Tardiness
The day was as monotonous as every other day – he conformed to society's standards and attended high school, just like a normal highschool teen. He bustled and jostled past hundreds of strangers through the subway and took his place in the train. He kept his precarious nature under wraps and proceeded to browse what was new on social media.
With his earphones plugged in, the white noise vibrating around him muffled, and the soft pitter-patter of rain tapping against the windows echoed through his earphones. He wearily looked on to the passing grey buildings and the flashing traffic lights below, and then back onto his phone screen, and sighed.
We're shortly arriving at City Leaf.
He pocketed his phone and looked at his watch – 7:15 – he was going to be late again. As the train doors slid open, he rushed out into the rain and trudged through puddles of rain, completely susceptible to the sensation of his uniform sticking onto his skin. Great, I'm going to get scolded again. His subconscious reminded as he neared to the school entrance.
He slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and proceeded to mix in with the crowd in the streets. While his mind was gunning for him to rush past the gates before the toll of the bell, his body remained lax and he continued at a leisurely pace through the contradictory busy streets of the city. His feet sloshed through the puddle and he came to a sudden halt. Do I need to go to school? I mean, I can just turn back. He mused.
While he had the choice of turning back, he knew that he wouldn't hear the end of it come the following day. He sighed and turned his music up.
He stopped at a stop light and watched the cars past by in an idle motion. His music thrummed in sync with the tapping of his foot and the clicking of his fingers, as he anxiously waited for the green light to go. His hair was dampening now, and his porcelain skin was beginning to pale, but his obsidian eyes didn't waver against the weather.
Today is just any other day…
The post finally gave the green light.
Monotonous.
"You're all wet!" His friend gasped when he reached the lockers. Almost immediately, a towel was thrown over his head before his blazer was forcibly yanked from his body. "Why didn't you use an umbrella? You know that it's monsoon season!" she continued to scold as she pushed her P.E kit back into her locker.
"At least I'm not late," he crookedly smiled, proceeding to dry his silver locks.
"Yeah, that's because the teacher forgot his keys back in the staff room. If that didn't happen, you would have been in detention again." She frowned when he gave her an exasperated look. "Listen, I just don't want you to get in more trouble. The teachers are already worried about your grades, Kakashi."
"I'm still passing, Rin." He replied as he fitted his feet into his school shoes. "And besides, I'm still smarter than anyone in this year." He passed her back her towel. "Thanks for that."
She gathered her books and walked beside him. "Yeah, everyone knows that, but you know… after everything that's happened, we can't help but worry about you. You know that if you want to talk to anyone, you can talk to me, right?"
Kakashi paused for a moment, as if to contemplate how he was supposed to respond. But it seemed that her compassion reached him, because he eased a softened smile. "Always," he sincerely said before he placed his hand on her shoulder.
She blushed, like she always did with him, and nodded. "G-Good," she stuttered, clutching at her books protectively. "Because I'm watching you, alright?"
He laughed, and his eyes arched upwards. "I know, Rin."
"Oi, Kakashi!"
Both students snapped their necks up and saw their raven friend furiously run at their direction. "You're going to get Rin in trouble with your tardy attitude, you bastard!" he vociferated in between breaths. "Come on, school is about to start. And apparently our homeroom teacher is taking a year of leave."
Kakashi arched an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Some people say that his wife has terminal cancer; others say that they found some indecent photographs stashed away in his desk. Either way, he's going for a year." Obito casually shrugged.
When they reached their homeroom, Kakashi sat himself down next to the window and reclined back. As expected, the lack of adult supervision has left his classroom to become rather chaotic. Perhaps it was the sense of liberty that gave his classmates the energy to get so rowdy, he thought upon witnessing those who would normally be at their seats, sharing gossip with their friends, instead.
Obito turned to him and grinned. "Apparently our new homeroom teacher is really old. Some, wrinkly old man with a mean streak."
Kakashi propped his chin on his hand and made a hum as a response.
"Aren't you at least interested about who the replacement is?" Rin asked on his right.
"Makes no difference to me," he grumbled. I just want to sleep.
Obito snorted and folded his arms. "Here we go again, emo-Kakashi has been summoned, brooding in the corner of the classroom. Isn't that, like, some sort of anime cliché? Having the broody teen contemplate next to a window?"
The lack of response from their friend made Rin shrug the topic aside; she then leaned in with a small smile forming. "Wouldn't it be great if we didn't have a Homeroom teacher for an entire year?"
"That wouldn't be bad, actually," the Uchiha agreed.
"And have this chaotic classroom on repeat?" Kakashi mumbled "No thanks."
Obito wore a quizzical look at Kakashi. "You know, for a seventeen-year-old, you act like the elderly. You don't like fun, you don't like interacting with other people, and you just lock yourself up with books."
"I don't see what's wrong with that…."
"Yeah, we wouldn't expect you to. To you it's…. normal. But, trust me, it's not."
"Am I supposed to trust a juvenile child?"
A vein popped on Obito's temple, and he quickly loosened the tie around his neck. "What was that, you bastard!"
"You guys!" Rin softly chided. "The headmaster might come in. It's going to be trouble if he sees you two fighting."
Kakashi didn't bat an eyelash at his friend's childish deception of pretending to throw a punch at him. He shrugged it off and flipped his phone out of his pocket. "We might as well enjoy this free period that we have," he sighed as he sunk down on his chair.
"What are you reading now?" Obito huffed, also flipping his phone out of his bag.
"The news. You know, things that matter."
Another obvious jab meant for the Uchiha. "You bastard," he sneered with clenched teeth. "You think you're all high and mighty, don't you? Well, let me tell you something, book-brain –"
"O-Obito!" Rin squeaked.
He immediately snapped up and looked at their auburn-haired friend. "Yeah?"
"Turn around."
Sweat had already speckled on his skin. Don't tell him that the teachers were right behind him. Now that he thought about it, the class had become really quiet; maybe it was just his imagination and he somehow blocked all of the noise out. Right? Right?
Kakashi grinned.
Wrong.
"Can you sit on your seat properly, please, Obito-san?" The headmaster ordered sternly, and the boy stiffened on his seat.
"Sarutobi-sir!"
Hiruzen shook his head and proceeded to walk into class. "As you are already aware, Mitokado-sensei is currently on leave."
A student raised their hand. "For what, Sir?"
"That, I'm afraid, is classified between us staff. The only thing that you should know is that we have found a replacement. She will be your Homeroom teacher, and will also fill in for your Biology classes."
A collective groan echoed in the class. While Kakashi didn't display as much fuss as his peers did, he did huff in frustration. It would have been better if they didn't have a Homeroom teacher for the year. That would mean that he wouldn't have to be in school so early.
"Don't tell me that it's Danzo-sensei," one whined.
Another handful of groans emanated in the classroom.
Hiruzen scratched the back of his head before he resorted to banging his books on the wooden desk to calm the tide down."If you can all remain silent, I can tell you who your new teacher will be. Now, this is going to be her first year as a teacher, so be nice to her. She's also a medicine graduate, so rest assured that she knows what she's doing."
Obito turned around to Rin and Kakashi. "What do you think she'll look like? Dorky with buck teeth?"
Both of his friends raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say 'What are you talking about?'
"I'm going with dorky with buck teeth," he decided for himself before turning back around.
"Allow for me to introduce our new school member – Tsunade Senju."
"Come on – buck teeth, buck teeth." Obito chanted under his breath.
A young woman clad in a grey pantsuit strolled into the class, with her golden locks swaying behind her. Her heart-shaped face was adorned with a light gloss of lipstick, and her hazel eyes glinted with anticipation. The entire classroom fell silent and the look of shock on the students bewildered both teachers.
She cleared her throat. "I'm –"
"You don't have buck teeth!" Obito exuberantly claimed, jabbing his finger at her direction.
Tsunade looked at the Headteacher and he gave a shrug. "F-Forgive him, he's quite special," he quietly confided.
"R-Right…." She collected herself and looked back at the class. "As I was saying, I'm Miss Senju. I'm your temporary teacher for this year. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask; my door will always be open for you."
"I'll leave this class in your hands, then," Hiruzen said, already gliding towards the door.
Once the door was closed, she clapped her hands and sat on the edge of the table. "I think, for today, we can just get to know each other. So, we're going to play a little ice-breaker. We're going to go around the class and you're going to tell me three things about yourself – your name, your hobbies and what you aspire in the future. Alright?"
The was a unison of nods.
"Great!" she smiled. "I'll start first: my name is Tsunade Senju; my hobbies are… well, you can say going out at night; my aspiration for the future is to become a full-fledged doctor. See? That wasn't so bad." She stood back up and approached the desk furthest on her left. "Let's start with this row."
Students unexpectedly complied to the blonde's request and introduced themselves to the class. "Alright, it's your turn." She gestured at the fiery black-haired boy.
"My name is Obito Uchiha! My hobbies are playing games in the arcades, and playing basketball; as for aspirations…." He hummed as he held his chin. "I want to be a police officer?" Maybe.
Tsunade nodded, seemingly half-interest, but invested nevertheless. "Good. Alright, next."
The lack of response from Kakashi stifled the class and they all looked at the corner of the class. Obito also turned around. "Oi, Kakashi –" his sentence left his mouth and he was left hanging.
"He fell asleep."
A/N: Will say this now - this story is not for the faint hearted. :) So if that's not your cup of tea, feel free to leave.
Thank you!