Chapter two – Enter Gai! What would Kakashi be without his "eternal rival" around to harass him?

Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto, nor any characters there-in and seek no monetary gain. This endeavor is purely for amusement purposes and all rights belong to their respective copyright owners.

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-Stand Alone Scarecrow-

-2-

Iruka threaded his way through the streets, stopping now and again to exchange a word or two with a student or parent. Then climbed the stairs and quickly undid the wards locking his apartment.

He stepped inside and slipped out of his sandals. His eyes casting quickly over the sparsely furnished room, coming to rest, as they always did, on the dolphin plushie Anko had seen fit to give him for his birthday several years ago. He moved to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, then set his bag on the table and pulled out the essays he'd had his students turn in as they were leaving.

Konohamaru's sat on top; Iruka grimaced slightly at the almost hieroglyphical chicken scratch scrawled across the page. With a sigh of practiced patience, he took a sip of his water and fished around for his correction pen to begin the tedious editing of student papers.

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Kakashi shambled along the street, his nose buried in the latest installation of Jiraiya's "Icha Icha" series as he skillfully sidestepped around vendors and fellow ninja.

Suddenly he felt a familiar prickle on the back of his neck and tucking away his book, slipped quietly into a nearby alley. The copy nin stood a moment back pressed against the wall, dark uniform one with the late afternoon shadows, he felt his pursuer drawing nearer. His eyes darted about the empty alleyway, coming to rest on a large green dumpster. Swiftly and silently he ducked inside the empty bin, grateful his mask guarded against the lingering smell of rot and refuse.

The top of the dumpster flew backwards,
and there...
clad in all his spandex glory...
stood Gai, balancing effortlessly on the dumpsters rim, as he struck his infamous 'good guy' pose.

Kakashi blinked against the blinding brightness of his stalker's smile.

"What a fine and youthful day this is, my eternal rival! I see you are employed in the youthful activity of investigating Konoha's garbage bins! I have come to issue a challenge to you my trendy comrade!"

Kakashi suppressed a groan and hopped out of the dumpster to escape the stench that had begun to permeate his mask. Gai remained balanced on the edge, but turned to remain facing Kakashi, lest the copy-nin attempt to sneak away.

"Are you prepared, cool rival, to hear what my challenge is!"

Kakashi pulled out his 'Icha Icha' and sidled towards the alley's exit.

Gai flipped off the dumpster to land in front of him,

"Do not depart so hastily my hip friend! You have yet to hear my challenge!"

Kakashi sighed in defeat, and let his book fall away from in front of his face. He fixed his one eyed gaze in a lazy stare at the abnormally white grin of Konoha's "Green Beast".

"I challenge you and a partner of your choosing to a youthful game of tug-of-war! And should you defeat me I will hop 600 laps around Konoha on my left foot!"

Kakashi sighed again, failing to understand the self-imposed punishments Gai heaped upon himself whenever he lost.

He gave a half-hearted nod, and sidled past Gai, burying his face in his book again.

"The execution of this challenge will commence at noon tomorrow!" Gai called after him as Kakashi weaved his way through the crowd.

In his hurry to distance himself from Gai, Kakashi found himself wandering back past Ichiraku's ramen bar and in the direction Iruka had taken earlier.

He paused a moment, then shrugged.
He'd ask Iruka to be his partner in Gai's team-tug-of-war-challenge tomorrow.

Kakashi tucked 'Icha Icha' into his pocket and mounted the steps, hesitating at Iruka's door.

Why…he wondered…should I feel nervous?

He shrugged it off, and rapped on the stout door. His pulse quickened slightly as he heard Iruka stirring within. The door opened and the surprised school-teacher stood staring at him,

"Kakashi-sensei?!" Iruka stammered, but recovered quickly, though his easy blush lingered on his cheeks, "What brings you here?" he moved aside, motioning for Kakashi to enter.

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi nodded as he slipped through and stepped out of his sandals.

Iruka closed the door behind him. "Can I offer you something to…" the darker man's nose suddenly wrinkled, "Kakashi-sensei… Why… Why do you smell like a dumpster?"

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I hope you enjoyed chapter two!

I'm still struggling to keep everyone in character so if I've slipped up in some atrocious way, please let me know!

I'll try to be quick on the updates, I know how much it sucks having to wait, but I've got Finals in two weeks so I beg that you be patient with me!

Once again, this is my first fan-fic so reviews are really appreciated!