I sadly, do own Naruto, or else I would have renamed it Kakashi!
White Fang, Lightning's Howl: The Secret of the Hatake Clan
A White Flame is Born
"Gai," Kakashi said, secretly enjoying the sight of Gai jumping out of his skin in surprise.
"It's Kakashi! My eternal rival!" Gai glared at the silver-haired ninja. "You trying to stalk me or kill me with surprise, Kakashi?"
"Uhhhh.. neither really – I –"
"So, Kakashi, I hear you have been stealing S-rank missions." Gai said, frowning. He adopted his nice guy pose, Kakashi winced.
Why does he wear so much green? His voice just takes away any hope of camoflauge….
"Stealing all the praise! Truly, you are a glory hound! To take all the prospects from those still in the springtime of their youth!"
"Whatever…." Kakashi muttered.
What's with everybody knowing what I'm doing? What's with the lack of security in the upper management? It's probably Tsunade at a bar or something….
Gai smirked.
"I also heard about you and Iruka-sensei! I told Rock Lee that Iruka must be desperate to fall for such a lazy, unmotivated shinobi as you are. After all, hardwork and ambition makes the springtime of your youth blossom to its greatest potential – and you are definitely in the autumn of your life, eh, Kakashi?"
Gai sparkled his teeth at Kakashi, who was staring over the roof tops of Konoha. The copy ninja turned.
"Eh? What did you say?"
"Oh my gosh!" Gai screamed, clutching his head and bursting into flame. "Your cool manner is more hip than I can be! Ignoring everybody is so postmodern and it pisses me OFF!
Before he could rant more about Kakashi, the latter cut him off.
"I'd like to have a sparring session with you," Kakashi stated quietly.
Gai fainted.
Kakashi pulled out his book and started to read.
Days passed into weeks, weeks passed into months and as time slowly trickled by, Kakashi trained hard once again, between missions.
He ran around the village with Gai, honed his throwing skills with Raido, increased his taijutsu with anyone who wasn't afraid to spar with him (Genma). Often times, he would drag himself home, aching and bruised. At night, he would read the journal and the book in an attempt to unlock the secrets of long ago.
Finally, he came to a spot in the tattered book that made him sit up straight. The first part had been mind-numbingly dull – basically stories and tales, he felt too fantastic to be true – about the Hatake clan.
Then had come a couple of ancient jutsus – so old they were new to him: Ice Element, Wild Avalanche Dogs and and Earth Element, Fanged Rock Prison.
No big deal and rather esoteric.
No, this – this was interesting.
Tsunade looked up as Kakashi slipped into her office unannounced.
"What?" Tsunade said, crossly, thinking about a fool-hardy ninja making politically incorrect statements at the Chuunin Exam – something she thought an impossibility since Naruto was gone.
"Tsunade-sama," Kakshi bowed to the Hokage respectfully. "I wish to take two months off."
Tsunade sat back.
"What for?"
"I need to train – get up to par."
Tsunade, reviewing his files in her mind. At least two A-ranks or one S-rank a week.
What was par for him? Tsunade wondered.
She laughed, for Kakashi as a kid still stuck in her mind – innocent and impressionable. It was hard to believe that this lazy, unmotivated, romance-reading individual was a capable killing machine.
"Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked.
"Uh…. Kakashi – aren't you already up to par?" Tsunade asked.
Kakashi glanced past her, out the wide circular windows. His eyes were far away.
True power lies within you.
I must –"
"Hn?"
"I must grow strong if I'm to help Sakura and Naruto bring Sasuke back. The war. Orochimaru. That Kabuto brat. The Akatsuki. I didn't really show up too well against them…."
Tsunade sat back, speechless, as she saw a fire within his normally disinterested eyes.
Ruthless. White. Still flames.
White Fang, she thought, her heart aching suddenly. If only you could see him now. A warrior worthy of the Hatake.
She looked up with a sudden smile.
"Kakashi, those two months are yours. Come back to us with new strength – I'm glad to see you are losing your lazy habits. Perhaps you will reach that full potential your father would talk so much about."
Kakashi looked up, his eyes keen.
"What did he say? Exactly?"
"Not much," Tsunade said, raising her eyebrows at his urgency. "Only that the Hatake had potential to power equal to that of the Sannins….. He made that true – didn't he? He was equal to us in everything but in name."
She knew that Kakashi was not very talkative about his father.
Shame? Anger? He shouldn't have to feel that way – his father was truly a great man – even if he failed in the autumn of his life. Kakashi was different. Was stronger.
Kakashi's heart was swelling.
"In taking this path, you do his name honour," Tsunade said, rising.
Finally! A genius to revive the glory days of the Hatake!
Kakashi nodded his head, remembering his father's words and walked slowly to the door, jerking out his romance novel. Tsunade smacked her forehead and grimaced.
"I guess you can't teach an old pervert new tricks."
Kakashi looked shocked at the idea of giving up his oldhabits.
"It's a matter of honor and memory," he said severely, "to be late. And these –" he waved his book "- help me to relax when I'm bored…."
"Whatever, whatever…" Tsunade waved her hands. "Get moving. If you see Izumo and Kotetsu, tell them I need them for a couple of errands."
Kakashi nodded.
