New Teammates
"Kakashi!"
The silver-haired ninja stopped and half-turned, glaring at the blonde who'd called after him reproachfully.
"Hey, wait up!" said blonde chuckled, jogging the rest of the way to catch up. Kakashi kept walking.
"So… are you excited?" the blonde asked. Kakashi gave him a blank look, and he wince. "Maa, look, Kakashi. I know you're mad at me, but just… try to make the best of it, okay? After all, how bad could it be?"
"Do you really want an answer to that?"
"… No. Oh, come on! You might enjoy it!"
"You said that about ramen, too."
"Hey!" The blonde sounded insulted. "Ramen is the food of gods! Don't insult it!"
Kakashi clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Some Hokage you'll make if you think like that," he grumbled. The blonde laughed.
"Come on, Kakashi. You don't want to be late, do you?"
Kakashi frowned.
"I am never late," he said coolly, looking up at the blonde man – his sensei, Namikaze Minato.
"I know, I know," Minato said tolerantly, leading the way up the street. "Come on, okay?"
Kakashi reluctantly followed his teacher down the road, dragging his feet as much as possible to delay the inevitable. He scowled at the large building that loomed before them: the Academy. He hadn't been here for four years – not since he was five, when he'd graduated.
Minato-sensei preceded him into the structure, confidently navigating the hallways he'd visited so many times before. Kakashi's scowl became more pronounced as the blonde found the room he was looking for and threw the door open.
Kakashi followed his teacher into the classroom, looking around at the students gathered there. There was about half a class – some had already been collected by their teachers. He scanned the remaining nine year olds, wondering sourly which two idiots he would have to put up with for the next few years. There didn't seem to be a lone pair of children: they all seemed to be in groups of three. Kakashi felt a moment of slight hope, wondering if he would be lucky that the Academy teachers had miscalculated the graduates this year.
Maybe those two odd ones out had been failed after all.
No such luck, as Jiro-sensei spotted them and approached, smiling with that sickening cheerfulness.
"Minato-sensei!" he said. "Good to see you."
"And you, Jiro-sensei," smiled Minato. Jiro-sensei turned and looked at Kakashi.
"Hey, there, Kakashi-kun!" he said, sweeping merry brown eyes up and down the Hatake. "I haven't seen you since your graduation – you've grown."
"Can we just get on with this, Minato-sensei?" Kakashi asked the Namikaze, totally ignoring his ex-teacher. Kakashi matched the man's rank now, anyway: the chuunin had no right to talk to him like he was still five.
"Okay, okay," Minato-sensei sighed heavily. "Jiro-sensei, I believe you have two new students for me?"
Jiro suddenly looked sheepish. "Uh..." he said, putting up a hand to rub at the back of his neck. "Well, see, the thing is... We only have one actually here."
"I beg your pardon?" Minato-sensei asked. Jiro nodded.
"Yeah. Rin there is yours – Rin! Come here."
A small girl with chin-length brown hair and rectangular marks on her cheeks stood and trotted over to the group, bowing slightly when she arrived.
"Sensei," she said to Minato. Kakashi watched her critically, frowning at her when she glanced at him, squeaked, coloured, and looked down at her sandals.
Not one of those. Anything but that.
"Where's the other one?" he demanded bluntly, before Minato could introduce him.
Jiro-sensei winced. "Uh... he's... late. I'm disappointed: he promised me he wouldn't be, but... He'll be here soon, I'm sure."
"This is the Uchiha?" Minato questioned. "What was his name...? Obito? "
"Yeah," Jiro agreed. Kakashi felt a slight dip of disappointment. He'd been reasonably pleased to hear he was getting an Uchiha; even if they were insufferable as a rule, they had some measure of talent and usually had a healthy respect for the rules.
It was probably karma that he got what had to be the only Uchiha there was that had neither.
Kakashi shook his head slightly. He was being unfair, he knew. He should probably give this kid the benefit of the doubt. Something might have come up: he supposed it was okay if his house was on fire or something and he had to help put it out... and he was only five minutes overdue now.
So it might be a one-time thing. God didn't necessarily hate him.
The door slammed open and a figure a good hand taller than Kakashi skidded into the room, tripped over his own feet and ended up sprawled before the watching teachers.
"Am I late?" he said.
Kakashi took in the ruffled boy, complete with orange goggles and no ninja weapons to speak of, and sighed heavily.
He fucking knew it. Karma.
"Hey! Are you the new kid we're s'posed to share a team with?" Obito asked Kakashi, scrambling to his feet. "So what do you think? Pretty awesome team, huh?"
"Well, let's see," Kakashi said darkly, his voice deadly sarcastic. "My first impression is... I hate you."
*
Kakashi swaggered happily into the Academy, gleefully aware that he was more than two hours late. His next batch of victims – uh, prospective students – would probably be bored to tears.
Poor things.
He glanced up just before he pulled the door open and spotted the eraser lodged there, and smiled under his mask.
That would be the little blonde Uzumaki, right? So much like Kushina in personality it was funny. In fact, he was sure Kushina had got him once before with this very trick.
And then Minato-sensei had had to hold Kakashi in a bear hug to stop him from an attempt on the life of his girlfriend.
Kakashi chuckled, reaching out and pushing the door aside, allowing it to strike his head just for the hell of it and listening to Naruto crow triumphantly.
"Hm," he said, trying not to laugh himself as his eye curved up into a smile. His voice was light and happy enough to be bordering on giddy, and only mildly sarcastic as he said, "My first impression of you is... I hate you."
He did chuckle as he saw the three before him all wince, taking them in. The Loud Blonde, the Typical Fangirl... what was familiar about this scene?
Kakashi felt a definite stab of disappointment to see Sasuke, the Uchiha. He was clearly one of the élite: insufferable as a rule, but with some measure of talent and a healthy respect for the rules. Damn it... No, Kakashi wasn't very happy with that.
He'd have to try and kick some sense into that kid, if they passed his test.
Kakashi stifled a laugh at the notion.
"Meet me on the roof in ten," he said casually, disappearing in a twist of smoke.
Ten minutes later, he was asking the three to tell them about himself.
"Why don't you go first, Sensei?" suggested Sakura. Kakashi shrugged.
"Well," he began, "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I am the sort of person who doesn't like talking about his likes and dislikes. I have many hobbies, but no real dreams for the future – never really thought about it."
He smiled and gestured for the others to speak.
As expected, Naruto was the first to shout his reply. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, especially miso ramen and ramen from Ichiraku's! I hate that three minutes you have to wait for instant ramen to cook! Oh, and my dreams? Well, I'm gonna be the Hokage! Believe it!"
Kakashi blinked. Well, he sure has grown up interesting, he thought, his mind on another young blonde he'd once known but had seen from a different angle. He chuckled. Yeah... I believe it, Naruto.
*
"My name is Namikaze Minato. I like ramen, sunshine and teaching, among other things. I hate... well, I really don't hate much at all. I am developing a new jutsu, which is a hobby at the moment – when it's finished, it's going to be awesome. Hm, and dreams for the future... well..." He flashed a bright grin. "I want to be the Yondaime Hokage."
"Cool! I think you can do it!" Obito shouted.
Kakashi snorted and rolled his eyes. Minato shot him a wounded look.
"Ouch, Kakashi," he said. "Don't you think I can do it?"
"You have the potential," Kakashi informed him flatly, "But you are too open and trusting, and face it: no hokage should have an unhealthy obsession with a useless food like ramen."
The other two gasped at their companion's forwardness. Minato chuckled and waved his hand at them.
"Ignore Kakashi. He's just prickly," he said airily. "Okay, Kakashi. Time to 'fess up. You're the only one left to speak."
"No," Kakashi said flatly. Minato pouted.
"Come on, 'Kashi," he wheedled. "Just tell us a bit about yourself."
"No," Kakashi repeated. "And don't call me that. I don't call you 'Nato', do I?"
"'The shinobi always obeys his superior'," Minato quoted, and Kakashi scowled. He hated it when Sensei turned the shinobi rules against him. Minato was particularly fond of this one.
"Fine," he grumbled. "I have no hobbies. I have no dreams. I have no likes. I dislike those who do not follow the rules, and dislike doing things like this. Happy, Sensei?"
"Hm, you've added a dislike since you were five (1)," Minato said musingly. "Okay, guys, report to training ground fourteen for the test tomorrow. Don't worry about it: I'm sure you'll all do fine. Just get a full night sleep, and eat a good breakfast in the morning."
"Yes, Sensei!" Rin and Obito chorused together. Loudly.
Kakashi groaned quietly as he stood and walked away. This was his team? It was going to be hell.
*
"Be at the training ground at five am – bright and early! Oh, and another thing; don't eat breakfast or you'll throw up! Bye-bye, now!"
The three kids were frozen with mixed horror and disbelief.
Kakashi smiled quietly as he stood and walked away. This was his team? It was going to be fun...
Yeah, things were pretty different this time around.
(1) When he was five, he said, "I have no hobbies. I have no dreams. I have no likes. I dislike doing things like this."