Chapter 8.

Kakashi looked out of the cafeteria window, a finished mug of coffee on the table beside him. One of the blessings of living in the school was that he had the mornings all to himself. Usually he woke up two hours before the lessons start and headed straight to the cafeteria for his breakfast. And this rainy morning was no exception.

From his vantage point the art teacher could see almost the entirety of the school yard, including the entrance. And even though the gates were wide open, the incoming stream of students was barely more than a trickle rather than a flood it had the capacity to allow through. Kakashi watched as colored umbrellas floated towards the building, already anticipating the chaos that their owners will undoubtedly bring. An almost melancholic mood took hold over his being at that moment. A totally irrational, out of the blue question: When was the last time he went outside? Against all reason he strode downstairs towards the building exit, his dirty mug letf abandoned in the sink.

As the chilly air hit him once he was outside, Kakashi took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh crispness of the morning rain. The pitter-patter of droplets upon the lean-to roof and cobbled pavement drowned out the energetic voices of Konoha students, allowing the man a moment of soothing respite before he once again dove into the cacophony of his daily work. Kakashi closed his eyes, feeling the leftover sleep tug at his tired mind, as if giving him a final reminder on his perpetual lack of rest. He knew better than to give in, but would've most likely continued to stand outside in his thin shirt and messy apron, his class forgotten for at least fifteen more minutes, they were used to his tardiness anyway. Perhaps, given enough time he would've forgotten himself, if it weren't for the soft voice of their school's health assistant.

"Good morning, Kakashi." Damn it, he still couldn't get used to being called that way by the younger woman.

Cracking open a single eye, the art teacher peered at the woman in front of him, before grumbling out a greeting and returning to his ruminations. From what he saw she had just arrived, folding her plain dark purple umbrella and giving it a good shake.

"We have a class right now, you know?" she said as the water sprayed around, some droplets hitting their legs and feet. "Sorry about that."

A noncommittal grunt.

"Just making sure."

Kakashi thought that the woman left after those words, but the lack of sound her footsteps would have surely made if that were the case indicated the opposite. Opening his eyes for the final time he was once again surprised to see the petite woman stand right next to him at the porch. She was content in watching the students as they passed by, sometimes responding to their greetings with a friendly smile. It was only when Hinata turned to look at him that Kakashi realized he'd been watching her the whole time.

Hinata noted with amused surprise as the man beside her turned his gaze away immediately after their eyes met. He seemed to be gathering his wits, so she patiently waited for him to say something.

"What are you doing?" he asked finally, still not looking at her but rather where her own gaze was directed a minute ago.

"Waiting for you," she replied easily, joining the man in observing the students. She smirked as some of them who were supposed to be on Hatake's lesson made attempts to quietly slip through unnoticed, seemingly totally oblivious to the fact that said teacher himself was late to his own class. "How are you this fine morning?" she added after a momentary pause.

"You have a strange idea of fine," the man replied, throwing a meaningful glance at the rain that was let loose around them, by all accounts looking like it will only get worse.

"What's wrong with today's weather?" she retorted. "I like rain."

And with that simple statement the woman returned to watching said rain annoy everyone else who were unfortunate enough to get caught in it. Kakashi arched a brow – that woman was a true sadist.

"I suppose there is some charm to it," Kakashi agreed with a smirk as one of the students slipped and fell, flopping right into a puddle, with no one around to give him a hand. On closer inspection he recognized the poor teen as Gai's favorite, Rock Lee. Hinata too seemed to have noticed the boy's accident. She was about to go help the student when Kakashi surprised her by beating her to it. "Hey, you dunce, what the hell are you doing here? Get up," he yelled as he approached Rock Lee, helping him up and picking up his fallen umbrella from the puddle.

Hinata smiled as the older man helped the teen get to the front door porch under the cover of the lean-to, berating him all the while. Who would've known that the infamous Kakashi Hatake had a noble side to him?

"Where are your friends? What made you think that you should come to school in your condition under such weather?" he scolded as they finally stepped into the safety of the roof. The poor kid was shaking, from the cold or because he was scared of his teacher, Hinata didn't know.

Hinata noted the crutch under Lee's arm. 'How did he expect to hold an umbrella and a crutch while balancing around all the puddles?' she mused to herself. No wonder the guy got wet from head to toe. She then looked up at the art teacher and saw that he too was completely drenched, the fabric of his shirt clinging to his arms and chest, his baggy apron hanging heavy with all the added mass from water it absorbed. "You are soaked!" she exclaimed, "why didn't you ask for an umbrella if you didn't have one?"

"It's fine, I have spare clothes in my ro… office," he corrected, having realized that a student was there to hear it. Even though it was kind of an open secret he didn't want to say it aloud that he lived in school.

Hinata sent the boy to Tsunade to warm up, and followed Kakashi to the basement, where it's been twenty minutes since his lesson had started.

As usual, the students had immediately silenced once the art teacher entered the classroom. Thankfully, it was Rock Lee's class, and Kakashi didn't hold the teen's absence against him. Without a word, Kakashi went to his desk and was about to begin the lesson when Hinata gently stopped him.

"Greetings, remember?" she said, reminding him of their conversation earlier about becoming more approachable. She also nodded at his soaked clothes, suggesting he changed into dry ones.

Kakashi hesitated for a second but nodded almost imperceptibly after.

"Good morning, class," he said loudly and quickly disappeared into his office.

Hinata went to her usual seat in the back corner of the class, slightly amused by the shocked faces some of the students sported. Was it that surprising that Kakashi greeted the class? Or was it because he came in such an unusual state? In any case, the first step had been taken. She hoped she hadn't misjudged Kakashi's character and he'd be able to become a great teacher for those kids.

A few minutes later Kakashi came out, and Hinata had to stifle a laugh. He clearly tried to dry his hair with a towel, and the end result looked like one of his paint brushes. Evidently, she wasn't the only one who found the teacher's hairdo funny, as a few students actually managed a snicker or two before they were abruptly stopped by a nasty look from said teacher.

If Hinata were honest, she'd say that the following two hours of art lesson were easily the most amusing she had the privilege of observing. It was really funny to watch Kakashi attempt to be more tolerant with his students. And the students' reactions were no less comical. The first shock came when Rock Lee arrived ten minutes after Kakashi started the class. The teacher had wordlessly allowed the tardy teen in without any demands for explanation. Granted, Kakashi knew the reason for the boy's lateness, but the other students did not. Although Hatake did cut off any attempts from Lee's friends to ask the boy any questions.

Closer to the middle of the second hour, when one girl screwed up by spilling used water all over the table and getting some on her friend as well, the whole class had stopped in its tracks. Not only did she create a mess, but the water she spilled went straight on to the expensive watercolor set the school provided to each table during art class. Everyone seemed to have waited for their teacher's reaction with bated breath. When Kakashi stood up from his desk and strode to the poor girl's table, everyone expected a certain doom. The girl, whose name Hinata learned to be Konan, seemed to physically shrink into herself as Hatake approached. Apologizing profusely, she frantically began rummaging her bag for something to wipe off the mess she'd made. The boy who she'd hit didn't seem to mind his ruined pants much. If anything, he was almost shielding her from their teacher. Hinata noted the similarities in attitude between the ginger and Naruto.

"Yahiko, Nagato, instead of standing there like a pair of simpletons you could've offered Konan some help," he said evenly, throwing a roll of paper towels into Yahiko's unexpecting hands. The pair exchanged confused looks before getting to work almost mechanically, as if dazed.

The whole class was stunned into shock as their art teacher calmly, without another word, went back to his desk as if nothing happened. As if one of his students hadn't spilled a whole cup of dirty water, ruining her and everyone else's work as well as school equipment and disrupting the lesson. No doubt they remembered similar cases where Mr. Hatake's reaction had been less merciful. While the kids were whispering among themselves, Hinata carefully watched their teacher. Outwardly he showed no signs of frustration, but from the tense way he moved and spoke she could tell he was not happy. If there was one thing he did not tolerate, it was foolishness and foolish mistakes.

"Keep working, everyone," he shouted to those distracted. Needless to say, everyone had immediately turned back to their practice. That Konan girl seemed to give her teacher one last curious glance, before returning to help her friends clean the mess she'd made.


When the lesson was finally over and everyone left, Kakashi sagged into his chair, letting a heavy sigh. This only caused Hinata to chuckle.

"Hey, you did pretty good."

"Why is there always someone like those three in every class?" he asked no one in particular, the ruined watercolor set in his hands, ready for whatever fixing he could administer to at least attempt to salvage it.

"Like who?" she arched a brow, a little confused.

"Konan," he grumbled, "Nagato and Yahiko. I swear every class I teach has its unique group of idio– troublemakers," he corrected himself after receiving a disapproving look from Hinata.

"Naruto and Sasuke?" she guessed, correctly, judging from the older man's reaction.

"Exactly."

Another sigh from Kakashi, followed by another chuckle from Hinata.


"Are you sure you don't want to eat with us?" Hinata was asking him for what felt like was the twentieth time.

"Positive."

Kakashi didn't need to look at the woman to see her unpleased expression. Why was it so important to her that he lunched with her and other teachers? It seemed Hinata could read his thoughts, as she immediately spoke.

"It's just... they are our colleagues and it's useful to be in good terms with your co-workers. Who knows what you'll need from them in the future?" she explained.

"You can't be serious!" he refused to believe that the woman's motivation was just that. There had to be something else, perhaps a dare from her friends or a bet she lost.

Because there was no way; no one else would do that in her place! And yet, it seemed Hinata was dead serious about helping him. He figured it was the Hyuga way of doing things, where you put your all into a mission and complete it. It just happened to be that her mission right now, for whatever reason, was making him a good teacher.

"I will even share my food with you," she seemed determinate to make him agree.

Kakashi couldn't believe that he was even entertaining the idea. Usually he lunched in his office, but he was getting tired of the smell of mildewed paper and paint. Also, he'd like to hear Danzou's whining about Naruto acing his test. Free food was just a pleasant bonus at this point.

"Okay," he said, taking only a little confidence at the woman's shocked expression.

"Really? I thought you'd never agree."

"I'm not an idiot to refuse free food," he shrugged, his next words coming as a faint mutter, "plus good company."

It was spoken so quietly, and the words seemed so uncharacteristic of her perceptions of Kakashi, Hinata couldn't help but do a double take. She knew better than voice her thoughts, however. From what she'd gathered about the man he had his pride. What she clearly had missed was that he was a reasonable person, if a little unsocial. Instead, she wordlessly followed him to the cafeteria, already imagining the others' surprised faces as they were about to enter.

Just as she expected, everyone was shocked that the art teacher was eating with them once again. But Konoha staff were a good bunch; they accepted their reclusive co-worker with a bit more grace this time around.

"Come now, my Rival, let's have a competition for who drinks more hot sauce!" Gai challenged, a sauce dish full of spicy concoction already in hand.

"No."

"Then how about–"

"No."

Everyone laughed, leaving both Kakashi and Gai bewildered. Gai being Gai, had quickly joined the others and vowed to get him to accept one of his challenges someday. Kakashi wasn't as well adjusted, however. Hinata once again was amused by the man's lost expression while everyone around him were having fun. Deciding to fulfil her promise, she pushed a plastic box towards her newfound partner.

"What's this?" Kakashi asked. From behind his shoulder, Asuma was also trying to take a peek at Hinata's offering.

"I promised to share my food with you, remember?"

If people were shocked before when they entered together, they were about to drop now. Kakashi, uncomfortable with all the attention, had no option but to quickly accept the food.

"I'll go microwave it then."

Once he disappeared into the kitchenette and was out of earshot, Shizune was first to ask the question.

"What was that?!"

It was as if a dam was broken. Questions of similar fashion barraged Hinata from every side.

"Did you just give him your lunch?"

"Did I see what you saw?"

Hinata was beginning to find their reactions a bit unwarranted.

"Come on, guys, it's not that shocking that a co-worker would share their lunch with a co-worker." Besides, she prepared in advance, making two portions so that she could give him one. It was supposed to be her thank you for his mentoring of Hanabi.

"Yeah, but he's not your normal co-worker, is he?" Kurenai argued.

"He is weird, but who isn't?" Anko unexpectedly took Hinata's side. "I say if she manages to make the stubborn jerk be less jerky, then all the power to her."

The biology teacher's words seemed to have completely changed everyone's mood, so deeply they resonated within them. Everyone considered the thought for a moment, before erupting in a collective murmur of agreement. Hinata suspected every single one of them had to benefit from the art teacher becoming more agreeable. They would've continued with their shameless display of selfish suggestions but Kakashi's arrival interrupted it.

"Man, this smells so good!" Asuma complained as the art teacher sat back into his seat. "I wish Kurenai's food was as good." This earned him a punch to the arm from said woman. "Hey, I was just joking!"

"If you don't appreciate it maybe I should give it to Hatake here," Kurenai snapped back.

Everyone was long since accustomed to the pair's flirting, but nobody expected Kakashi's next words.

"I don't mind," he said nonchalantly, taking a mouthful of Hinata's rice.

The table erupted in laughter.

"What?" Kakashi replied defensively. Everyone kept shaking their heads.

"Did you just flirt with Kurenai?" Shizune asked, barely able to hold her laughter, making both Asuma and Kurenai sputter indignantly.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Kurenai offered free food, I said I don't mind."

Hinata didn't know what was funnier. The fact that Kakashi could be this clueless or that if one thought about it deep enough, he was actually making a good point. Or maybe it was her practical mind speaking, but the prospect of free food that most likely also tasted good was a great one indeed.

When the snickers died out, Kakashi calmly kept eating as of nothing had happened. If it could be called eating, that is. He practically devoured the whole thing in less than five minutes. While the art teacher ate Hinata noted the handsome features of his face, feeling her own heating up. All of Hanabi's talk about romance seemed to be messing with her at the worst of moments.

"This is actually good," he praised, well, more like noted. Hinata took it at face value, thanking the man for the compliment.

Everyone else exchanged meaningful looks. Fortunately, the two people in question didn't notice it, otherwise there might have been some concerns on their part.

The rest of their lunch went in amiable conversation. Even Kakashi participated, although his input was limited to one-word answers, and only when directly asked. 'No', 'Yes', 'Don't know' was all he said, but it was a start at least. He then surprised Hinata by offering to wash her dishes for her. Afterall, he was the one who ate the food in it.

"I think it's only fair," was all he said.

As he left towards the kitchenette Hinata heard Asuma hoot suggestively, which earned him another smack from Kurenai. Even normally level-headed Iruka had a knowing smirk adopted for a second or two. Unable, or unwilling to respond to what she considered was clearly madness, Hinata decided that ignoring it would be best.

"Thanks," Kakashi said as he came back, handing her the now clean plastic container. "I'm going to my office."

Just like that. Without any preamble. Behaviour she considered to be classic to Hatake.

"See you later."

"Yeah."

Hinata should've left with him, because the moment Kakashi was out of cafeteria, the co-workers began their teasing. Honestly, why was it so hard to believe that she was just helping him become a better teacher, just as her job as a supervisor dictated?

Anyway, she was sure that the motivation to change had come from within Kakashi himself, and she just happened to be there at the moment.