi waited for the dramatic pause to end.

"He's from another dimension."

The two continued their unblinking stares at Kakashi, gauging his reaction. He knew that they were waiting for him to say something, so he made sure he didn't disappoint.

"Ah."

oOoOoOo

Yes, I will explain about The Booger in later chapters. Maybe even the next one if it turns out right. I wasn't too sure if I should have added it in there at first since I thought it might be a little too much, but I couldn't resist it (I choked on my soda while writing it, suffice to say that I've never had pop go through my nose before . . . It burns). Actually, I think that I may have heard Gai refered to in that manner before, but I'm not sure. I also meant to make this a really dark and kinda' short story, but like I said before, my humor somehow leaked into it (as it does with most things). All in all, I'm having fun with this.