A/N: Kakashi isn't really OOC, but he's a little more closed off than the series shows. Not really sure how else to explain it, except to just tell you to read the story and find out. This chapter is actually just an intro, hence why it's extremely short.
No one bothers to chastise a Konoha ninja about their appearance. It was just an unknown rule that everyone knew about. People knew that Gai sensei was a little odd with his choice of clothing, but they never voiced their thoughts in front of him. It would be rude of them to do so. Same goes with Shino, Kankuro, Rock Lee, and so on. The list continues to grow each year. But there was always that one person that everyone couldn't help but talk about him, even if he was present.
Kakashi Hatake. The famous copy-cat Ninja that has learned over a thousand jutsu's. You could say that he was an elite ninja of Konoha. But despite that title, and his reputation, villagers can't help but discuss him as if he was the weather. Why did he wear that mask? What was he hiding under there? Was he handsome? Does he have something to hide? Was he ugly? No one knew anything about the man. It was as if his private life on a whole didn't exist. Even his fellow ninja that worked alongside him knew nothing about him. What they could gather from his personality and how he acted was that he was a lazy ninja, second to Shikamaru, a very closed off person and that he didn't have any friends. No one has ever seen him chatting with friends before. They knew that Gai was his rival, but it only went so far. They weren't close friends, but just strictly rivals. What made him so anti-social? He didn't show emotion besides his lackadaisical attitude. Even his students knew nothing about him. It was as if he was a ghost.
Because of this he garnered the nickname Yurei no Otoko, literally meaning Ghost man. Villagers gossiped about him almost every day. They made up ridiculous lies stating "The real reason he wears that mask". It always started with those words. Iruka remembered overhearing an elderly couple say that "The real reason he wears that mask" is because he was an ugly human being and wanted to hide his shameful face away from everyone. Iruka was appalled by such a reason. Restraining himself from turning around and yelling at the couple about how rude that really was took more than he thought it would. How could you say something like that about a person? Kakashi didn't seem ugly. Well not in his eyes at least. But how could he make a judgment just based on the man's one eye.
For the next few days Iruka was distracted. Distracted because everywhere he went and anything he did, that silver haired Jounin was always on his mind. Not just him, but what the couple said was also plaguing his thoughts. When he went home, he thought about Kakashi being ugly. When he ate dinner, he thought about Kakashi being ugly. When he went to sleep, he dreamt about Kakashi being ugly. He just couldn't escape this idiotic notion about Kakashi being ugly. Iruka was completely fed up with thinking about the man. They barely even knew each other, yet here he was obsessing over whether what was under the mask was unattractive or not.
Iruka was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice someone around the corner before it was too late. They both collided roughly, causing Iruka to stumble and then fall to the ground with a thud. Pain shot up through his thigh making him hiss at the sudden impact. "Crap." He muttered, rubbing the throbbing thigh. He should seriously pay attention to where he was walking or else he was going to end up hurting himself. "Are you okay?" A familiar voice asked. Looking up Iruka first saw the sun as it was glaring at him right behind the man, causing him to see white for a second. He put his hand up to stop the onslaught of the sun's bright rays unto his poor retinas just to see said man that had been invading his mind for over two weeks. Iruka felt like he was swallowing a boulder. "Are you okay? Kakashi repeated this time peering down at his Iruka's disheveled form. "O-Oh…Uhh.." No words could be formed as Iruka stared up at the Jounin with a stupefied look on his face. This went on for a few more seconds before Kakashi stepped back a little.
The tension surrounding them seemed to drag on longer than need be. "I..think I should…uh…just.." Kakashi never finished his sentence as he swiftly turned around and headed in the direction he just came from.
What was that all about?
So tell me what you think. The beginning was a little cut off because I didn't want to really reveal anything right away. Enjoy and comment. Comments make the world go around.