Prologue

"Eternal Rival!"

Kakashi lowered the orange book that was covering his face. "Yo."

It was a warm and sunny afternoon, and he was leaning against a wall near the main gate of Konoha. He had been planning to do some major reading, but had a feeling that this plan was about to go up in flames.

"The score is 60 to 60! It has been a week since we last faced off, which means it is time for another youthful challenge." Gai smiled blindingly and struck his signature "good guy" pose.

"Did you have something in mind, or is it my turn to choose?"

"Not quite either of those, actually. According to rivalry protocol, it is my turn to choose, but I had a brilliant idea, one of my most ingenious, if I may say so."

Oh dear. If Gai thought it was ingenious, he was in serious trouble. "Do I dare ask what this idea is?"

"Most certainly! I will think of a challenge for you, and you will think of a different challenge for me. For example, I have a challenge in mind specifically suited to your skillset and personality. You, in turn, will find one specifically suited for me. It is both an obvious challenge and a challenge of how well we know and understand one another. If both of us fail, we shall both lose a point. If both of us succeed, we shall both gain a point, so nothing will have really changed. However, if one of us fails, that person will lose two points, and the other will gain two points, getting a four point lead. Are you in, my glorious rival?"

"Hmmm..." Kakashi's mind was already churning with thoughts of how he could torture Gai. "Fine."

They slapped hands and shook on it.

"Since I was the one to instigate this challenge, I shall proclaim mine first. It is only fair, since I had more time to think up your challenge, so you will at least get the partial advantage of knowing the difficulty of your task before you declare what mine is." He puffed up his chest and looked off into the distance majestically. "Kakashi, since I know you often shun social interactions and are constantly reading those books of yours, I crafted my challenge to try and curb those tendencies of yours." He pointed an exuberant finger at his friend. "I challenge you to spend 72 hours in the company of others, save for bathroom breaks, and not to read any Icha Icha. And, since you accepted the parameters of this task, I will be confiscating that." He grabbed the orange novel out of Kakashi's hands.

He took away Icha Icha? Oh, it was on. "Are you sure you want to do that, Gai? You know I can be a terror when I'm in a bad mood."

Gai's smile only grew wider. "Most definitely!"

"Fine. Your fault, then." His visible eye narrowed. "For your challenge, Gai…" He thought about it. What was worthy of giving up Icha Icha for three days? Ah. "For 72 hours, I forbid you from striking the 'good guy' pose, mentioning youth, and…" he grinned evilly behind his mask, "speaking to Rock Lee."

Swallowing, Gai raised a questioning finger. "May I at least warn Rock Lee of this, so as not to hurt his feelings, my yo- um, enthusiastic rival?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. And when I say 'speaking,' I'm including written communication. Signing and hand motions are completely allowed, but remember, no 'good guy' pose."

"So be it! I shall still defeat you, my friend! Nothing you can say or do will defeat the Handsome Blue Beast of Konoha! We begin now! I shall meet you back here in 72 hours!"

As Gai ran off and Kakashi slowly walked toward the large group of people, signature slouch in place, he had to admit that Gai and he knew each other pretty well. Gai knew Kakashi wouldn't automatically take the challenge seriously, so the caveat that he had to constantly be with others was both a punishment and a way to keep him accountable. Devious. Of course, Kakashi didn't have to keep Gai accountable, since the "Handsome Blue Beast" would never want to win by cheating. Sucker.

One thing was for sure, though.

Gai was going down.

KakaGai is my BrOTP to end all BrOTPs, so this was bound to happen sometime. Naruto fanfic #3, here we come. This should be fun, so I hope some of you come along for the ride. Please drop a comment with any thoughts, suggestions, predictions, etc. I would LOVE to hear from you.

~JillianWatson1058