Civilian

Written By: SilentAnonymity

Dedicated to Zhang Sizheng

Chapter 2: The Centre

Chapter dedicated to Kukasabe Swift, for being an awesome reviewer.

IMPORTANT: I noticed that I screwed something up with the timeline while writing chapter 3. For the purposes of not changing an entire chapter of this fic, I am going to change the age at which Kakashi joins ANBU from 17 to 13. Thank you (more info in description of chapter 3).

From this point forward, there are no longer any excerpts taken directly from Deja Vu except the name and two characteristics of Kakashi's OC love interest.

And henceforth, the civilian side of Konoha shall be referred to as the, "Civilian Centre," or simply, "Centre," and its shinobi counterpart will be referred to as the, "Shinobi Complex," or simply, "Complex."

Three things I made up:

1. Obviously some company names and such
2. Teuchi (the man who runs Ichiraku- YES HIS NAME IS NOT ICHIRAKU, GOODNESS!), does not actually have a Chunin son.
3. Some facts on Ninken.

Also, cosmetics were used on some of the characters in this chapter. The cosmetics I am talking about aren't the ones we see packaged today, the kind we "modern" people use. I'm talking about cosmetics from before. When blush and lipstick were the same product and came as a red sheet of paper (and not in a tube or a compact) and eyeliner was still kohl.

And now, chapter two, please enjoy.

Kakashi awoke with a start at the large thud that had come from somewhere outside of his apartment. Picking up the kunai from the gap between his bed and the table, he cautiously made his way toward the front door. He pressed his ear against it, and when he met nothing but silence, deemed it safe enough to open. There was a large box with a note stuck to the top. Recognising his sensei's half lying-down scrawl, Kakashi brought the parcel inside.

So you're up!

Now get the hell to the border. I've packaged some things that would probably help.
I'll send someone to get you when I feel that you've spent enough time away.

Don't do anything stupid,

Sensei

There was a little doodle of a pug in the corner of the page that was scratched out. Kakashi glanced up at the clock; the note seemed forcibly cheerful, with a slight tone of annoyance and an edge of warning. It was nearing 0600. He opened the box. Inside were civilian clothes, a key card, and a small amount of civilian currency. After showering and changing, he gathered some of the few personal belongings that still resided in his apartment. Placing them in a backpack that he had received from Rin on a day a few years back, he slung the bag over his shoulder and headed out the door.

Between the Civilian Centre and the outskirts of the Shinobi Complex, there was a moderately guarded border with two gates.

Kakashi had really only been in the Civilian Centre once in the past and it was with the rest of Squad 7 on an escort mission of some kind- he didn't really care to remember. He hadn't really paid much attention because he didn't spend much time there. Now, he was to forcibly spend at least three weeks in there, probably more. The war had ended a few years ago and peace was settling down again. Everyone had a little more down time and it was no longer necessary to have each and every member of Konoha working to the bone.

Generally speaking, Kakashi knew the roles that the civilians played in Konoha. Civilians were in charge of the production of materials and products that a shinobi village needed. For example, Nuno was a company that manufactured fabrics, both for ninja wear and for pedestrian wear. Toujiki produced porcelain and fine china. They were also the company that developed the porcelain for ANBU masks. And so forth. Things made in the Centre were often useful trade items as well.

Although most civilians lived in the Centre, those who had ties with the shinobi system could opt to live within the Complex, instead. Teuchi, for example, had a son who was a Chunin, in addition to his civilian daughter, Ayame. Those who didn't pursue the shinobi career lived their lives within the Centre and grew up to join companies and become innovators and such.

Like shinobi, all civilians attended the same academy, the civilian one being in the Centre, obviously; though the age at which they enter and the curriculums were entirely different. Yes, civilians had arithmetic classes, and language classes, but their courses lacked the few chapters that taught them how to use their calculations to throw a kunai into strong winds, or they never really did get to the (seemingly nonexistent- at least to them) section about coding and decoding messages, for example. Also, unlike the habit that shinobi had of enrolling their children in the academy from the age they could coherently form sentences, all civilians attended their first year of their academy at the age of 5; which could have been a respectable feat, if the first three years of classes had not been kindergarten (and then a slowly developing curriculum that took another 8 years and looked like a snail compared to the lightning speed and complexity of the ninja courses).

Of course, civilians could change their dream careers to shinobi, but then, the change would be permanent. It was either pursue your goal of being a ninja and retire as a veteran, or not begin at all. It would be dangerous if a pedestrian-half-ninja were to be captured and some important information leaked out. Though the prospect of little half-ninja children running around the Centre casting jutsu everywhere was an amusing thought, there was a chakra suppressing barrier around the Centre anyway- to protect the pedestrians a little from the rare event where some hot-headed genin decided to use some jutsu on them, while on a mission; it was also a sort of peace-pact that kept the civilians comfortable with working with the shinobi.

Kakashi sighed as he made his way toward the east gate.

"Ohayo."

"Morning to you too."

There was also a strict, no weapons policy.

After being inspected for anything suspicious, and safely on the other side of the gate, Kakashi stopped to recognise the odd and unnerving feeling that had settled into him ever since he put on the civilian clothes. He felt vulnerable with the suppressed chakra and without his usual hidden weapons. He tugged awkwardly at the hem of his black t-shirt, very aware of the absence of the garrotte wire he would have usually sewn into it. At least the shirt was black.

Shifting the grey pack a little higher on his one shoulder (that was one thing he remembered seeing on his previous visit because he wondered why anyone would do something so utterly inconvenient, there were two straps on a bag for a reason, right?), he opted for looking for his new apartment first.

The roads were easily navigable, organised in precise grids. Kakashi could tell that the difference in the reliance of chakra had caused the Centre to develop differently than the Complex. Where chakra usually held its weight in the Complex, the civilians had substituted it with electricity. Ninja used electricity, but only sparingly, like with the short range radio earpieces. The general consensus was that the abilities of electronics were too inconsistently unreliable: too many chances of being intercepted, or disabled, or breaking. That, or it was just unnecessary. Civilians had designed a self powering carriage, once, called a car. It was supposed to create an efficient method of transportation. Too bad Ninja could run as fast as cars, and the narrow streets of the Centre weren't fit for such a creation, and the roads would have to be paved, and safety regulations, and a slew of other complicated formalities that would cause more trouble than the car saved. Plus, exercise was good for you.

Kakashi did appreciate the elevator though, thoughtful invention, especially when an elderly woman entered the tiny cubicle and raised a shaky, arthritis affected hand to press the number 8. He stepped out when the door slid open, revealing the third floor and used his key card to open his temporary apartment's door.

The apartment was small, brown, empty, and neglected, just like his real one.

It was strange to look at himself in his current attire in the full-length mirror that was attached to the back of the washroom door. It actually made him jump a little when he saw a moving figure, but only because he'd been on edge from being so exposed. He contemplated his look. He didn't exactly like it, but he found it preferable than what it could have been.

At least it wasn't Gai who had chosen his outfit.

He had been allowed to keep his mask, but his headband had been replaced by just a slip of black fabric. Openly wearing headbands made some civilians uncomfortable and there was no need for a visiting shinobi to be boasting his abilities. He wore a black t-shirt and dark grey pants. Standard issue sandals were on his feet though. His hair fell slightly more forward than usual without the stiffness of the headband. The bandages that concealed the wound on his leg were covered well enough by the bagginess of the pants- something he didn't particularly like, but it was effective enough. The gauze on his arm was displayed very blatantly, but other than that and the various cuts and bruises he had, he looked almost normal.

Almost.

Well, he was occupied for the first day.

He ended up in the bedroom, where he just collapsed and slept for what felt like three days. Or it was half a day, when he woke up it was morning again; 0716, later than usual, but he was still trying to overcome the nightmarish tiredness that had plagued him for the week previous.

Kakashi pondered just what he would do with his time. After his various hygienic practices, Kakashi left his apartment.

He bought an apple from a fruit stand that stood at the side of the street, its neighbouring carts still empty. The Centre was a lot quieter than the Complex was in the morning, but this was just an obvious difference in the lifestyles of pedestrians and shinobi. One was strict to routine and one was varying on emotions and if I feel like it.

He realised that it would be a lot harder eating in the Centre. For one thing, he couldn't cast a genjutsu that would make it appear as if his mask were still in place while he was eating, and he would have to hide to eat. Kakashi tossed the apple into his bag; he would search for an opportunity to eat it later. He had gone many a days without eating before, so eating breakfast late wasn't going to kill him.

He wandered aimlessly through the Centre and as the sun made its way steadily across the sky, so did the flow of people into the streets. Shops opened, the sounds of people rose, and children bade goodbye to their parents as they ran through the streets. It reminded him faintly of the streets in the Complex, but just faintly. He also seemed to notice a few eyes that followed him and his highly trained ears picked up the whispering and giggling after that. Well, so much for looking almost normal.

He ignored them and walked into a tall, antique looking building, which turned out to be a library. That didn't bother him, Kakashi enjoyed reading. He was browsing the fiction section when he saw the title Thrilling Tales of a Ninja on the spine of a book. He picked up the dark green book and skimmed through it. The details were terribly inaccurate and the storyline was absolutely horrific. Kakashi placed the book back on the shelf and wrinkled his nose in discontent. He steered clear of the fiction section, opting for the safer, more-accurate, non-fiction books.

He was seated in the chair at the farthest corner, away from anyone else, taking in the details of growing plants. He never really properly grown a plant before, even the cactus someone decided to send him died of dehydration because he was never in his apartment; and when he was, he was too tired to remember to water it. He was going to start on a book about civilian dogs, when the giggling and whispers grew obnoxiously loud.

So he picked up his books and used his key card to sign them out.

On his way out of the library and toward the park, one of the whispering voices approached him, though this time, it wasn't whispering.

"So, are you like a ninja or something?" the girl said, twisting her finger in her hair, in a way where she probably thought looked attractive. Her friends hung a little further back behind her.

"Yes." Kakashi replied flatly. He took in her appearance. She had light brown eyes, enlarged multiple times by various strokes of eyeliner. Her eyelids were painted a bright blue and her lips were a shocking pink. She looked to be about 12 or 13, just about the same age as him. Her friends were no different.

"I thought so." She declared, sounding accomplished. Kakashi wondered idly if it was really that much of a feat to discern a ninja from a pedestrian; especially one with a band tied oddly over his eye, and visible damage to his physical being.

"What happened to your eye?" One of her friends piped up from behind her. Her appearance was no improvement from the first girl; he could see the two very pronounced red blotches on her cheeks, but at least her voice was free from the forced, high-pitched, sugar coated accent the first one had.

"War happened." He said simply. He was a little annoyed, he hadn't had girls approach him like this since his years in the academy, and back then, even they were less superficial.

"Wait, so, you fought in the war and you're missing an eye?" Another asked confusedly.

"Yes, and yes and no."

His answer only seemed to confuse her more. He didn't understand why the girls had such a strange reaction to him. It wasn't like it was the first time there was a ninja in the Centre. It happened quite often actually.

"Well, duh Miu! Honestly, I can't even imagine how you're ever going to become a medic with your level of intelligence. I'm going to be an actress!" She said dramatically, sighing out the word actress whilst folding herself slightly to push out her chest and her lower back, raising her arm to her forehead.

And it was at that moment that he took one look at her and felt like his heart had stopped, mesmerised by the glorious beauty that was standing before him. He had fallen head over heels in love with a girl he had only just met. This was love at first sight. He knew it was a mutual feeling and he leaned forward to kiss her…

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. That was probably what she was thinking at the moment, pulling a stunt like that. He was thinking of something different though, at it didn't involve three hormonal children, but it did, however, include some time alone to read.

"If you keep doing that, you're only going to end up damaging the thoracic nerves in your spine and subsequently impeding your movement from the moment you turn 20 and onward until death," he said, deadpanned.

The girls looked a little surprised and confused at the same time.

The brown-eyed girl blinked, recovered, and then spoke again, "How old are you?"

"13."

"Well, you're no fun! You're just a kid!"

Kakashi pondered this for a moment. "Actually, no, I'm not. I'm employed. I'll be reaching the average life expectancy of a shinobi within the next decade. I'm quite old, actually."

For a second, Kakashi thought that there might have been a spark of intelligence in the child, when she said, "Well, age isn't measured by how much life you think you have left; it's how long you've been living!" She said defensively, and then added, "You need to have some fun! You have a job already, right? Why are you still acting like you have anything to worry about?! Your life is set!"

And out went the spark.

Kakashi didn't even know why he bothered.

"Who better to have fun with than three fun-loving girls?" offered the girl who was apparently named Miu.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, even though they could only see one. He didn't really want to stand in the middle of the road being badgered by the three girls anymore, so he gave up and simply said "I'm sure you're all wonderful people, but unless your idea of fun is letting me read my book alone in the park, I'll have to politely decline. Thank you."

Then he walked around their stunned faces toward the park.

There was a discreet whisper from behind "I told you we should try harder. He doesn't think we're attractive enough. That's why he's being so mean!"

"Well it's hard to be attractive enough for a guy like him and it doesn't matter if he's mean, if we get him, we'll be the most popular people, ever," sounded a whispered hiss.

He briefly wondered if it were possible to be that shallow.

The park was a wide expanse of grass, with a stone path, and some benches. Trees were planted methodically around the perimeter of everything. Kakashi decided on a tree with thick foliage and a wide branch. Settling himself on the strong limb, he hid in the leaves and ate the apple. Then, he opened the book on dogs. It was quite an enjoyable read actually, apparently ninken were different from regular dogs because they were raised in active chakra environments and therefore developed heightened senses. And there was a little spot, just below the ear, but above the neck that, when scratched, was supposed to signify approval or praise. He'd have to try that with Pakkun, just to verify its validity.

"You're in my spot, y'know?"

Kakashi looked up from his book to see a yellow-haired girl swinging upside down from a branch above him. Her face was in a mock-pout and her arms were crossed. Her eyes were a shade of dark onyx, the same shade as his, but this combination of features (the yellow hair and black eyes), was a very uncommon one. Here we go again.

And he had barely just gotten rid of the first three fangirls too.

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