How he became the person he is

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 4:

The next morning, Kakashi appeared in front of Sakumo with a small mask that covered his nose and his mouth.

"What's the mask for?" asked Sakumo, curiously.

"I just wanted to be ready to become a ninja. Ninjas aren't supposed to let others notice anything about them." said Kakashi, indifferently. "Besides, you wear it, too."

"Haha. I see, Kakashi. I thought you were wearing it to keep the girls away. You know, if I didn't wear a mask, I would have to explain any misunderstandings to your mother. Women are weird." said Sakumo, as he winked to the boy.

Both father and son entered the dining room to have their breakfast, laughing at Sakumo's comment. Kakashi was wondering if the mask would really help in keeping girls away, although he wouldn't meet many of them, since he was out of the academy. As they were eating, Tomoko was commenting on Kakashi's graduation matter. She said that it was too early, and that they should have kept him in the academy for longer.

"Dad, when is my sensei coming?" asked Kakashi, after telling his mother that he was way better than the kids in the academy, and that he was ready to become a ninja.

"In about an hour. Are you excited? I'm sure he will be a good sensei." Said Sakumo, trying to comfort his son.

"Na, I just want him to come soon, so that we can start training. Dad… I'll get to train more with him than with you, right?"

"I forgot to tell you, Kakashi. Once you start training with your sensei, I'm afraid I won't be able to train with you."

"Why?" Kakashi looked a little disappointed at the words he heard from his father.

"Because you will learn a lot of things with him. You can't just train all day, son. I'm sure you will stay with him most of the day. So, when you come home you just rest, and practice a little on your own. Besides now that you are a genin and have a sensei, Hokage-sama will assign me to S rank missions more frequently. You understand, right, Kakashi?"

Kakashi didn't look convinced at all, but he answered with a small nod.

Arashi arrived right on time in the Hatake house. He was welcomed by Sakumo, and saw Kakashi standing up as he entered.

"Hello, Kakashi. My name is Uzumaki Arashi, and I'm your genin sensei. Nice to meet you." Said Arashi, in a friendly tone, and smiling at the boy.

"Hi." Kakashi looked a little surprised that his sensei looked more like an older brother than a sensei.

"So, Sakumo-san, I guess we're starting today? May I leave with Kakashi?"

"Sure, Arashi. Kakashi, be a good boy, alright? See you later." Sakumo gave a smile to Kakashi, and Arashi left with him.

Arashi was walking to the training grounds of Konoha, and Kakashi was trying to follow him with his small steps. Arashi wondered how a kid that small could be ready to be a ninja. He also noticed that Kakashi was a replication of Sakumo. They finally arrived, and Arashi thought that it would be a good idea to get knowing his student.

"Kakashi, do you have any hobbies?" asked the blonde jounin, as he sat down on one of the poles.

"Training." Kakashi's answer was so shocking, that Arashi almost fell. "Are you okay?" asked Kakashi in the same monotonous tone as when he answered.

"Um... yes. I'm ok." said Arashi, trying to recompose his posture. He decided that before starting any training he would see what the little boy was capable of doing.

"Kakashi, when students graduate from the academy and are assigned in their genin teams, they have to pass another test from their senseis to become real genins. I'm not going to make you take the test, but I would like to see your skills."

"Ok. What do you want me to do?"

"l'll just ask you to do some jutsu, taijutsu, and perform some moves, and I'm just gonna watch. Alright?"

"Yes."

"Can you do any ninjutsus that you could use to actually attack?" asked Arashi, expecting the boy to say "No". After all, he barely made a genin, and genins usually didn't know any attacking ninjutsus. The only jutsus taught in the academy were the ones like Henge No Jutsu and the Bunshin No Jutsu, that were for defense, rather than for attacking.

Kakashi didn't wait to answer and performed the Goukakyuu No Jutsu right away. This almost knocked Arashi out, not just because the kid threw the flames two inches away from him, but becuase it was unbelievable that a 5 year-old kid could perform that jutsu.

"I see what Hokage-sama meant when he said that you were a prodigy. Very good. Next, I want you to throw these 10 shurikens to these poles from where those trees are standing." explained Arashi, pointing to some trees standing at least 70 feet away.

Both of them walked to the trees, and as Arashi watched, Kakashi threw all the shurikens at the same time, which surprised Arashi once again. He thought that the kid would throw like 2 or 3 at a time. But then again, Kakashi was a child prodigy, after all.

"Well, well done. Sakumo-san really helped you training, huh? Okay. Next, I want you to use your taijutsu on m..."

"KAKASHI!" the sudden shout of his student's name made Arashi stop his next instruction.

A small kid wearing a green costume(?) with a strange haircut appeared from the trees shouthing his student's name.

"Um... Kakashi. Do you know him?" asked Arashi, stunned.

"Um... yes. He's a kid from my neighborhood. He's been bothering me ever since..."

"KAKASHI! My eternal rival!. I almost didn't recognize you because of the mask! Let's have another match! Don't be a coward! You have 4 more winnings than me, remember? 1 to 5..." the kid kept talking.

"Ever since when?" asked Arashi('eternal?') trying to ignore the kid's shouts and understand what was going on.

"Ever since he heard I was attending the academy. His name is Gai. He always says that he could attend the academy, too, because he beat me once. He's trying to win, so that he can prove he's better than me. But at this rate, I don't think he ever will..." explained Kakashi, somehow in a complaining tone. It seemed that Gai was much more troublesome than the girls he met in the academy.

"Hey, kid!" Arashi called Gai. "Why don't you make a match of taijutsu your next match with Kakashi?"

Kakashi gave a deadly glare to his sensei, but decided that it wasn't worth it, and threw the glare at Gai. He was warning him that he didn't want a match of taijutsu. But, of course, being Gai the opponent...

"Sure, mister! I'll finally make-up my mistakes in the last 4 matches! Get ready, Kakashi!" As always, an enthusiastic Gai shouted, pointing at Kakashi with a finger.

Kakashi let out a small sigh, and looked at Arashi. He didn't know what to say.

"Come on, Kakashi! This will be it for the morning session. Let's go for lunch after the match." said Arashi, smiling.

With no other choice, Kakashi got ready, and as expected, he had no problem in winning. Gai didn't get hurt a lot, and he left after telling Kakashi that he would come back for a re-match.

"He never learns." Someone would have thought that the little kid was a grown-up already.

"Na, Kakashi. Try to don't beat him all the time. And if it's possible, don't even start the matches. I suggested that match just to see your taijutsu. You might even make him think that he's useless, when it's just that you are more advanced than him."

"Okay."

"Good. Let's go for lunch, now. Do you mind ramen?" asked the jounin.

Kakashi just shook his head, and followed Arashi.

A/N:

That was a little longer than I expected it to be, lol. I'm thinking on writing more about the first day of their encounter. This is just how the morning went. I really didn't know what they would do, but then, Gai came to my mind. And... yes... as you may know, this is my first fanfic, and I really don't know how to write battle scenes, so that's why I skipped their match. It will be a long time until I'm going to write a good piece of battle scene. Sorry if you were expecting something more exciting!