The break of day sifted through hanging boughs, together with the light, tender wind, rustling and warming the blossoming birches, as they overhung a veiled path that wound towards the head of a lush mountain-top. In the near distance, the gates of Konoha stood tall and proud, as the waking day lit it. Along the path, a young ninja strode along happily, arms folded behind his head, a leather pouch tied about his hips. His pastel silver hair sifted in the breeze, his large dark eyes taking in his surroundings, brightening as the sound of falling, crashing water grew more strident the further he walked. Turning a glance behind him, the youth huffed, hands on his hips, "Neee, hurry up, Gai-kun!"
A little ways behind him, a nin with ebony hair, tied up loosely in an oriental braid, blissfully followed the path of a great fat toad, laughing at the languid amphibian's sluggish rolls along the sheltered pathway, before he glanced up, and smiled, "Haaai!" Leaping to his feet, the hot-blooded young shinobi-in-training scampered after his best friend and idol, the son of Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Kakashi. They were out of bounds.
The young genius had been left to his own devices by his father, who was currently on task in an S-Ranker, and using that precious time, had devised a little trip to this hallowed mountain with his kouhai. They grinned and chattered to each other, lost in the excitement of their freedom. Kakashi was going to help Gai-kun today. He had promised. Ever since he had found the hot-blooded boy tearing up behind the academy, under the swinging tree, hammering out his fists into the broad oak, tortured by the aggravation of his lack of ninjutsu ability. He just couldn't do it. No matter how hard he tried; as if there was a trigger in his mind that simply wouldn't allow him to progress any further. It was a frustration and… it hurt so terribly.
Kakashi smiled beneath his mask at his friend, one of the few nin that he could speak to freely without thinking that he had an example to set, an image to prove, being the son of one of Konoha's most venerable warriors. He was far more advanced in his skills than the few shinobi youth in his class; abilities coming to him and sticking once; that stickiness never dulling, even as others tripped up and failed around him. He felt isolated; the others looked up to, feared, resented, and adored him. But then; there was Maito Gai. He was an orphan. No clan, no family. His parents had been lost in a low-ranking shinobi mission; and kids had been cruel, deeming the boy unfit for the ninja path; following the inopportune weakness that his parents' death exposed. Even so, through that naive cruelty, Gai had honed a strong will and personality, a determination that knew no bounds. He saw Kakashi as a potential rival, and friend, that's what he said, not an obstacle that couldn't be beaten, but one to work towards and befriend. He treated the other boy as an equal; and that was good enough for Kakashi to warm up to. He could be himself with Gai-kun.
"Ne, Kakashi… I've been thinkin'," Gai began, dark brows knitting in thought.
"Hehe, I thought I could smell burning," Hatake replied cheekily, walking along beside the other nin.
"Huh?" Gai blinked large dark eyes, unaware of the dig, and then continued at the shake of his future rival's head, "Well… you always wear your mask, all the time. I mean, even in lunch you don't take it off all the way…" he pouted, glaring at the other youth fixedly, "What're ya hiding?" his mouth broadened into a smirk, "you got spots and boils, right? Or buck teeth!"
Kakashi stared at the other nin, unimpressed for a short while, before he shook his head, "Uh, not exactly… I sort of… well…anou…" his cheeks hued pink beneath his mask as he walked, as he scratched the back of his head, trying to reason through his ideal, "I… I sort of made a promise. Ya see, I won't take this mask off;" he pointed to it, stopping, and glaring readily at the other nin, "Not 'til I'm as great a shinobi as my dad." The announcement hung on the wind for a while, Gai staring wide-eyed at the other boy, before the White Fang's son became unsettled, and he flushed, "Heh… it sounds pretty dumb, right? But, a promise is a promise, and…"
"IYA!"
Kakashi looked up, startled, as the raven-haired nin clutched his shoulders and shook him manfully, "That's so cool, Kakashi! A real warrior's promise!" he grinned, exposing perfect teeth, before he began to chuckle, shaking his head, incredibly excited, "Oh man, oh man, you're just the best! That's why you're gonna be my one true rival someday!"
The silver-haired youth blinked, tilting his head, before he laughed gently, kneading the bad of his neck, "Heheh, ne, Gai-kun, you're pretty weird…" But it was a fun nuttiness. Kakashi enjoyed that; it was that bizarre excitability that was contagious, even to a nin who thought he was above that and had seen it all. He smiled, and gestured that the keep moving, "Sa! We're nearly there. Let's keep moving, okay!"
The roar of the waterfall at the mountains' head was likened to thunder, the entire valley and peak bathed in hazy vapour and the natural, raw clamour of life. Excitedly, Kakashi threw down his leather pouch, and joined his best friend as he scampered to the cliff edge. Peeking over the eroded point, Gai gave a long, low whistle. Everything that the two impish nin had passed early that morning, the colossal trees, the vast lake, the gargantuan boulders, seemed minute, almost inconsequential from way up there. They were up so high; towering above everything… He thought if he climbed to the very top of one of the tall trees behind him, he would be on top of the world itself! The two were content to simply stare for a time, lost in the change of pace; how their world was in the great scheme of things. Sugoi…
"Ahhh! We're really high up, ne?" Gai commented, dark eyes shining with wonder. He'd never been up quite so high before. Sensei didn't take his class up too far; not like this; not even outside the village! Man, thinking about it; sensei wasn't any fun at all!
Even in that world of war, the sense of virtue and childlike naivety within the Konoha youth was encouraged, each child wrapped in a blanket of blissful ignorance; blind to the dangers of setting foot too far beyond the village borders; to the grotesque penalties that hung just as highly for those who had not yet lost their milk-teeth as those who had murdered, tyrannised and raped.
"Hey, Kakashi, let's see how far our pee'll go—" the hot-blooded youth grinned impishly, standing up and thumbing into his pants, tugging the fabric down, "Bet I can beat ya!"
The silver-haired nin looked intrigued for a moment, standing up and ready to follow suit, before he blinked, and his eyes lit up in revelation, "Maybe later. We're training, remember?" he raised an eyebrow at the other nin, admonishing him for his foolish behaviour, despite the fact that Kakashi had been just as ready to endanger the cleanliness of any hapless woodland creatures below for a bit of childish fun and games. Seeing Gai retreat his hands to his hips, waiting on him, the youngest Hatake raised a hand, and then turned towards a throng of warbler bushes just beyond the cliff edge. He returned moments later with a banded fruit; a watermelon, one that swelled; almost rivalling the young nin in its sheer girth alone. The ebony-haired boy blinked, shouldering out of his leather satchel, "But Kakashi, we already brought bento…"
"It's not to eat," Kakashi replied, eyebrows raised in fair smugness, and he gestured for the other nin to follow his lead. Gai happily pursued him back to the perilous lip of the cliff, a sudden gust of outlandish wind breezing up through his shining dark tresses, uplifting the thickly-bound braid that lay heavy on his back. They peered over the edge; those lofty trees, the winding brooks, and the perilous, jagged bottom that the sparkling waterfall met with as it crashed into frothy billows at the impact. It would have had a calming feeling, had the two been sitting beside the lake below; cheerfully chattering and eating their prepared lunches. Right now, all they felt was exhilaration and awe, a hot feeling that boiled in their stomachs and sent thrills up to their chests. Gai held his breath, enjoying the sensation, the adventure of it all! It felt so great, with Kakashi-kun, playing around and walkin' out of bounds! "If ya fell from here… you probably wouldn't get up again, ne?" he turned to his future rival, grinning gamely, and then blinked as Kakashi gave him an elfin look, "Mm?"
"Watch this-" the genius replied, holding out the huge fruit, the green, waxy skin glistening in the early morning light. Gai got the drift, and grinned broadly, clenching his fists, tightening his gut, as the other nin let the sacrificial melon slip from his hands.
The two watched as the grotesquely-swollen fruit tumbled down, in its last moments of life turning wheels and loops in the air; soaring as it never could without aid, before it impacted on the stones below with a ripe, sickening crack. Goblets of rich red spattered out a fair distance, lashing juice and pith across once immaculate rock face, black seeds glimmering amidst the bruised flesh like clots of something thicker. The picture was a gruesome one. A just warning of what would come to any who fell like fruit from the cliff-edge high above.
"Ahhh! Sugoi!" Gai whooped, raising his arms and fisting the air, as he turned to his best friend, "That was awesome, huh?! Let's throw something else!" he blinked as Kakashi shook his head.
"Gai," the youth pouted, shaking his head, and then raising a finger. Gai-kun was such a kid sometimes! "Wanna hear something good? I'm gonna help you with your ninjutsu, okay?"
The dropout stared at his future rival in wonder, and then flushed, raising a hand to knead the back of his neck, self-conscious and embarrassed by his 'little problem', "D-Demo… I… I just ca-"
Kakashi smacked the ground and shook his head, shuffling forward, clenching a fist before him as he glared doggedly into the other nin's dark eyes, "No, this is the truth! My dad told me! I'm gonna help you, I promise!" the little Hatake leaned back, and smiled, his cheeks rosy under his mask, "We're gonna do ninjutsu together today, okay? Trust your senpai." He blinked, tilting his head at the way Gai looked at him; chewing a finger, dark eyes shining; unsure if he should raise his hopes. Bullies played tricks like this on him all the time… maybe Kakashi thought it would be a good joke…
The genius shook his head, and folded his arms, "Ne, ne, Gai-kun…this is a special waterfall, you know."
"Special…?"
"It's magic! My dad told me," the little nin nodded, believing that alone to be enough to convince the other kid. He just needed to push a little more, and Gai'd believe, just like he had, when his old man had taken him to this place months before, tossed the same fruit, telling the same story. Kakashi could barely contain his excitement! He'd grown up a lot in the past few months; was the best shinobi in his class and more. He'd be able to handle this, no problem. Grinning still, he continued, noting how his best friend had leaned forward on his hands and knees, visibly wanting, no, needing to hear more. The young genius soon blinked, and his dark eyes widened; light brows knitting as he realized that he had completely forgotten the story that went along with it… the stunning story that his dad had spun to him on that fateful day. Shoot! It'd all be for nothing if he couldn't convince Gai-kun now! He began to sweat, wracking his brain for ideas, of past stories and events that he had been told about; in school or by his pop at bedtime, and began shakily, "There… there was a ninja…"
Gai blinked, suddenly even more interested in the tale, "A ninja?"
Hatake moved along, gradually gaining confidence, "He didn't have much skill in ninjutsu, either, but he had a very secret, very special power… he could mend broken hearts."
The raven-haired boy tilted his head, "Ya mean… when they get stabbed? Like what sensei showed us in class…?"
"No, not that; when somebody hurts somebody else by doing something really cruel, or if they lose something or someone close to them… that kind of thing," Kakashi explained, and the dropout lowered his eyes, raising a tanned hand to his chest, giving it a knead. He thought he knew what that felt like… a lot of the orphans did. He brightened, looking at his beloved senpai, and nodded fervently for him to continue.
" Well, he could mend broken hearts, and the girl who drowned in the lake-"
"Huh? What girl? Kakashiiii, you're not telling it properly!" Gai chirped in scolding, raising a thick dark eyebrow, the continuity of the story broken as well as the climax.
The silver-haired boy blinked, and then scratched his head, "Oh, didn't I say that? Um.. well, anou… there was a girl who was forced to marry a wicked shogun. He was a bad guy; he'd beat her up, not let her see her family, and he never showed her any love, so… she drowned herself in the lake down there," he pointed, and thought a little harder, only to grow more animated, "And back then it was just a lake! After she drowned, the waterfall came! All the villagers said that it was born from the tears of her broken heart!" Kakashi was proud of that little connection, but he regarded Gai seriously all the same, wanting to see his reaction. He grimaced a little, seeing how the other boy had begun hiccupping, straining to hold his tears back. Gai-kun was really soft sometimes… oh well! 'Least it's working! Beaming, the mischievous nin proceeded on, "Ne, ne! It's okay – remember about the ninja? Well he came to bathe in the water, and he met with the girl's ghost in the lake. She told him about her story, and he said that even though he could not get revenge on the shogun ('cause he wasn't a great ninja), he swore that he would mend her broken heart! He did so, and the girl, because she was so glad even in death, became a water spirit! With magical powers. She gave the ninja the power to become much stronger, and he became one of the greatest shinobi of all time!" Kakashi glanced at Gai, who seemed to be on the edge of his mind in excitement, his toes curling in his sandals, his lips drawn into an enchanted smile.
"Sugoooooi!!" Kakashi, that's so cool!! He deserved to have a happy ending, since he was such a nice guy!!" the dropout crowed, clenching his fists, before sending a flurry of punches into the open air, "But, if I were that guy, I would have gone to that evil old shogun guy and shown him my fists, and make sure that he'd pay for laying hands on an innocent girl, and--!!"
The genius nin waved his hands at the other boy, and cried out over the other's eccentric statements, "Hai, hai, but, Gai-kun! The best thing is… the girl's spirit is still in the lake, and the waterfall, and she grants wishes if you leave her offerings, you know!" he pointed at the remains of the swollen watermelon, "She likes fresh watermelon the best, see?" the gentle, fleshy pink juice of the melon had shifted into the water as the froth lapped at the stone, becoming one with the body of the lake, "So that means… you can make a wish!"
Gai stared for a moment, cheeks flushing as pink as the hapless melon below, and he raised a finger, pointing it to his chest, "B-but… what about Kakashi…?"
The other boy waved it off, and grinned behind his mask, "Iya. I already made a wish the first time my dad took me! Now; it's your turn."
"…Ahhh! Kakashi, you're the best!" the nin's lower lip wobbled, his cheeks flushed a warm cerise, utterly overwhelmed by his closed friend's kindness. Kakashi was such a great guy… he was gonna help him! He'd be able to call him 'rival' one day, if this worked! "K-KakashiiiiIIIIiiii…" he moved an arm over his eyes, and began to whimper, tearing up, overcome with hot-blooded emotion. That was how Maito Gai coped with things; another reason for bullies to pick up on and lace into him with. Kakashi admired the other boy's guts. How he stuck to being different even when punches were thrown, or his braid was yanked, even as he was left out of everything when Kakashi was elsewhere... but at the same time, the genius understood why the bullies did it, which made it easier for him to forgive them at times. After all… he had played the teasing game at first, too.
"Ahh—aahhh! Iya, Gai-kun, you haven't made a wish yet!" the silver-haired nin took the other boy's arm, used to seeing his friend in tears; he'd almost grown nonchalant, even blind to them. In a few quick skips, they were both standing together, before the edge of the cliff. The son of the White Fang then pointed right to the end; to the jagged rim that had been eaten, gnawed away at by wind and rain and waterfall alike, "Ne, Gai-kun… you gotta stand there, with your arms spread out wide, like a bird. You close your eyes like that, and then you make the wish, and someday, it'll come true!"
The hot-blooded nin stepped forward, bending over to note the plains and certain death below, should he fall. He swallowed, feeling that his throat was full of so many, dry little seeds. They were up so high, he was sure that he could see clouds licking around the bulking, jagged sides of the mountain, like white, tapered snakes, ready to take him down. He was scared, but… knowing that this was exactly what his future rival had done when his dad took him to this special place… that gave him all the courage and determination he needed to step forth into the point of no return. Two azure sandals were soon placed towards the edge of the boundary, where no grass would grow. The earth came away in tiny, crumbling lumps, the insignificant pebbles descending into oblivion as they fell down and down into the sheltered valley, to join the scattered watermelon pulp below. The dropout nin gulped back his indecision, and shook his head. He'd be brave! He'd make his wish, and he'd show himself, Kakashi and the world what an excellent ninja he was gonna be in the future!
"Ne… are you ready, Gai-kun?" Kakashi asked from behind him, and Gai nodded doggedly, frowning in sincerity. Yosh, he'd made his wish, too! Now he'd wait 'til Kakashi said what he should do next…
It was then that the hot-blooded nin felt Hatake Kakashi's small hands lurch out, and give him a swift push… enough to send him several feet into the sky, over the cliff edge.