Finally, Academy's out. I hate sitting in the hallway trying to listen to whatever they're teaching all day. I could've been training but no, I just sit there. Whatever. I might as well go train now! Naruto thought excitedly as he ran to his normal training grounds. He's been training there since he found it at the beginning of the school year.
Now that I think about it, I wonder if that man is at the memorial stone again. Then again, he's there every day. Naruto used to go to an unused training ground so that nobody bothers him for being there. He has to walk through training ground three to do this though so he ends up seeing this same guy every day.
Walking through training ground three, he spots the silver haired man again. He looks like he just got back from a mission and the look in his eye is even worse than usual… Maybe I should approach him this time. If he doesn't want me around I can always make a run for it to Jiji. With his resolve set, he made his way towards the man.
Kakashi was so lost in his thoughts he didn't even notice someone approach. So when someone began speaking he was understandably startled. "Hey Mister, are you okay?" Thanks to his years of shinobi training and experience he didn't jump. He merely turned to look at the person dense enough to approach a trained ninja unannounced. Granted, when he saw the orange jumpsuit, bright blonde hair, cerulean blue eyes, and whisker marks, he was upset at himself for not noticing. Then he registered just who he was talking to and cursed. Of course it's Sensei's son. Of fucking course.
"Ano, I'm sorry to bother you Shinobi-san, it's just… I walk by here every day to go to my training ground and you always have that look in your eye…" Naruto spoke nervously. He simply didn't want to scare the man off. He wanted a friend and this man needs one, that much is obvious. The man just continued to stare at Naruto so he decided to introduce himself. "Um, you probably already know, but my name's Naruto Uzumaki." When he still got nothing but a blank stare he decided to make a run for it before the older male could get mad at him.
When Kakashi finally registered that Naruto had run away scared, his body decided to run off after him before he even made a conscious decision. When he found the boy he was halfway to the Hokage Tower. Kakashi dropped down in front of him and grabbed his arm. The boy looked up, wide-eyed and afraid, tears spilling freely. "L-listen, I'm sorry for bothering you. J-just pl-please let me go and I won't bother you again…" Naruto begged. "W-wait. What did you mean by that look in my eye?" Kakashi questioned. He wasn't really sure why he ran off after the poor blonde but now that he was here, he needed to know.
The blonde paused as he looked up at the man. He stayed in the same position for several moments and looked down. "It's hard not to recognize the same look you see in the mirror every day." Naruto answered in a low voice, not befitting the blonde's usual attitude. This had the silver-haired man at a loss for words until the whiskered boy roughly took his arm back and began walking away. "Kakashi Hatake." the man spoke. Naruto paused in his retreat so the silver-haired man decided he needed to clarify. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. And also, I suppose I'm not alright." he corrected. The blue-eyed blonde stood there for a moment before turning around. "Does that mean we're friends now?" the boy asked hopefully. "If you really want to be…" the scarecrow responded. The boy's face lit up like said scarecrow had just given him the moon itself. Upon further reflection, Kakashi figured that in the boy's eyes, he might as well have. As soon as Naruto registered what the scarecrow had said, he ran up and hugged him with all his might. The silverette was surprised at first but then returned the hug, figuring they both needed it.
After several moments the blonde let go and looked up at his new best friend. "Ne, Kashi?" Naruto asked. Said man raised a delicate silver brow at the name. "S-sorry… I just like to give all of my precious people nicknames. Like Hokage-jiji, Old Man Teuchi, and Ayame-nee-chan. Now that I think about it, that's all I really got." the blonde looked down. Kakashi froze for a moment, finally realizing he had just made himself someone important to the blonde. He didn't really think this through. No getting out of this now though. "Maa, don't worry Naru, it's alright." the scarecrow drawled. Naruto shot his head back up immediately. " R-really?" he asked hopefully. "Hai. Now, what did you want to ask?" that seemed to do the trick seeing as the boy's face lit up like the sun. Too bright. Kakashi thought. "Well, I was going to ask if you like ramen cause I know this really awesome ramen place that always lets me in." the blue-eyed boy asked. "Are you telling me there's places that won't let you in?" the cyclops asked innocently. "Well, yeah. Pretty much everywhere else. But that's okay! I really love Ichiraku's! They're always really kind to me. It's also where Old Man Teuchi and Ayame-nee-chan work! So I get to see them every day. Anyways, I was hoping you'd go with me so we can get to know each other better since we just met and I've never had a friend before." Naruto answered.
The silver-haired man was startled that not only was the blonde not welcomed anywhere else, but the boy had never even had a friend before himself. He put that away as a question for later and instead eye-smiled and ruffled the blonde's hair. "Sure. I would like that." he replied. The boy went star-eyed and grabbed the man's hand, pulling him towards the restaurant.