As long as my life remains uneventful and my muse doesn't get sick of me, I think I should have a new chapter up every day...hopefully. This chapter in particular I've been really looking forward to writing. It's high time that I gave Kakashi his turn in the limelight, especially since he's my most favorite character ever... :starts gushing like the hopeless fangirl that she is: YOU ROCK MY SOCKS, KAKASHI! If only he'd get rid of that pesky mask of his...grrrrrrrrrrrrr. Anyway...I'll stop blathering on now.

Chapter 3: There are Plots Afoot

Judging from the massive amounts of moaning and groaning coming from the Hokage's assembly room, it could only mean one thing: the end-of-the- month meeting to assign missions was taking place. In the years since Naruto's ascension to the honored position of Hokage, the missions had become rather...dull, for lack of a better word. There was no longer the pressing need to be on the defense, as Orochimaru's fall and Akatsuki's destruction more or less restored order among the other prominent villages and the Leaf. Picking up the pieces in the aftermath of that dark period, now known as the Sorrowful Years, had taken time, but the people of the Leaf were not weak, banding together to heal the wounds that their village had taken, each with a powerful sense of duty and honor. That was not to say that everything was perfect; tensions between former enemies still existed, resulting in minor skirmishes here and there. Occasionally a rebellion or two would spring up near the Boarderlands, but they were always put down fairly quickly.

Naruto had grown since his fumbling days as a Gennin, watching over his flock with a sharp eye. Whenever there was even a hint of trouble brewing, he would immediately send out his spies, led by Gaara, to get to the root of the problem so it could be fixed. He was very good about listening to complaints, no matter how minor, and always tried to come up with fair solutions that would please all parties. He was particularly fond of the Academy students, especially the underdogs; this, everyone knew, was because of Naruto's own experiences as a cast out. He would always be a child at heart, however, his antics known far and wide. Practical jokes were his favorite form of amusement, often targeted towards his year mates and former sensei, Kakashi. Naruto had also developed a wicked sense of humor, one that caused him to enjoy these little meetings. He took a fiendish delight in doling out missions that included babysitting, dog walking, and, as all the shinobi of the Leaf found to be the worst, Border duty.

Leaning lazily against the podium at the front of the assembly room, Naruto smiled at the chagrined faces of his audience, preparing to drop the final bomb. "Border duty," he stated, pitching his voice to carry through the room. That got the reaction he intended, a tense silence hanging in the air. Though he already had his team chosen, Naruto made a show of scrolling through his list of names and assignments, drawing out the torture for as long as possible. When he decided that enough time had passed, he looked up, grinning. "It seems that two of you have managed to evade Border duty for at least a year. I don't think that's very fair, is it?" His grin grew wider, making him look even more fox-like than normal. "Kakashi, Gai, congratulations, gentlemen. I have the names of the Genins who'll be joining you, so see me when we're through here."

Kakashi, who had been sitting in the second row from the front next to Asuma, struggled with the urge to jump up and strangle the blonde brat who had been his student, especially when Naruto looked straight at him and winked. "I'll kill him," he muttered over and over though his mask, and Asuma was forced to hide his silent laughter behind his hand. Gai, on the other hand, was overjoyed. This would give him plenty of opportunity to torment his self-proclaimed eternal rival, and he flashed one of his trademark smiles at his protégé, Lee.

"Anyway," Naruto continued, "I have one final mission to assign, and this one applies to all of you. The masquerade, as most of you know, is coming up soon, and will be taking place at Ebony Hall. I hope to see each and every one of you there, and in costume. There is going to be a contest, so have fun with it and get creative. It's not often that we have parties around here, so we're going all out with this one. And that's all I've got for today, guys."

The meeting adjourned, the chatter started up again as the shinobi filed out of the room, a few groups lingering behind to talk together. Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai stood off to a corner, the latter trying to calm the former.

"What did I ever do to him?" Kakashi burst out, glaring in Naruto's direction with his one uncovered eye. "He knows how Gai gets when he's around me! He did it on purpose. You saw him. He winked at me." Kakashi folded his arms across his chest, fuming.

Asuma and Kurenai exchanged a look, both trying their hardest not to laugh. The rivalry between Kakashi and Gai had been going on since they were all children, with Gai most often being the instigator. Kakashi had a very laid back personality, and it took a lot to get him flustered. Gai seemed to have the uncanny knack of knowing exactly which buttons to push, and, if they were pushed often enough, Kakashi would be provoked into comical bouts of rage, yanking off his mask and forehead protector and getting into screaming matches with his thick-browed tormentor. Being two of his closest friends, Kurenai and Asuma had witnessed quite a few of these incidents, the memories alone enough to induce laughter. Kakashi was quite a character when he was angry.

"I'm sure Naruto had a good reason for doing what he did," Asuma replied, though he secretly agreed with Kakashi about it being done on purpose. "Don't let it get to you, Max," he said, using the nickname that he'd given Kakashi during their childhood days. "You know that bowl-head is going to do whatever he can to get a rise out of you, so ignore him. That usually ticks him off to no end."

"Easy for you to say," Kakashi grumbled.

"Just don't do anything rash in front of the Genins," Kurenai added, a wicked twinkle in her eyes. "You are supposed to be aloof and mysterious, you remember."

Kakashi let that pass. The wheels in his head had begun to turn, and he was in the beginning stages of forming a plan. Naruto had mentioned something about a contest over who could come up with the best costume. Gai seemed to have a fixation with contests, challenging Kakashi again and again to determine who out of the two of them was the most superior. He grinned wolfishly beneath his mask, having conceived the most wonderful idea.

"I'll be right back," he said to his friends, who looked at him with raised eyebrows as he headed off to find Gai. He had a wager to propose.

Meanwhile, Neiji, Lee, and Naruto were in the midst of forming their own devious plans for their socially incompetent friend, having recruited Chouji and Kiba to join in on the scheme.

"I say we get him smashed," Neiji said, point blank.

"Are you kidding me? Shikamaru's not what you'd call a big drinker," Chouji replied. He had been a part of the three man team including Shikamaru and Ino, and knew both of them better than most.

"But it's the only thing that'll work," Neiji insisted, intent on carrying out his idea. "I mean, the guy turns into a block of wood whenever he's around more than five people. So, if we just get him...happy, he'll liven up a hell of a lot more."

Even though he knew that he shouldn't, Naruto found himself liking the idea. "It's brilliant. But how'll we pull it off? He's a smart guy. If he catches on, we're screwed."

"That's easy," Neiji replied, smirking. "We'll get drunk with him. If we're all drinking, he won't be able to refuse. Trust me, it'll work." He held out his hand, palm facing down. "Who's in?"

One by one, they piled their hands on top of Neiji's, grinning at each other. Of course, Shikamaru chose that time to wander over. Breaking apart quickly, they began talking about costumes.

"What were you guys doing?" He asked suspiciously.

"Talking," Lee replied.

"About what?"

"Costumes."

"Ah." Shikamaru didn't buy that, but he knew he wasn't going to get anything else out of them at the moment.

"What say we go get some ramen? I'm starved," Chouji said, grabbing Shikamaru's arm and dragging him off. The rest of the group followed, sharing smiles, all except Naruto.

"I'll join you guys in a bit. Kakashi and Gai still need to talk to me."

"Don't wait too long, or we may eat all of it," Kiba called over his shoulder.

"You'd better not!" He spotted Kakashi and Gai then, and waved them over. "Oi! I've been looking for you guys!"

Once they had the names of their charges, Kakashi pulled Gai aside. "What do you say to settling the score once and for all?"

Gai looked at him in surprise. It was the first time that Kakashi had ever proposed a competition between them, that task usually falling to Gai. "What have you got in mind, Hatake?"

"I say you can't come up with a costume that'll be better than mine."

Gai's eyebrows began twitching, and he smiled sardonically. "With your sense of style? Don't make me laugh! That'll be easy."

Kakashi snorted. That was exactly the time of remark he wanted to hear. "I don't think you'll be singing that tune when I knock you out of the water."

Now Gai was really getting fired up. "You're on, old man. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"Of course I do. I'm proving that I'm better than you."

"We'll see about that," Gai replied. This was going to be his chance to publicly embarrass his rival, and he was more than a little ecstatic about it.

Kakashi grinned. Go ahead and think that, smartass.

Asuma and Kurenai laughed uproariously when Kakashi related to them what he'd done.

"Are you seriously going to do it?" Kurenai asked.

"Hell yes, I am. He's going to wish he never chose me to be his rival after this."

Asuma looked at him pointedly. "What about the mask? There are really not that many things you can do that'll surprise anyone with it on."

Taking the edge of the mask in his fingers, Kakashi pulled, revealing the lower half of his face. "I think I can handle sacrificing my honor code for this. It'll be more than worth it to see the look on Gai's face when he loses."

Asuma's eyebrows shot skyward. Kakashi only removed his mask to eat, shower, and occasionally, to scream at Gai, but never for long periods, and never out in public. He always said that a ninja should be known not by his face, but by his deeds, but both Asuma and Kurenai knew that he concealed his face partially because he didn't like being followed around by swarms of lovesick young ladies. He wanted to be loved for his personality, not his looks.

"I think I'll need you two to help me out with my entrance," Kakashi said, grinning, but did not elaborate any further, even when his friends bombarded him with questions.

This is going to be too much fun.