A/N: Hello! Many of you don't know why in the world would Yukiko think that Kakashi likes Iruka. In Ch.3, I BRIEFLY mentioned that Yukiko is a fangirl who loves yaoi manga. I guess the mention was too brief that no one really caught it? ^_^

Chapter 7

"Damn it, Kakashi!" Yukiko growled when her trainer had finally arrived. "You are fifteen minutes late!"

'Fifteen minutes only? Wow, a record!' The Jounin thought satisfyingly. 'That just tells how much I care about this girl.' He sighed to himself dreamingly while she continued to complain about his tardiness.

"OK, I'm sorry, Yukiko. I promise it wouldn't happen again," Kakashi apologized and thought, 'Geez, can't this girl learn to appreciate?'

The Chuunin pouted and asked, "So what are we doing today?"

"Umm," the boy pondered on the question thoughtfully with his arms crossed in front of him. "How about ... a movie and then some ramen?"

When the last word left his lips, two deadly kunai were thrown toward him. His eyes widened but stopped them by sticking his index and middle finger through the holes on the kunai on the gripping end. They spun as their speed decreased around his fingers.

"This is not a date!" Yukiko yelled angrily.

"It's not?" he asked disappointedly. "Oh, right. It's a training for your Jounin exam. Umm.. then why don't you stand on that branch over there upside down?"

The girl frowned as she was getting tired of yelling. "Kakashi~! I'm not a Genin! I can walk on a tree. I can walk on the water. I can walk!"

"Can you jump though?" the Jounin asked quizzically. Yukiko returned a confused look, not exactly sure what he meant.

"Watch," With that said, Kakashi jumped onto a branch on a tall tree and dropped himself by 180 degree so that he was now hanging upside down, feet still attached to the branch. "As a Chuunin, you should be capable of doing what I've done up to this point. Watch closely now."

He jumped. Downward. Then he landed back onto the branch. It was as if he was jumping on the ground, except that it was upside down. He then jumped from one branch to another one on the tree across, still upturned.

The performance amazed the Chuunin. 'It was as if his world is upside down!'

Finally, the trainer landed next to the girl. "It's just another Chakra practice, but if you are able to do it, then you are a step closer to becoming a Jounin."

"OK! Let's do it!" she looked so determined. She was now in the position of hanging upside down on a branch. She inhaled deeply and tried to concentrate. Then, she jumped slightly as her feet separated from the branch by 0.5cm, and then she quickly reattached herself to the branch. Her face brightened by her success. "YAY! I did it!" She waved her hands happily to Kakashi, who did not look so impressed.

"Tell me when you are able to jump from your branch to that one over there," he nodded toward the tree across, indicating a branch 20 feet above from the one she was currently located. Yukiko gulped and nodded. "You coming back later?"

Kakashi looked confused. "Who said I was leaving?"

"You are staying?! You think I can finish this in five minutes or something?" The Chuunin furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head, chuckling, "That's not gonna happen. I'm flattered that you have such high expectation of me though."

'She looks so cute upside down with all her hair hanging,' He thought. Even though he did not want to leave, he figured that he shouldn't be too obvious. He knew this technique cannot be mastered in just a day or two. He could not just sit there and watch, although he wanted to.

"Well, I'll bring you some lunch during lunchtime then?" the boy asked, receiving an appreciated nod in return.

"Two large beef ramen to go please," Kakashi ordered at Raman Shop, raising two fingers. He sat himself down as he was waiting for the food to be prepared.

"Kakashi," a familiarly annoying voice caused the teenager to frown.

"Hey, Gai," He greeted without looking up, then he quickly grabbed a menu on the table and pretended to be reading it.

"How's it going?" The thick-brows asked with a huge shiny grin, sitting himself across from the other boy. Kakashi just grunted in reply, praying that Gai was not planning to request another duel or something like that. "Hey, you know how the Jounin Exam's coming up? You think you can give Yukiko and I some tips?"

The name Yukiko triggered the boy to look up from the menu, finally meeting Gai's eyes. "So you and Yukiko are buddy-buddy?" He asked casually.

"Of course we are! We are meant for each other!" The boy stated clearly, blushing slightly. He paused, "She just haven't noticed yet."

"Ah, I see," Kakashi went back to his menu, learning that they were in fact not close at all. "I am giving Yukiko some private lessons, so I don't think tips are necessary."

"W-what private lessons?" The Chuunin's eyes widened in fear. Kakashi tried hard to suppress his smile, ignoring his question.

"You mean for the Jounin Exam?" Gai asked doubtfully. "Well, then I want to join too!"

The Jounin gave him a why-should-I look, "Sorry, I don't give private lessons to males."

"Why? What KIND of private lessons are you talking about?" Gai stood up from his seat stressfully.

"Oh, my orders are ready. See ya later," Kakashi smiled under his mask evilly once his face was out of Gai's sight. He loved messing up his so-called eternal rival's mind. He grabbed the ramen in a bag and headed back to the woods, where Yukiko was practicing.

When he arrived, he saw the girl working hard with the technique. It seemed like she got some small cuts from falling down or whatnot. She was now able to jumped 5cm from the branch and reattached herself safely. He was quite impressed. Since he returned earlier than he should've been, Kakashi figured that he should just watch her quietly without her noticing until lunchtime comes around.

A/N: Review!!! When I don't get many reviews, it makes me feel like you don't like it or something. ~_~ I know I shouldn't think like that, but as an author, I couldn't help it!