Kakashi didn't feel like he was ready.
It was the day of his graduation to ANBU status, and he was receiving his tattoo today as proof of his accomplishment. This tattoo was made of a special ink that could never be removed, not even if you took a laser to it. It showed that Kakashi always was, and always would be, an ANBU, and a loyal member of the ANBU Corps. As Kakashi made his way to the Hokage's Tower, though, where the ceremony was set to take place, he couldn't help but feel like he was rushing his life along.
But, hey, when most shinobi died at thirty, was he really rushing?
The nightingale in the gold cage; that's me locked inside reality's maze...
Kakashi entered the base of the Tower, moving up the stairs to the topmost room in the tower: the Hokage's office. Kakashi opened the door to said office, and found himself staring down a dozen ANBU, all wearing their uniforms and masks, with the Sandaime himself at the peak of their triangular formation. Kakashi balked slightly, almost feeling like he was entering his death. Sandaime smiled warmly at him, though, which immediately put Kakashi at ease.
"Welcome, Kakashi," he said. "Before we begin, please, have you thought about this enough? Are you sure of yourself?"
"Positive." Kakashi wished he was really as confident as he sounded.
"Well, then, shall we begin?"
Kakashi nodded once, and sat down on the stool off to the side. The female ANBU with the cougar mask stepped forward; apparently, she was doing the tattoo. She cleaned his skin, and then picked up a single senbon from the desk where she had left her things. She dipped the senbon in the vial of ink she had brought, and Kakashi gave a soft sigh at the sight. They were doing this old-school, then. Each and every puncture made manually, injecting the ink by a single tiny needle over and over. Kakashi didn't say anything, though: he wasn't going to question what seemed to be a long-standing tradition. As the first puncture was made, he stiffened slightly. But chakra was soon flowing through his arm, and he felt the muscles relaxing as it flowed.
"Thanks."
The woman nodded once, and made about making the next puncture. Kakashi found that she was actually working very quickly, and also, that he was getting used to the pain. He could really ignore it after a while. It just…was. It was just kind of there. And while it was uncomfortable, it was tolerable. Kakashi ticked off the minutes; forty-five, fifty, fifty-five, an hour, an hour and five minutes, an hour and ten minutes…
Finally, after an hour and twelve minutes, he was finished.
The woman took a step back, and then pressed her hand to the fresh tattoo. More chakra flowed, and Kakashi felt the design being permanently etched into the skin of his arm. He didn't mind, though: he wasn't about to betray the village, or do anything stupid like that. At least, if he kicked the can, they would be able to recognize the body.
"Hatake Kakashi, welcome to the ANBU Corps."
And he was handed his wolf mask.
A/N: Crap…but I was bored. XP Review, please. Lyrics (a.k.a. the one line in italics) are from Nightwish's Escapist. I just thought it fit right there.