Disclaimer: You know the routine.

Chapter 4: An old friend.

The raven haired Jounin watched the silver haired man as he spoke to
the other woman. It had been a long time since she's seen him and it
seemed that no matter how long it's been Kakashi hadn't changed. Her
nimble fingers pulled a slip of paper from her vest and swiftly went
to work. In a moment she had a perfectly formed origami butterfly in
her hands. She whispered, "Go."

With that order the butterfly flapped its wings and took off. It
fluttered its way down the street, narrowly avoiding people, carts,
and one persistent cat before finding its resting place, square on
Kakashi's nose.

Kakashi blinked and stared at the paper bird that made a perch on
his masked nose. "Ah? What's this?" He stared at the thing long and
hard before picking the thing up between his index finger and thumb.
He tilted his head to the side. "It's a little early in the season
for mosquitoes."

Aiyousha sighed and walked over the ramen shop. She swiftly rescued
the butterfly from the hapless Jounin's hands. "And this is a prime
example on WHY they teamed you with me when we were genins. This,
Kakashi-Chan, is a But-ter-fly." She said slowly as though the
silver haired man was an idiot. Aiyousha smirked. The origami insect
returned to its flat nature once her fingers touched it. She tucked
the sheet back into her vest.

Kakashi's eye closed and his mask moved up on his face as one could
barely make out a smile from the masked instructor. "Ah! Ai-Chan,
it's been a while. It's so good to see you again! I see your skills
at origami have improved since I almost got it this time."

He gestured to the empty stool beside him. "Come, why not have a
seat."

Aiyousha rapped her knuckles against his head, "And YOU'RE still an
idiot I see. Sometimes I wonder how you made it past the Chuunin
exam, Copy Ninja Kakashi." She remarked, sticking out her tongue.
She grew serious as she sat down next to him, "I hear two of your
students passed the elimination fights. Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki
Naruto, I didn't think either would get that far." She commented,
ordering a glass of sake.

Kakashi sat up straight and all of a sudden became solemn. "Well,
you've heard correctly. And both of those two have great potential.
Every mission we've gone on together has shown me so. Sasuke's raw
talent alone gives him the potential to be one of the greatest
ninja's of our village. And Naruto's worked hard to overcome his
weaknesses. He's a very sly one, that Naruto. Surprised everybody."

"Lately, I've been training Sasuke and left Naruto to Jiraiya." He
poured some sake into Aiyousha's cup for her. "So, what brings you
back here? Not that I'm not glad to see you again, of course Ai-
Chan."

Aiyousha chuckled, "Hmmm, I'm not surprised about Naruto-kun. After
all the pranks he's pulled...well, I think he enjoys catching people
off guard. And I wouldn't have expected anything less from an
Uchiha. But with both of them being loners...that must make working
as a team rather awkward." The raven haired Jounin noted.

She took a sip from her drink and sighed, Kakashi ALWAYS had good
taste when it came to wine. "My genin's took the last Chuunin exam
and Iruka didn't pass enough students this time around so the Hokage
sent me on an extended mission. I only just finished giving him my
report. Something funny is going on Ka-Chan. I can't put my finger
on it but the Hidden Village of the Sand has been acting TOO
normal." The last thing they needed was another war. The Hokage
was...let's face it, he was old and what was worse was he had yet to
choose a Fifth to take his place. Konoha was in a rather dangerous
position.

Kakashi nodded his head somberly. "I know. All of us know, but for
right now, there's nothing we can do. If we act to suspiciously, or
let them know that we're suspicious. Tensions between villages have
always been pretty high."

He propped himself up on his arm which rested against the Ramen cart
counter. "Anyways, with the final part of the exam coming up, at
least everyone's been kept occupied. The villagers have been
awaiting this event for a while now. Many are just eager to see our
quite popular Sasuke in action. I've been training him personally
myself."

"Really! I didn't think an old man like you could keep up with a
handsome young thing like Sasuke-kun, Ka-Chan." She
teased. "Especially a LAZY old man like you. I was starting to think
you were failing all those students on purpose." Ai had to admit it
was fun teasing her old cell mate like they were genins again.

Kakashi allowed himself a small laugh. "I'm not that old. Those kids
need my guidance. Guidance only someone with years of experience can
give them. Though sometimes training them can be difficult."

Kakashi held up one finger. "The road of a ninja is long and hard.
There is nothing that comes easy to a ninja. Still, it's all paying
off now. I see a lot of promise in my students. Now that you're
back, will you be taking up the duty as an instructor yourself? I
know you could teach these kids a lot, with the experience you have,
Ai-Chan."

"Guiding them to be masters of bullshit?" Ai asked with a
smile. "That seems to be the ONLY technique you've managed to
perfect in the time I've been away, Ka-Chan."

She faked a put upon sigh, "Well, looks like I'd better be an
instructor again, otherwise all those poor kids will learn from you
is how to be late and read Come Come Paradise."

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "That series is an excellent piece
of literature. Very well known and popular, I might add. Very well
written. The author is truly a master writer."

He pushed aside his empty ramen bowl and stared Aiyousha straight in
the eyes. "So, if you'll become an instructor that would be great.
That means we'll be able to work a lot closer, just like we used to.
Hey, why don't you join me in a little bit. I'm going to work with
Sasuke. Knowing him, he's probably already at the rock quarry,
practicing the new move I taught him. What do you say? It'll give
you a little practice and we'll see if you have what it takes to
teach."

"The author is a pervert, Ka-Chan." Ai commented. She stared back at
at the Sharingan master. "Are you CHALLENGING me, Kakashi?" She
asked. Kakashi and she had started teaching nearly at the same time
and the only reason why she didn't have any current students was her
last group took the previous Chuunin exam. One became a Chuunin, one
decided that he had no chance to become one, and the last had been
reassigned to a Genin cell that had lost a member during the exam.

She stood up, "Well, if Sasuke-kun is already there, it wouldn't do
for his 'Sensei' to be late...again, ne, Kakashi-SENSEI." Ai
remarked with a teasing grin. It was odd seeing him so serious.
Something told her that something happened to get the normally inept-
seeming Jounin to rein his slightly flamboyant nature in.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders once again. "It's quite all right.
Leaving him alone to himself allows him time to practice.
Discipline is learned, it is not taught. Well, let's be on our way,
shall we? The rock quarry is not far from here."

He paid for his ramen and for Aiyousha's sake. The eccentric jounin
stuck both hands into his pockets and the two of them went on their
way.

"So, what kind of things did you see while out on the field for so
long?" inquired a curious Kakashi.

Ai shrugged, "Oh, the usual, life going on. A lot of places are
still trying to recover from war and the Kyuubi no Kitsune." She
stopped walking and looked directly at the jounin, "What happened,
Kakashi? I know you and there's something off. Something is
bothering you. Talk to me, Kakashi." She said seriously.

Kakashi turned to her as they walked along and did his smile with
his one unobstructed eye. "There's nothing wrong," he replied to
her. "It's just been a while since we've been together like this.
Just as you've probably been through a lot while you were away, I've
been through a lot as well."

It just so happened that they passed by the bookstore, and what
would be on display in the front window? Why, Kakashi's favorite
series, of course.

All of a sudden, the Copy Ninja became a giddy school boy as he ran
over to the window display and hugged his body against it. "It's
out! It's finally out! The new one!" he cheered. "Oh... I have to
buy it! I have to buy it!"

Just goes to show that some things never change.

A/N: There is more to come.. didn't want to make the chapter too long. Hehe.. Please Review.