The more he trained, the more Kakashi hated being in Sasuke's body. Nevermind the obvious fact that his limbs and height were all shorter than what Kakashi was used to, but why did Sasuke have to have two functioning eyes? It annoyed him to no end the struggle he had with keeping his left eye open during training. Functioning with two eyes during his daily activities was fine, Kakashi learned to start reading with both eyes again during his stint as Hokage, but training was another story.
He fought exactly like a genin, clumsy and slow, with too many openings for his opponent to take advantage of. Granted, his opponents were Naruto and Sakura, both which failed to take note of his openings but Kakashi noticed. The perfectionist in him couldn't allow that to slide, even if he was supposed to be a genin.
Before and after team training, Kakashi found himself at Training Ground 37. The training ground was covered in dense forestry, located on the very outskirts of the village. Far and environment that was hardly ideal for training, the training ground was often abandoned. Very few ventured out here; in the years that Kakashi used this training ground, he had only run into one other person: an Anbu who happened to be on patrol duty.
No one would find him here, which was perfect because Kakashi didn't need to raise any suspicions if someone saw him using jutsus that he wasn't supposed to know. A genin using all five changes in chakra natures? Practically unheard of. It didn't matter anyways; Kakashi was quick to find out that Sasuke's body was only adept fire and lightning jutsus. Earth was barely manageable, which sucked because earth jutsus were his go to after lightning. Water and wind were completely out of question. Trying to utilize those jutsu types while he was stuck in this body made a once deadly jutsu completely harmless.
Despite coming from a clan that was famously known for their genjutsu prowess, Sasuke's genjutsu skills were complete garbage. Kakashi supposed that he could have trained this body to be accustomed to using genjutsu, but that was too much effort for no reason. He could get by without it anyways.
Taijutsu was the source of all his frustrations. A week into his personal training, Kakashi had finally learned to overcompensate his blows in order to make up for his shorter limbs. However, despite fixing that one problem, a slew of other issues followed. Beyond the obvious problem regarding his field of vision, Sasuke's body lacked stamina, flexibility, strength, and well, just about everything.
Was this what being a genin felt like? If so, Kakashi was so glad that he skipped out on a large majority of this phase. Sasuke's current level felt like the equivalent of his six year old self.
To be fair, Sasuke's level was considered pretty good for a genin. If he ended up in Naruto or Sakura's bodies, it would have been ten times worse. But "pretty good as a genin" felt absolutely miserable for a three decade old shinobi.
The frustration continued to build as Kakashi engaged in a sparring match with his clone. His one eyed clone. Since the clone was made with Sasuke's chakra, its speed and reflexes were roughly the same level as his. Yet, there was one distinction between the clone and him that resulted in him eating dirt every time.
The clone's vision wasn't screwed up like his. Every single time, the clone got a punch in on his left side. When his left eye was closed, everything that was happening on the left seemed much further away but now with his left eye opened - and he registered the hit coming - Kakashi was always duped into thinking that the fist was still far away.
It wasn't. The bruises that marred the left side of his cheek was proof of that.
After being sent sprawling into the dirt for what seemed like the twentieth time, Kakashi yanked down Sasuke's headband to cover his left eye. The change was immediate; Kakashi finally got to be on offensive rather than stuck trying to ward off the clone's attack. It was an exhilarating feeling so much to the point when Kakashi whacked his first clone out of existence, he immediately formed another one.
Never had he thought beating something up could be so fun. And he never knew how much he needed this beating-himself-up session until he did it. For the first time since he woke up as Sasuke, Kakashi finally had an outlet for all his pent up frustration.
Forget trying to act like Sasuke; Kakashi knew that was virtually impossible. Even if he put forth his best effort, it would still result in a lackluster imitation of it. From now on, Kakashi resolved to do things his way.
Even if it would freak out his counterpart when he showed up to training covering his left eye, then so be it.
The Land of Waves mission was their very first mission outside of the village. Personally, Kakashi couldn't be bothered to remember the details of every single mission; he had completed over a thousand so that was hardly a practical use of memory space. However this particular mission had been quite memorable, since it had been a simple escort mission that had the potential to end very badly, but didn't.
It also marked the first time that they had shown some real teamwork in battle. And the first time that Naruto leaked Kyuubi chakra. And the first time Sasuke used his Sharingan in battle.
Remembering the details of the mission would finally come in handy. At least he could prevent his students from getting too injured this time around.
Currently, he was flopped on his bed, extremely conscious of how much time he had until Kakashi sensei would show up at the front gates. Since they were responsible for a client, Kakashi wouldn't get the usual three hours to loiter around. Even he had some semblance of respect for civilians, so he only had thirty minutes to pack and make it to the front gates.
Any shinobi worth a salt would already have an emergency bag that was already packed, sitting somewhere. Kakashi's bag had always been stashed in the very back of his closet, coming in handy on countless occasions while he had been in the Anbu. The selfish part of him hoped that Sasuke would have packed such a bag because Kakashi hated packing, but of course, there was no bag.
He had to keep reminding himself that Sasuke was a genin and that this was their first mission outside of the village, so it was perfectly normal that there wouldn't be an emergency bag lying around. Maybe he had been foolish to hope but it was worth a shot.
Sighing, Kakashi finally pushed himself off of the bed, clambering over to the closet. Yanking the doors open, he grabbed the first empty backpack he saw and began to stuff clothes in it before moving on to the bathroom to fetch a first aid kit and other supplies that genins wouldn't normally think of to bring.
The team leader would usually be the one responsible for these kinds of things, and he knew that Kakashi sensei would certainly bring some, but knowing the circumstances behind this mission, Kakashi took care to stuff a few extra rolls of bandages.
Who knew what kind of stunt Naruto would pull this time? Last time, he had stabbed a kunai through his hand. Kakashi could only hope nothing equally as dramatic would happen again, but there was never a dull moment with Team Seven.
He couldn't figure out whether or not that was supposed to be a good thing.
Kakashi left the apartment, left foot already perched on the railing as he readied himself to climb to the rooftops. Only to see his reflection on his neighbor's window, showing the dark mask that covered the bottom half of his face.
He'd worn the mask for so long that it felt like a second layer of skin to him. More often than not, he would hardly even be conscious of it until he tried to eat or drink something and found a barrier to his mouth. Without it, his face felt surprisingly naked and it was a very uncomfortable experience. However, if he showed up to the team meeting with it on, chaos would definitely ensue.
It would be too troublesome to deal with. Reluctantly, Kakashi peeled off his mask, hating the way the wind bit his face, and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he took off, consciously aware that he was exactly twenty-two minutes late.
The first part of the mission proceeded exactly as he remembered. The puddle on the ground despite not having rained in a few days, the Demon Brothers appearing, and Kakashi sensei pretending to be butchered. Kakashi instantly leapt into action, making it just in time to ward off the one that went towards their client. Like last time, Sakura was frozen stiff. As much as Kakashi would have liked to help Naruto, so that he could avoid another stab-myself-with-a-kunai-to-show-my-resolve fiasco, it was either protecting the client or saving Naruto from a cut.
Kakashi chose the client and made sure he looked away while Naruto went on his tirade about how he was completely fine and that they didn't need to go back to the village. Logically, they should have headed back to the village, injured or not, but maybe Kakashi had grown a heart by this point in time.
That was what he would like to think of as the reason why he decided to complete this mission. Maybe it was the fact that he could hear Obito's nagging voice inside his head too.
The first fight with Zabuza came. After ducking to avoid being sliced by the Executioner Blade, Kakashi was the first to take his position to form the triangle formation around Tazuna. As much as he would have liked to fight Zabuza, since he knew exactly how it was all going to play out, but without the Sharingan, he couldn't see a thing.
And so he had to stand by as he watched the sequence of events play out once more. Water clones from both sides tried to one up each other, but in the end, Kakashi sensei got caught off guard and decided to escape into the water.
Baka. Kakashi couldn't help but roll his eyes. Why did he ever think that was a good idea? Especially against a shinobi that specialized in water jutsus?
Trapped in Zabuza's water prison, Kakashi sensei yelled at them to run. Once again, Kakashi lamented how stupid he'd been. Sure, he had done it with good intentions since he didn't fancy seeing another comrade die, but why did he tell Team Seven to do the opposite of what he preached? Luckily, Team Seven hadn't taken his command seriously.
While Naruto charged at Zabuza, going at him again and again with his clones, Kakashi assisted enough to make sure that his student didn't get killed while his analytical mind went into overdrive to form a plan to free their sensei. Vaguely, he recalled that shurikens had been involved the first time, but he didn't have Sasuke's brain so that wasn't the strategy that came to mind.
Chidori the Zabuza water clone? No, that was too obvious.
Headhunter jutsu? Kakashi didn't know if Sasuke's body could pull off an earth style jutsu in the heat of a battle.
His thoughts were interrupted as Zabuza's clone swung the blade at him. Kakashi ducked just in a nick of time, sliding between his legs and rolling back to his feet. By the time the clone whirled around, a kunai was raised to block the sword.
Somewhere behind him, Naruto was in the process of getting back on his feet, after having been battered as a result of multiple failed attempts. A surge of pride washed over him as Kakashi stuck his foot out, making sure to reach further than he normally would have, and attempt to hook it around Zabuza. It would have succeeded if the clone hadn't jumped away, fingers flying through a water jutsu. Kakashi countered with a fire jutsu, sending evaporation mist spewing into the air as the two jutsus collided.
While the clone's absence had given Naruto an opening to attack the real body, it also was Zabuza's chance at the client. Knowing that Sakura's skills would hardly be enough to ward him off at this point in time, Kakashi flashed to Tazuna. His sudden appearance earned a surprise yelp from the man, but a small scare was getting off lightly compared to what could have happened.
Without caring that Tazuna and Sakura were watching him, Kakashi quickly ended the clone by running a Chidori stream through him. He was reduced to nothing but a mere puddle.
Zabuza had formed another water clone to ward off Naruto. When Kakashi appeared into view, Zabuza's eyes landed on him, lips curling up into an amused smile.
Taking advantage of the chaos caused by Naruto's clones, Kakashi jumped into the fray, transforming himself as a clone. For a brief moment, his gaze met Naruto's. The real Naruto. Then he jumped on Zabuza's neck, kunai poised to stab him in the neck when Zabuza flung the crew of Naruto clones into the air. One by one, they began to poof out of existence from the impact.
Kakashi sailed over the real Zabuza's head, but the nin didn't pay him any mind, thinking that he was going to disappear in a moment. But when the telltale sound of Kakashi's feet landed on the water, Zabuza's head turned. Pulling out three shurikens, Kakashi aimed them at Zabuza's outstretched arm.
They were easily deflected by the flat edge of the blade. As the shurikens plummeted down into the water, the transformation happened. All Zabuza could register was a flash of yellow and orange before Naruto punched him squarely in the jaw. The impact sent Zabuza stumbling backwards, releasing the water prison. Naruto fell into the water; Kakashi had forgotten he didn't know how to water walk at this point in time.
While Kakashi sensei dealt with Zabuza, Kakashi snatched Naruto from the water and hauled him back onto land while two water dragons jutsus clashed with each other, sending a spray of droplets everywhere.
The battle ended shortly, with the entire area flooded and Zabuza declared as "dead" after a Mist Hunter nin interfered. Kakashi contemplated challenging Zabuza's fake death, but a glance at a trembling Sakura, battered Naruto, and weary Kakashi sensei, Kakashi decided that they wouldn't be able to take down both of them.
Kakashi didn't say a thing as he watched Haku take Zabuza away. Then he turned, ready to follow Tazuna to his house, when he heard a loud thump.
"Kakashi sensei!" Sakura shouted, completely horrified. Immediately, she ran over to him, squatting beside him as she checked for a pulse. "He passed out."
Kakashi resisted the urge to shake his head. Maybe he had spoken too soon when he judged Sasuke's stamina level. His stamina wasn't any better.
Imagine that. A renowned S ranked jonin of Konoha's greatest enemy was chakra exhaustion.
If Obito was here to see this, he would laugh in his face.
He wasted his entire morning at Konoha's Library. Kakashi had gone into the library with intentions of finding more information on time travel time; the longer he stayed in this world, the more convinced that this wasn't an alternate dimension. If it was, then everything was strangely...normal.
Except the Konoha librarians were being exceedly difficult and Kakashi couldn't understand why. In the past, most were polite; sometimes even too helpful for Kakashi's tastes. However today, instead of making small talk with the librarians, Kakashi found himself in an argument with one. From that point on, the incident unravelled into a complete disaster because all three librarians decided to gang up on him.
Apparently none of them had the sense to see that their colleague had been clearly in the wrong.
"What do you mean I'm not allowed?" Kakashi asked, the volume of his voice rising with each word. At least a perk of being in Sasuke's body was that he didn't have to care about his appearance; he wasn't ruining his own anyways.
"You're just a kid," the blonde lady practically sneered at him. She bent forward slightly, pushing her glasses up to the bridge of her nose while she gazed at him in a patronizing manner.
Kakashi crossed his arm over his chest. "I'm a jo-shinobi of Konoha! What do you mean I'm not an adult?" Damn, Kakashi almost slipped up. If he called himself a jonin, the librarian would certainly have a field day with that comment. She'd probably make fun of him for being delusional.
The blondie rolled her eyes. "A mere genin. You're just a kid who wants to pretend to be an adult." Her hand reached out, the same way that Kakashi's did when he reached to pat his students on their heads. Before her hand could make contact with the top of his head, Kakashi ducked out of her reach, glaring at her.
Apparently, she was immune to Sasuke Uchiha's infamous glare.
"All you do is go on D ranked missions. If that's the only criteria to being an adult, everyone could easily be considered one!" She threw up her hands in the air, as if to prove a point. "The fact that you're arguing with me proves that you have an emotional immaturity of a kid."
A childish retort had been at the tip of his tongue, but Kakashi refrained from saying it. The retort would only prove her point after all and that wouldn't help his case.
"The last mission I was on was C ranked that got upgraded to an A ranked mission after we found that a S class missing ninja was after our client," Kakashi recited monotonously, the same way he would deliver his mission reports. "Zabuza Momochi. Bingo Book missing nin. You can look him up."
Blondie waved him off. Of course, even the most infamous shinobis wouldn't mean a thing to a civilian. At most, they would only be familiar with Konoha's shinobis. If only Kakashi had his Copy Ninja reputation to back him up, he wouldn't even be here in the first place.
"I don't really care. Now, you can either go over there-" Blondie waved in the general direction of the civilian literature section. "Or you can go to the genin section. That's all. There's no way you're getting into the chunin and jonin sections."
Each section of the library was sealed based on seniority. Upon graduation, genins were taught the simple seal needed to break the genin section of the library. After receiving chunin and jonin promotions, each shinobi would be taught the respective sealing sequence to undo the restriction; each level more complicated than the rest. He remembered getting in trouble once when he was a chunin, since no one believed a six year old could be a chunin, but luckily, he had Minato sensei to back him up that time.
Kakashi didn't mean to make this a huge deal; he planned on sneaking to the jonin section of the library, knowing that the seals wouldn't be a problem at all. However, Blondie seemed to have hawk-like vision and zeroed in on him before he could even take a step into the chunin section.
It was like the librarians were out to get him. And maybe they were, considering Sasuke's less than stellar reputation.
"This is ridiculous. You should encourage people to seek out more knowledge, not restrict it." The stupid restrictions had been one of the first things that Kakashi had gotten rid of when he took the hat. "And this is why libraries are outdated with the Internet now," Kakashi muttered under his breath.
"Excuse me? Did you say that libraries are outdated?" Blondie questioned. The insult was clearly written all over her face. That comment had gotten the attention of the other two librarians, who seemed to decide that it was time for them to intervene.
No, it wasn't time for them to intervene. It was time for them to go away and leave him alone. Kakashi had no such luck as Blondie went into a tirade of the history of Konoha's library and of its glory and greatness.
Basically all the things that Kakashi didn't bother to learn in the Academy. Besides, he was pretty sure most of the things coming out of her mouth were an exaggeration anyways.
That had done the trick though. With Blondie leading the lecture and the other two chiming in every now and then, Kakashi finally had enough. If he wasn't going to be able to get access to the restricted section, then he would have no choice to leave.
As he stepped outside, Kakashi could have sworn the librarians badmouthed him behind his back. He sighed; what else was new? The reasonable thing to do was to transform into a nondescript looking adult jonin figure and walk back in, but just thinking about dealing with the librarian's bitchiness made him feel annoyed all over again. Instead, Kakashi found himself storming down the street, intent on heading to a training field so he could release his pent up anger.
Maybe Blondie did have a point; he was certainly acting like a kid right now, but it was hard not to when he was used to not being questioned. When he was used to being treated like an adult and to suddenly revert back to encountering such condescending attitude from all the civilians, it grated on his nerves.
Damn, Kakashi could have sworn that some of Sasuke's emotions were influencing him because he hadn't been this easy to anger, frustrate, or annoy since he was fourteen years old. Feeling emotions like this was very...annoying, for a lack of a better term.
The further away he was from the library, the more his anger subsided to the point where his usual calmness returned before he even left the village square. Without the adrenaline fueling him, Kakashi no longer felt the desire to head towards the training grounds. He spun on his heels, veering off to his left in the direction of Sasuke's apartment.
On his way there, a bookstore caught his eye. The name was familiar, one that a fellow shinobi had recommended to him once but he never felt the need to come. What did Tenzo say about this particular store? Something about it being famous for having more obscure works?
His interest piqued. Maybe there will be something about time travel here! Kakashi darted into the store with extra fervor in his step.
Kakashi wandered up and down the aisle, occasionally stopping to pluck a book off of the shelf if the title caught his eye. None of the ones he flipped through were about time travel, just simply topics that he found interesting. Making a mental note to come back again when he was in his own body, Kakashi moved on. Hopefully this store still existed in his own time.
He lost track of time. He was so enamoured by these books - it wasn't his fault he never had time to sit down and read anymore since he became Hokage - that his quest for information on time travelling had been pushed to the back of his mind. For once, Kakashi didn't mind that he was seemingly "wasting time." It had been a long time since he could have time to himself.
Note to self: stop being a workaholic when he got back. Sure that was the lifestyle he had grown up with, but damn, Kakashi really needed to start setting boundaries for himself.
The sun had just begun to set when Kakashi finally wandered into the last aisle. Finally aware of the time, Kakashi proceeded to skim through the contents on the last shelf. Although his fingers itched to pull some of the books off of the shelves, the bookstore would be closing in approximately twenty minutes. Those twenty minutes needed to be devoted to his actual mission at hand.
Just as Kakashi made the resolve to not touch anything that wasn't related to time travel, he broke it when his eyes landed on a familiar orange cover.
Icha Icha Paradise.
There wasn't an ounce of hesitation as Kakashi leaned forward, standing on his tiptoes. Fingers curling around the spine of the book, Kakashi yanked it down from the shelf and immediately flipped through the book to one of his favorite scenes.
How he missed reading this book. Since the day he woke up as Sasuke, Kakashi never had the chance to read this book, much less get his hands on it and he could have sworn that he was suffering from withdrawal sometimes. It was a pity that Icha Icha Tactics wouldn't be published for another three years, Jiraiya had really outdone himself with the sequel, so for now, this book would have to do.
The glee and satisfaction that he got from rereading Icha Icha was practically indescribable. If he had known that reading his favorite book would snuff out all of his negative feelings, Kakashi would have tracked down a copy of this book earlier, even if that meant stealing it off of his counterpart.
What a pity that he had no one to share his joy with.
Unknownst to him, Kakashi sensei was in the next aisle, trying his best to not hyperventilate after hearing the assortment of weird noises that came out of his mouth.
A/N: Hi again!
Hope you enjoy the second part of Kakashi's POV. What an interesting feeling to be stuck in another person's body haha.
Anyways, would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading and reviewing. Until next time! :)
-MM
