Name: The Origin of the Mask
Pairing: none
Rating: G…. I don't know what the equivalent is but there's nothing above the mention of kissing so...K?
Disclaimer: Naruto Belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, I am making no money from this story
Warning: un-beta'ed
Author notes: I'm aware that in both the manga and the anime there is an age gap between Kakashi and Iruka, but in order to make this fic work I made them the same age. I apologise for any spelling mistakes etc. and I also apologise for my lame attempt at humour. This is un-beta'd so if you notice any spelling or grammer mistakes feel free to let me know. :)
The text in itailcs are Kakashi's thoughts.
Kakashi was five years old when he became a genin. He was on his way to the Academy for orientation when he heard an obviously distressed call of 'leave me alone' and was knocked to the ground by something brown.
On closer inspection said brown object turned out to be a boy not much younger than he, who seemed bent on using him for a shield. Apparently using him as a shield from a rather brash looking girl with a disconcerting glint in her eyes. Now Kakashi had not had much experience with girls and although he was not overly fond of them he wasn't scared of them either; unlike the boy behind him, who, judging from the crushing grip on his arm, was terrified.
"Come on Iru-chan just one kiss?"
"I said leave me alone!" Kakashi ears were ringing from the volume at which the protest had been shouted just inches from his head.
"Your no fun Iru-chan, it's not like it'll kill ya."
Of course it won't, adults do it all the time and I've never seen one drop dead from it.
"It might! You've got cooties!"
"I have not! There's no such thing!"
"Yeah there is, my dad told me so and he's never wrong. He's a jounin!"
Well I've never heard of 'cooties' before but if a jounin thinks they're something to warn their kid about… It must be some sort of disease, but the girl looks healthy enough.
"Well I don't have them!"
"How would you know! You can't even tell when you stuck in a genjutsu!"
"…"
"…"
"Fine! But I'll get you to kiss me eventually, just you watch!"
The entire exchange had taken less than a minute, and while Kakashi was a genius (or so they said) he couldn't quite wrap his head around what had just taken place. His mind was still spinning when his arm was released and it registered that the boy was apologising. Said boy then gave an unpractised bow and took of at a brisk pace in the direction of the Academy. Kakashi followed.
"So who was that?"
The boy seemed surprised by the question.
"Oh just some girl from my class, she's always trying stuff like that."
Silence for a few moments, then:
"What are cooties?"
"You don't know?" Incredulous.
"No."
"I think its some kind of disease, my dad didn't say much about it. But I saw this red mark on his neck and when I asked him about it he said it was a cootie that he got when mum kissed him."
A few moments of easy silence.
"So do all girls have cooties?"
"…I'm not sure, but I don't want any red marks so no girl is coming near me!"
"But is that all that cooties do? Give you red marks?"
"I reckon they mess with your brain coz after mum kisses dad he goes all goofy."
"…Goofy?"
"Yeah he gets this silly grin on his face and drops anything he's carrying. Once he even turned to go into the kitchen and he ran into the wall!"
"And he's a jounin?" Skeptical.
"Yep, so cooties must be really bad. But he only goes goofy when mum kisses him on the lips."
At this point they had reached the Academy, the boy gave Kakashi another unpracticed bow and loped down one of the halls.
"Hey what's your name?"
The boy stopped, turned, and shouted back:
"Umino Iruka! What's your?"
"Hatake Kakashi."
"I'll see you after class ok Kakashi-san?"
Then, without waiting for a reply he dashed down the hall and disappeared.
What a strange kid.
Kakashi's orientation wasn't for another half hour so he sat in the designated classroom and thought.
If cooties tamper with a ninja's brain then I need to make sure I avoid any kisses, not that I have any girls chasing after me like Iruka-san has. But that only happens if there's mouth-to-mouth contact, the red mark thing seems annoying but I can't see how that would impair my performance in the field. So I just need something to protect my mouth.
Now being the genius we all know Kakashi is he soon came to a solution. Which is why five minutes later he was in the storeroom where the Academy teachers kept costumes and props for the various plays they made the students perform.
After some digging he came across a rack full of black clothes that the puppeteers wore. Underneath was a box which held more black items; socks, bandanas and… masks. Pulling on the smallest one he could find Kakashi glanced at himself in the mirror and decided that he really was a genius.
If his Academy sensei was surprised to see him wearing the mask, he didn't show it.
*TIMESKIP!*
Kakashi readjusted his headband as he waited patiently by a tree as the youngest group of pre-genin were let out for morning break. A familiar brown ponytail appeared and Kakashi silently made his way over to Iruka.
"Yo, Iruka-san."
"Hello Kakashi-san, why are you wearing a mask?"
"It's to stop me from getting cooties." This was said in a very proud voice and was accompanied by a curvy-eyed smile.
"Hey that's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?"
At this point Iruka noticed the headband.
"You're a genin?"
"Yup, just today, I've gotta go meet up with my Sensei now so I won't be able to see you after school."
"Oh… well that's ok, we'll play some other time." A wide, sincere grin plastered itself on Iruka's face
I probably won't see you again for a long while; I'm going to be training hard and going on missions.
"Sure I'll see you around then." His eyes smiled, his mouth did not.
Kakashi turned and headed to the classroom where he would meet his sensei. Before he entered the building he turned to see Iruka waving at him, a smile still set on his face. Kakashi raised a hand in reply as the pre-genin dashed off to play with the other students.
Doesn't he walk anywhere?
Kakashi turned, and went inside.
AN: Well that's it, this story has been flitting about in my brain for a while now and I'm glad I finally got around to committing it in writing. In my mind the girl is Anko, I like the idea of her and Iruka being friends and I can see her terrorizing Iruka when they were kids.
This is my first attempt at fan fiction so sorry if the characters are a bit OOC. Comments and constructive criticisms are always welcome, but please don't flame.