"Could try it anyway," Sakura offers to Sasuke with a shy smile. "Kakashi-sensei, what do you think…?"
Kakashi has an entire picnic spread open in front of him, though he hasn't moved from his spot under the tree in the training ground and seems to be adamantly not looking at it or the various food laid out in fancy plates.
"Um," Sakura says.
"Sounds nice, Sakura," Kakashi says cheerfully, not acknowledging the picnic. "However, combining jutsu together might give you edge in the Chunin Exams but honestly as you grow stronger it's a hindrance. You should be able to hit harder and faster alone when you get to higher levels, and any pause you take to sync up with your partner could cost you your life, so I wouldn't recommend relying on it."
Sasuke throws up his arms and just walks away because he'd done with this shit. Naruto is shuffling closer because the food smells good.
"Um," Sakura says again, a little bit higher pitched.
"But start with the basic jutsu I showed you first and if you manage that, I'll give you a treat." Kakashi gives her an eye smile. "Tell me what jutsu you want – anything at all, just come up with a scenario where it can used, and I'll give you one that can do the same or better."
Sasuke turns right around and walks back up to Kakashi. "Anything?" he asks challengingly, crossing his arms.
"Anything," Kakashi agrees lightly with a shrug. "I doubt you'll ask for something I haven't already got."
Sasuke scowls. "Give me a jutsu that turns people into slaves." He looks down at the picnic spread.
"Have you heard of genjutsu-"
"It's not the same," Sasuke cuts in. "Those people? What you do to them? It's not the same."
Kakashi stands, rising to his full height and towering over the Uchiha. "And what do I do to them, Sasuke?"
"I don't know, but that's the jutsu I want."
"It's bloodline," Kakashi says evenly. "Stop asking."
"What's behind your mask?" Sasuke demands.
"Monsters."
Naruto pauses, halfway through the dog flap into Kakashi's apartment. The window shuts, a figure just slipping out, wash cloth hastily set back on the counter, sponge still soapy and counter still wet.
Naruto scans the just-cleaned apartment and wriggles the rest of the way in, arm curled around his leafy companion. He wanders around dogs, either nin-ken or mutts off the street, and opens the bedroom door. He puts the little Mr. Ukki in his raw brown ceramic pot on the windowsill.
Kakashi has yet to say anything about the other items Naruto leaves here, though it's mostly dead things because the voice in his head whispers to him. Kakashi will just sigh and deal with it or the other strangers will remove it.
Naruto wanted something not dead this time though and suggested maybe a nice plant. The voice in his head scoffed and grumbled but conceded to Mr. Ukki.
Naruto pets the leaves. "Kakashi-sensei is going to love you," he tells the plant.
Kurama rolls his eyes.
Kakashi is siting up on the Hokage monument, in the neat stone hammock formed by Tobirama's hair, knees half pulled up so he can rest his forearms on them to prop up his book.
There's an ANBU sitting behind him, reading the Icha Icha over a shoulder. Another ANBU -who he actually doesn't know- cuddled up to his right side while another sits cross-legged to the left. A fourth has made his place at home between Kakashi legs, head on his stomach and looking quite relaxed as reclined as they are.
Several more are scattered about, off duty or taking breaks or just about to go on. The one at his back shifts around and Kakashi sits up for a moment as his back support is lost to go guard the Hokage, but is quickly replaced by another.
Wait, what's the time?
Kakashi looks up at the sun and does a quick calculation in his head using the distance to the horizon as his basis. Oh, he is actually genuinely late to training. Kakashi starts to stand up and the ANBU fall over him, heavier.
"I have young, impressionable children to teach," Kakashi begins, which is a lie because he doesn't teach them shit.
Frog flops over Kakashi's lap and Butterfly makes sad noises and Giraffe tries to wrestle the porn from Kakashi which is always a losing battle. Lion, the only mature one, signs that the genin are being babysat by Wombat.
"That's not a good thing," Kakashi points out and finally shakes them off.
What's most annoying is that none of these people have seen his face – this just what ANBU does.
Kakashi tucks away his book and takes a running leap off the mountain, free falling for a brief moment before he catches himself with a gust of air.
He darts across rooftops but the ANBU are still following so he jumps down to street level and loses them in the back alleys and market crowds where he slows into a calm lope and pulls out his book again. Sure, he's late, but that's not a new thing.
Kakashi stops dead as the Kazekage steps in front of him deliberately.
The copy ninja peers over his Icha Icha and blinks lazily. "What can I help you with, Kazekage-sama?" he drawls, tucking away the book because he's supposed to be on his best behaviour during the Chunin Exams.
The leader of Suna only smiles and holds out a closed hand, palm down. Kakashi peers at it, deducing that it's holding something small and probably non-lethal since the man is currently standing in the middle of a packed street in a different territory.
Kakashi reaches out to receive whatever it is.
The Kazekage drops a few sweets into Kakashi's hand and steps past, strolling through the street without a care in the world as the rest of his Suna entourage follow. Kakashi stares at the innocent candies in his hand and then jolts back to life, whipping around to find the Kage has already disappeared into the crowd.
Oh shit, Kakashi thinks to himself. The Kazekage is Orochimaru.