Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own Naruto.
Chapter One
Soft, wide bondi blue eyes blinked owlishly in bewildered confusion, as the eighteen year old kunoichi tried to take in what she had just been told. Five of her long time acquaintances were staring at her waiting for her to speak or move even, the snowy haired teenager was as stiff and motionless as a corpse. "Breathe Namida, you're turning pale." The kind voice of Inuzuka Hana caused the girl to jump at the sudden firm, yet friendly grip on her right shoulder as the three younger males behind her quietly snickered at the old inside joke. The confused girl gave her old teammate a shaky forced smile and nervously shifted around when she took notice of all the attention she was receiving. Namida never did well when she was placed under pressure or when she was placed under so much scrutiny.
Namida clasp her shaky hands together in front of her in an attempt to hide her obvious nervousness as her bright eyes shyly lowered to the wooden floor. "B-but, why?" The nervous girl asked quietly as her eyes slowly trailed upwards until she met the kind brown eyes of the Sandaime Hokage, who was calmly sitting behind his desk smoking from his pipe, with a kindly smile tugging at his lips. "Mikazuki-san all of your friends have requested this, several times in fact and I am inclined to grant them their request." The Sandaime Hokage spoke after he took a long drag from his pipe. "Do not think of this as punishment or a lowering of your rank Mikazuki-san, because that is not what this is, not in the least. We merely wish to see if you can advance better under another's guidance." He quickly added after seeing the young kunoichi's bright eyes dim from sadness.
"Yes sir, I understand Hokage-sama," Namida bowed, her long snowy hair falling down to curtain her pale face. Namida did understand why she was being re-assigned. Her two old teammates were busy with their duties, with one being a medical-nin and the other an aspiring ANBU captain and her old sensei was always busy with long missions away from the village. But what she couldn't understand was why her current senpai was abandoning her to someone else. She wondered if he had finally lost faith in her and could only pass her to another in defeat. If he did then she wouldn't blame him. Only her ex-sensei, her two old teammates, her two friends and the Hokage seemed to truly believe that she was actually worth something. Even she didn't believe in herself anymore.
"Shiranui-san was unable to make it to the meeting due to an errand. However, he wished for me to tell you that if you would, he would like to meet you at the training grounds around five this evening." Namida's bondi blue eyes brightened in slight hope at the Hokage's words. 'Maybe… Shiranui-senpai hasn't given up on me yet.' She thought with a slightly lighter heart, but her heart was still heavy with sadness and doubt. "Who is my new senpai?" Namida asked nervously wringing her slender hands in apprehension. "Ah," The Hokage chuckled softly and smiled somewhat apologetically. Instantly Namida's heart sunk, she knew bad news was coming. "It seems that your new senpai is running a little late."
Instantly everyone in the room, except the Hokage and Namida became frighteningly silent. "Hokage-sama, you don't mean that Shiranui-san actually chose him, of all people… do you?" Namida's ex-sensei Tadahiro Kanya asked in disbelief, as she moved to stand beside her confused and frightened former student. Her cool dark blue eyes were slightly narrowed and a frown was marring her youthful, yet matured face. "Yes, I'm afraid so Tadahiro-san, Shiranui-san has chosen him." The six foot tall woman's frown deepened as she crossed her arms over her chest, her boyishly short dark flaun red hair ruffling in the warm breeze.
"Unbelievable," Kanya muttered darkly, her dark eyes turned to glance down at her visibly shaking and royally confused former student. 'If she's this flighty now, she'll probably lose all of what little faith she has now when he gets a hold of her. He won't see her potential... He'll discard her as a lost cause as soon as he sees her… I can't let him ruin her future and what little confidence she has left, I won't let him.' Kanya's cold eyes snapped back to the placid Hokage and he knew what she was going to say even before she opened her mouth. Kanya had always been overprotective of her youngest student
"I object Hokage-sama. While I do respect Shiranui-san's decision and input on these matters, I however, do not believe his decision is right. He is obviously not the right sensei or senpai for Namida-chan. His methods are unsuited for the type of training she requires. I ask you to disband this decision till further notice, Hokage-sama. I wish to speak to Shiranui-san personally about this." Kanya's tone was practically glacial when she mentioned the two men. As far as she was concerned Shiranui Genma had no right to elect a new teacher for her student without first consulting her first, even if he was Namida's current overseer.
"I do understand your worries Tadahiro-san however I must disagree with you on this one. While his teaching methods are a bit unorthodox, I believe most strongly that he is the best one suited to help Mikazuki-san." The Hokage replied solemnly trying to calm the angry Jonin, before she went out and found the two very unfortunate men who had displeased her so greatly. There was no doubt within his mind that Kanya was going to confront the brown haired man later on. The Hokage was hoping that by the time she found him her anger would have calmed, even if just a little. Perhaps he could send her on a mission for a few hours after the meeting was finished.
"But I do not, Hokage-sama!" Kanya bit out, yet kept her manners and most of her temper in check. "He will ruin her future and I refuse to let him!" Kanya's hand suddenly shot back to point at someone behind her, as her eyes darkened into midnight black upon catching sight of the unwanted man as he quietly walked through the door, acutely aware of what was waiting for him. Namida was unsure if she really wanted to turn around to see who had angered her ex-sensei so much or not. Perhaps it was safer not knowing, but she was curious about the man who had riled her sensei up so easily. Namida heard the new man behind her sigh wearily. "You haven't changed at bit Tadahiro-san, still giving unsuspecting people a bad impression of me." The man half-heartedly attempted to joke but the humor was obviously lost on Kanya, who snorted and turned to fully face the newcomer, her arms crossed over her pert chest.
"It's not without base or reason, Hatake." Kanya sneered at the lazy Jonin, who just scratched the back of his head and gave an aloof half shrug of his shoulders. "You're not needed Hatake, so get lost." Kanya's snarky order and deadly glare didn't faze the silver haired Jonin as he moved away from the door and further into the room. The lazy Jonin saw that Tadahiro's tone did bother her former student, as the skinny girl jumped like she had been hit when the elder woman spoke. "Hokage-sama," He greeted with a polite bow after passing the two kunoichi, making sure to give them both a wide berth, least the overprotective Tadahiro attempt to maim him for scaring her student or something of the like.
"Thank you for coming and accepting this proposal, Hatake-san. I know you're meeting with your new team this afternoon." The Hokage smiled sympathetically the images of the silver haired mans three rowdy students flashing in his mind's eye. "It's not a problem Hokage-sama." Kakashi replied in a tone that was almost wholly dispassionate. As the Hokage and the new Jonin greeted one another Namida shyly studied what she could see of him. He was fairly tall, though just barely shorter than her sensei. He was also physically well-built, yet not overly so as a ninja should be. He had wild spiky silver-grey hair that was slightly longer and thicker than her ex-sensei's boyish cut. Namida couldn't see his face, but she could tell that he wore his forehead protector in an odd fashion, while hers hung loosely around her neck.
Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu quietly eased up behind the quiet snow haired girl and bid her their good-byes before they stealthily snuck out of the room with somewhat piteous smiles on their lips. Hatake Kakashi wasn't exactly the Jonin they had in mind when they spoke to the Hokage about a new sensei. However, despite the man's unusual teaching methods he was a great teacher, just maybe not for someone as reserved and skittish as their friend. Namida wasn't hotheaded or loud by nature and she did not always respond well to a strict hand. They had viewed with their own eyes that such tactics made her crawl within herself for an extended period of time. The sad part however, was that Hatake Kakashi could be just that, despite his outward appearance. Perhaps the older Jonin was just the catalyst needed to prompt a change within the young kunoichi or he could god forbid make her condition worse.
Inuzuka Hana and Kizashi Tokito moved to stand beside their former teammate and sensei. Hana was there to support Namida while Tokito was more so there to restrain his old sensei if necessary, as she was well known for her overly volatile and violent temper. Tokito was the eldest of the three, as he turned nineteen just a week prior as well as joining the ANBU a little under a year ago. Tokito was handsome, yet not completely boyishly so, with his mischievous shamrock green eyes, dark sun-kissed blonde hair and enviously smooth olive hued skin. He was just an inch or so shorter than the grey haired Jonin, but not as stocky or intimidating, however his speed and catlike agility more than made up for his lack of brute physical strength. He instinctively tensed when the silver haired Jonin turned around to inspect his new student with idle curiosity in his dark eyes. Tokito made sure to keep one eye on Namida and the other on his sensei, just in case.
"Apparently, you have no faith in your student, Tadahiro-san." Kakashi commented with a bored tone, though his words were as sharp as a katana as his one visible eye flickered from the older woman to the skinny kunoichi behind her. "Wrong again Hatake, I have no faith in you." Kanya bit back offended that the silver haired man would make such a claim straight to her face. 'Of course he would, he is the Hatake Kakashi after all.' She silently reminded herself just who she was dealing with and why she disliked him so much. The silver haired man 'hummed' softly and sighed heavily as he took in the sight of the snappy red headed woman standing guard in front of the smallest kunoichi like a mother bear, with the other two team members standing at the smaller girl's side. He knew from that exact moment he was going to have a difficult road ahead of him in training the girl.
He already had a quick summery of the girl already and it wasn't very impressive, much like his three new students. She obviously had little to no confidence in herself, as she refused to remove her eyes from the floor and was already starting to fidget under his light scrutiny. Over all she was quite the odd sight to behold with her snowflake white hair, healthily pastel skin tone and spindly physique, which looked too thin to actually be healthy in any way. He cocked and eyebrow when he noticed how truly young, fragile and innocent she looked standing there surrounded by her sensei and two teammates. They were not only significantly taller, but also thicker than she and none of them were even remotely close to being bulky. She looked like a living porcelain doll and so very breakable.
Kakashi sighed aloud and shifted his weight into a more comfortable position as he thought over what had been requested of him. His conclusion of her was already complete. The girl didn't belong in the shinobi world. She was too weak and far too obvious. However he didn't have to look at her companions to know that they truly believed that she was capable of becoming a decent kunoichi. Even the three men that were missing believed in her, but what could he do if she didn't even believe in herself. She looked as if she already knew that he was going to write her off as a lost cause. He would even go as far as to say she had expected it long before he even showed up, which irked him quite a bit. However he didn't let his annoyance show.
He did have the right to refuse her as a potential student. She wasn't cut out for the life shinobi led, that much was clear. Just what did they think he could do with her? He wasn't a miracle worker and that's exactly what it would take for her to become a shinobi. Why did she choose such a profession in the first place, he had to wonder with a hidden frown. It wasn't his taste to dig into other people's pasts, as he didn't want or like them digging into his. He was mildly curious about her decision and what everyone else managed to see in her that made them so steadfast in their choice to keep her a kunoichi. Truthfully he couldn't see anything in her outward appearance, but he couldn't see her eyes. It was always easier to read people through their eyes rather than their body language or voice.
If he took her under his wing he knew they would have many obstacles to overcome. The most prominent being that she was used to being overprotected and he could only expect that everyone probably went easy on her which meant he would, sadly, have to start from the very beginning with her just like with the Genin. Kakashi had to admit he really had his work cut out for him with the three rookies, if the three of them even passed his test. If they didn't he would already have his hands full with the older girl, but if they did then he would probably lose his sanity that much quicker. It was a straight up gamble either way and one he was bound to lose. The odds were clearly not within his favor.
The girl suddenly stumbled forward in an awkwardly swift bow, but somehow tripped over her own two feet and landed hard on her knees. Kakashi half expected the girl to cry out in pain, however he only caught a slight muffled whimper before the room fell silent and without any hesitance the girl continued her interrupted bow. "Please forgive my rudeness senpai, I'm Mikazuki Namida." The girl spoke her voice was soft and earnest, if not a bit scared as she practically glued her forehead to the floor. Tokito sighed and shook his head at his friend's clumsiness, while Hana couldn't keep the sad frown from her lips. Namida really could make a bad first impression of herself that was for sure. "It's alright Mikazuki-san, you don't need to bow or apologize." Kakashi told her with a hidden smile while offering her a hand. "I'm Hatake Kakashi it's nice to meet you Mikazuki-san."
The girl flinched back upon seeing the hand held out in front of her face and hesitated a moment, before she practically jumped to her feet and away from him. "I-I'm sorry Hatake-senpai, you don't have to help me." Namida replied with a bright embarrassed blush as she moved her head so her long hair could hide her face from everyone's view. 'I really am an embarrassment to myself,' she thought with a trembling frown as her sweaty, shaking hands instinctually latched onto her headband. Kakashi waved off her apology with a languid motion, "It's fine, don't worry about it." His words and casual manner seemed to puzzle the girl, as a confused halfhearted smile twitched at her visible lips which was the only part of her face he could see due to the rest of her face being hidden behind her thick mane of white hair.
Namida nodded her acceptance, but remained silent. She decided that it was better if she said nothing as to keep from embarrassing herself any further. "Well since we've introduced ourselves let's go meet the rest of the team." Kakashi announced with a hidden smile trying to lighten the tense atmosphere. Kanya hissed angrily through her teeth, but otherwise remained silent though her rigid glare pointed at the silver haired Jonin spoke volumes of her distrust and extreme dislike for him and the whole situation over all. Namida nodded her head and silent followed after the Jonin confused about his words. "Namida you come over to my house for dinner tonight, you got that?" Hana ordered with a friendly smile. "I will thank you Hana." Namida replied with an appreciative yet slightly fearful smile. Eating wasn't the only thing they were going to be doing, of that Namida was well aware of. She just wished that the oncoming lecture could be postponed until a little later.
"Um, Hatake-senpai," Namida started to ask as they exited the Hokage's home, but stopped herself short unsure if it would be rude to ask him where they were going and what he had meant when he said 'the rest of the team'. "Yeah, what is it?" He asked not unkindly and turned to watch his newest student. He still couldn't see her eyes or the rest of her face, but her hands and lips were quite expressional. "I… I was wondering what you meant by 'let's meet the rest of the team'. Do you have a squad of Genin?" She asked after a short pause and a curious twitch of her pastel pink lips. "Yeah, well kind of," He chuckled, "I have yet to meet them myself." He said with an embarrassed smile and scratching the back of his neck at the admission.
"O-oh," Namida stuttered and looked down with a thoughtful frown on her lips. "Is there something wrong?" Kakashi asked seriously, wondering what could have caused the sudden change of mood. "It's… it's just that… you didn't have to accept me if you were already busy with your own team. I would have managed… somehow." She whispered the last word to herself, but he heard her. She really didn't want to be a burden him or anyone else, did she? Kakashi sighed wondering just how he always managed to get into tight situations all of the time. "Listen, don't worry about it alright? Everything will work out, trust me." Namida nodded in understanding but opened her mouth to reply, only to have the Jonin cut her off before the words could even form in her throat.
"I don't want to hear another word about it, Mikazuki-san. I accepted you as my student well aware of the difficulties beforehand. It was my decision alone to make. Are we clear?" He asked his tone darker and less casual. Namida's whole body tensed and she stepped away from the Jonin in fear. "Y-yes we are clear Hatake-senpai. I'm sorry, please forgive me, I didn't mean to upset you." She replied quickly, her eyes wide in alarm. Kakashi's eyebrow rose in curiosity when he noticed that she not only flinched away from him, but her hand also moved to the kunai pouch strapped to her right leg at the same moment. That was a curious move for someone so meek. He wondered if it was perhaps an instinctual move when someone imposed on her or when she thought she was being threatened. He made a mental note to address that action with her later, after they met with the Genin.
"Good, I'm glad we're on the same page now." He nodded his approval with a hidden smile, which only served to unnerve the undernourished looking girl even further. 'Ah, I really do have my hands full with this one.' "Well let's get going, it appears we're already quite late." He announced turning around to head towards the Academy but made no effort to quicken his pace. Namida watched her new senpai walk away in something akin to surprise and disbelief. He acted as if being late was of no importance whatsoever. That just didn't set right with the eighteen year old, but she withheld her comments. She had already upset him once and in less than twenty minutes of meeting him, there was no need to burry herself any deeper in her self-dug hole. By the time Namida snapped out of her thoughts and shock her new senpai was already several yards ahead of her and not slowing down.
A startled gasp left her lips when she realized he was not going to wait for her. 'And why should he?' She was technically an adult and a Chunin after all. He wasn't required to hold her hand and delicately lead her along like an infant, not that she even wanted him to. Besides the action being rather degrading for a woman her age, she was uncomfortable with strangers touching her in intimate ways, especially if they were male. Namida caught up to her senpai rather quickly, but stayed at least a minimum of two yards behind him and towards his left. If he took notice of this action or not she hadn't a clue as he made no indication of even acknowledging her presence. Namida sighed through her nose, so he wouldn't hear and looked down at her feet dejectedly. 'I really must have angered him earlier, even though he smiled… Shiranui-senpai why did you choose this man? Did I do something to upset you as well? Is that the reason you don't want me anymore? If I did, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.'
Kakashi meanwhile couldn't help but feel a little uneasy as the girl was following after him so silently that had he not seen her shadow trailing after him on the wall he would have never taken notice of her at all. He could also see the gears turning in her head at a rapid pace. Not to mention her silence was unnerving. It was like she expected him to just suddenly turn on her like a mad dog. He had sensed the same thing earlier when she had flinched away from his hand in the Hokage's office and when he had tried, and ultimately failed to make her see that it was his choice to have her as his student. The thought had crossed his mind that perhaps she was afraid of men, but that didn't quite make sense. She was at ease around Tokito, Izumo and Kotetsu and from what he had heard she was the same around her former senpai, Genma as well. He wondered what the difference was between himself and the others. Was he more intimidating or harsher towards her than she was used to? He hadn't thought he was either of those. Perhaps she was just very sensitive?
He questioned his choice of taking her on as his student not for the first time that day, or even the second. However he would wait until after their first or second training session to make a final decision. The first session he decided, would be after their meeting with the three Genin. That might set her back a bit on her dinner plans, but her odd defensive reactions towards him earlier was pecking at his curiosity like a flock of starving vultures.