Dark brown eyes opened to the harsh Konoha sunlight that bled through the dark red curtains covering the window. With a sigh the unshaven, bleary eyed man rose from the caramel sheet covered twin bed and moved over to draw the curtains. Feeling the thick, heavy curtains between his fingers. It never failed to amaze him that no matter how thick or dark colored curtains he picked out, sunlight would always get through. Curtains fully drawn back and sunlight touching all the corners of the dark grey bedroom, he could now begin.
Walking over to the dark brown dresser he opened one of its swinging doors and looked at his collection of clothing. Behind him a figure nestled on the windowsill sat and waited, orange covered book open and in his lap. Taking a dark brown button up shirt from the dresser he examined it before removing it from the hangar. Turning and putting the shirt across the back of a chair he finally acknowledged the presence.
"Is that the new one?"
With his patented eye smile, the silver headed masked man held the book cover out and nodded. Picking out a pair of pants to match his shirt the man threw them across the chair as well before he crossed the room and took the book. Opening to the first page he began walking out of the room, gesturing for the man to come inside.
Kakashi jumped down and leaned against a nearby desk. The sound of a squeaky faucet being turned and the rush of water following reached his ears. The nin crossed his arms in front of him and inspected the 3 room 1 bath apartment through open doors and smiled at the neatness. Not a single thing out of place, elsewhere in the house he heard a few yips and growls but otherwise just silence.
Briefly the elite ninja's eyes scanned the clutter of paper sprawled across the desk, his eyes traced the sketches and notes that covered the maps, documents and other papers surfaces. The name Zabuza Momochi and the symbol for Village Hidden in the Mist finely printed across a manila folder caught his attention. Just as he was about to reach for it he felt the edge of the book press against his chest and he pried his eyes off the desk and looked up into the face of his now freshly shaven and very much clear eyed friend.
Taking the book from his grasp he watched as the broad shouldered 5 foot 6 inch man turned away heading towards the bed, shirt and pants in hand. Taking his seat the man pulled on his clothes and fastened his belt before pulling out a pair of brown boots, layered in dust, from beneath his bed.
"Mah don't you ever clean those?" Came the call of the copy nin from behind his book.
With a chuckle the man replied "You know I just did last Tuesday but this thick Konoha dust just seemed to stick."
Sticking the laces through their final hole the man tugged them tight and tied then shut, pulling the pant legs down he stood and walked over to kitchen. Opening the fridge he took out a carton of eggs before addressing the nin that had followed him.
"You want anything? Drink, food, pat of the head?".
Kakashi took a seat at the table and put his book to rest on its dark wooden surface. "Water, but a pat on the head would make me feel good!"Giving a hearty chuckle the man crossed the room and set a pan to heat on the stove before grabbing two glasses and filling them to the brim with water.
Handing one over to the copy kat nin he sat and looked at him and waited. Smiling Kakashi brought his glass to his lips and drained his cup setting it down, he folded his hands before speaking.
"You do realize that for today you are required to wear the Jonin vest and village insignia right?" With a curse the man stood and walked back into the bedroom. "Cook the eggs and feed the cubs will you?"
Refilling his glass at the sink the nin set about the tasks given to him before enjoying another glass of water. Now that he thought about it he had been much thirstier lately. Grabbing a hunk of meat from the fridge Kakashi rationed it into three different bowls before a voice called out from around the corner.
"You know I hate wearing this thing it looks good, but it's so stiff and why do you put these shiny bull's-eyes things on a headband?" The nin put away the meat before turning just as his friend came walking around the corner tugging at the headband strapped to his left bicep.
"I approve of your sense of style." came kakashi's teasing reply. "With this regulation get up I look like you." True to his word the man was now dressed similarly like Kakashi the only difference was a lack of a mask, headband placement and a pair of black boots in place of sandals. "Mah, mah it's just for a little while, eat"
The nin slid a plate of eggs over the table and grabbed his book before beginning to read. The two sat in silence as one ate and the other read, in the background a massive tiger skulked into the kitchen and began eating out of his red bowl. Noticing this the man popped the rest of his eggs into his mouth and chewed.
Pointing the fork in the direction of the tiger he called out. "Hey, are you guys coming with me today? The old mans trying to give us more boys to take care of." The tiger merely yawned, showing off its set of massive jaws, before returning to eat. Across the table the copy cat nin lowered his book. "What boys are you looking after now?"
The man stood and deposited his plate in the sink and walked out of the room yet his voice still carried as if he we're still in the same seat. "You of course who else would I be talking about?" The nin placed his hand on his mouth in a sign of disbelief "You do not take care of me. if anything I watch over you in your elderly state" A deep throaty growl and whine from the eating tiger pitched in.
"See, Aka knows what I'm talking about, don't you girl?" the tiger gave off a few friendly yipps before returning to her meal. The sound of a large object falling in the next room roused both the masked's attention and the tiger's." How geared up are we supposed to get?" came the call from the next room over. Scratching his head the nin shrugged. "Who knows?" Two more massive tigers walked into the kitchen and began eating from their bowls. Aka having finished long ago moved toward Kakashi and set her massive head on the ninjas knee. Seeing that the tiger wished to be petted the nin began softly stroking the tiger while reading. Again a voice came this time from the other side of the relatively small apartment. "How decked out are you going?" Kakashi inspected himself before replying.
"Mah nothing too fancy, Kunai, shrunken, and a general pouch." There was a pause before another reply "What about the others?" The nin closed his book and pondered the question a bit. Below the tiger nipped at his jacket wishing to be petted further. Setting the book down Kakashi began full on petting the tiger before responding. "Asuma and Kurenai are going all out I think she's even going to wear something other than that collection of bandages. Guy won't be there though."
Stepping back into the kitchen now clad with just one knife hanging hilt down from his left upper chest and an assortment of pouches. Kakashi watched as his friend, his mentor uttered the stupidest thing ever.
"What!? Guy won't be there!? But you need your daily fill of youth!" Placing his head between his hands Kakashi just sat, a mumble came from behind the hands. "I'll just have to do without."
Sitting back down at the table the man before began petting the mass of tigers that swarmed him. "So what are we doing that has me getting dressed like this anyway?" Raising his head Kakashi simply stared. "You know very well what were doing today"
Looking at the masked nin and shaking his head this man simply looked confused. "No can't say I do." Sighing, Kakashi stood and refilled his glass. "Today's the day you pick out a few kids, pass on your skill as per the agreement you signed. You're not getting any younger, you're too old to be running around trying to out do us ninja." The nin drank his water through his mask and looked over at the three hulking tigers that were simply sitting near there master.
"Hmm, you know if you ninja were any good I'd say you have a point... But you're just chakra, nothing but mindless chakra guzzling idiots." Said the man as he stood heading for the door. Putting the glass away in the sink Kakashi quickly followed. "Ouch, that hurts me right here." The silver headed man pointed at his heart and put on his best kicked puppy face.
"Oh I'm sorry did I hurt you? Suck it up we're going to be late."
The man began to lightly jog ahead, Kakashi simply walked.
"We have like 45 minutes. " Came his whine. Turning the corner the man called out. "And that's why you'll always be a boy, far too naive."
Executing a Shunshin the copy nin fell into step with his friend. "What do you mean too naive? A ninja must see underneath the underneath. Which doesn't leave much for your statement."
Shaking his head the man spoke. "Always and I mean always take the home field advantage and if you don't have it show up early enough to make it yours. Someone like you who's always late wouldn't know anything about that. Besides I can't wait to screw up the old mans teams." Kakashi stopped running and pulled out his book.
"Mao, you go on ahead I have to go buy something at the market." Stopping just a few meters ahead, back to the sun he shook his head. "Pfft, what did I tell you about lying to me boy?" Putting on his usual cool air Kakashi turned away. "Mah, who knows it was so long ago. I mean you are pretty old..." With that said he flickered away and the man continued to jog.
Standing at the front of the class while countless students piled in and took their seats, bright shiny Konoha headbands glimmering under the fluorescent bulbs. It put a frown on his face knowing just how many of these kids wouldn't come back because of that all too bright had mentioned it more then once that they should switch to something less flashy when it came to identification, but no one listened to him.
An instructor made his way into the class and made himself known with an all too forceful slam of the door, most likely an attempt to quiet the class, it had no effect. Irritated, the teacher turned towards his desk meeting eyes with an adult that he didn't recognize.
With a questioning look the chunin instructor abandoned the class in pursuit of this new man, putting on a small hesitant smile the teacher walked towards the man and stopped meters short, instead offering his hand and name.
"Hi, Iruka Umino can I help you Jonin-San?" Taking the hand and giving it a strong squeeze the man nodded while speaking. "I'm the one you were notified about."
A look of revelation dawned on the scarred teacher before he eagerly nodded and smiled. "Oh right, yes, yes... I was told you would be stopping by. Must have slipped my mind." Releasing his hand Iruka moved back towards the front of the class room and called the class to attention, noticing he would draw attention the Joinin chose to move and lean in a nearby corner, but kept an eye on the class as the chunin teacher began to speak.
"Newly graduated shinobi of Konoha, let me be the first to congratulate you on your success and recent promotion to Genin. Let me also welcome you to the ranks of Konoha's shinobi forces, you are no longer children, soon you will assigned to Jonin Sensei's and will further your training through them. I look upon you and feel proud that I was apart of the shinobi you have become today. Now before I begin your team assignments, are there any questions?"
The man in the corner scratched the back of his leg with the corner of his boot as he looked over the many faces of the children. Many had a bright smile or small grin plastered on their innocent young faces, a few hands rose at the mention of questions and the instructor was happy to accept.
"Yes you first Sakura." A small frail girl with bubblegum coloured hair and a red dress stood. "Sensei if Naruto didn't graduate then why is he here?" In the back a blonde brightly dressed kid shot out from his corner seat and pointed directly at a male a few seats down from Sakura. "I already told you Sakura-chan it's because I'm awesome and way better than the Teme."
A few snickers here and a snort there were his only response and as the child reclaimed his seat Iruka continued on. "Sakura, while Naruto most certainly did fail during yesterday's evaluation he was later tested under a different scale and passed. It turns out Naruto-Kun has a very high chakra capacity, higher than even my own, and due to this unique trait he cannot and will not ever be able to execute a standard clone technique unless he goes through many years of chakra control exercises. Next?"
The bubblegum haired girl shot a glare back towards the orange clothed boy before returning to her seat. Across the room a dark skinned boy with glasses and a black ball cap rose his hand. A nod from Iruka told the boy to continue.
"Iruka-Sensei is it possible to be placed on a team by yourself?" Putting on a lecturing tone Iruka went on to preach about unity and team work but never answered the question. "I will now issue your team placement orders, these placements were designed by the Hokage himself and will be enforced by his will. Team Six will be Ana Kirigiri, and Hatchko Matsuki, your third partner is Yakshi Kabuto from a previous year and your Sensei is Aoba NAME.
Team Five will be Yenshi Uagami, Kuziko Nanushi and Yushi Kan. Their Sensei will be Nona Inzuka. Team Eight will be composed of Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga and Kiba Inzuka, your sensei will be Kurenai Yuuhi."
The Aburame and the Hyuga both looked at one another, gently bowing in a sign of respect. The Inzuka boy on the other hand seemed bolstered with activity first giving a firm slap on the back to his male teammate and then a wink to the Hyuga.
"Team Nine is still in effect from last year. Team Ten will be Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and Chouji Akimichi, your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi." He proceeded to list the remaining teams, until he finally reached the last one.
"Team Seven will be Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchia. Your sensei will be Kakashi Hataka. All students: please wait in the classroom for your Jounin-sensei to collect you." Iruka then stiffly made his way out from behind the desk and headed for the door. He stopped midway however, and turned to address the classroom on last time. "Though your bonds may be strained and even broken, remember who you are and what you are apart of. You are all Shinobi of The Leaf and through the will of fire you are all united."
Iruka walked outside, leaving behind puzzled and perplexed children and a very confused man. The five teachers began to stroll in one by one, they each exchanged a glance with the Jonin already in the room before falling into one rank, the Jonin instructors waited for the children to quite down before the lead one spoke.
She was a light skinned women with piercing watered down red eyes and a shapely hourglass figure. Her standard issue flak jacket was left unzipped to revel her red and white dress. "Team 8?" All three of the member stood and as the Sensei nodded and began to walk away she called over her shoulder. "Come with me."
A lot of male eyes followed her out of the room but once she was gone a grizzled man stepped forward, scratching his thick beard the man looked around before speaking. "Sarutobi Asuma, if you are assigned to me please step outside." The man walked out and soon so did three more children.
The next three instructors found their students and left, leaving only Team Seven and the man leaning on the wall. The three began to study him before one that had remained silent spoke. "Oy, are you Kakashi Hatake" there was a brief chuckle before the man looked up and smiled. "Do I look like a slacker to you? Don't worry he'll be here in..." The man glanced down at his watch and began doing what looked like math in the air. "Forty five minutes."
Taking a seat at the head desk the man set down his files and plucked the first one off the top and began to read, the trio just stared choosing to remain silent. It was when the man was on his sixth file that a certain blonde asked a question. "Who are you?" The man opened his mouth to speak but then the door to the classroom opened and in stepped a silver haired nin.
Looking up from his book he gave a quick eye smile to his friend before walking over. "Mah, are these my cute little Genin?" Closing the current folder the man nodded before taking the orange book from his grasp. "Yeah these are them, they thought I was you, can you believe it? I knew wearing this shit was a bad idea."
The nin looked over at the three seated students before waving and giving his best smile. "Hello my cute Genin! Meet me on the roof." One by one the kids filed out before it was just the two adults left, taking his book back Kakashi began leaving. "When are you stopping by?" Picking up his files the man too began to walk out. "Tomorrow when you're having the bell test. I'll check out the other teams then go over to you, I'll bring lunch."
The pair walked out together and down the street before one turned down an empty street and another vanished in a Shunshin. Reappearing in front of his students he sat and smiled before they all asked "Sensei who was that?" The masked man picked up his book and began to read. "Sensei!" Lowering the book the man looked around before noticing his Genin "Huh, oh just a friend."
Okay guys that was chapter one... Well? Remember to review, favorite and follow!