A/N: I know, I know. I still have two other stories I haven't updated in a month, but this plot bunny made a nice burrow on the creative side of my brain and refused to leave or be patient. On the upside, I am almost finished with Chapter Two of at least one of them!
Kakashi didn't remember much from when he was a child. One day he just woke up in a sterile hospital room, was told he was that he was age six, a ninja, and had no remaining family. He had been in a training accident which had landed him in said hospital with no memories and that, perhaps, they would return to him over time. He never did fully get them back, not even twenty-one years later, but every now and then flashes of silver and yellow would cross his mind. It brought a feeling of nostalgia and a harsh wave of longing that he always pushed aside.
And now here he was, the jonin sensei to the Kazekage's children and on the way to Konohagakure so they could partake in the Chūnin Exams. They had left ahead of the rest of the Sunagakure group, hoping to get a feel of the village in preparation for the "surprise" that they were planning for the citizens of the Hidden Leaf. The whole thing made Kakashi feel uneasy.
"Sensei, are we almost there?" Kakashi heard Kankuro, the oldest son and middle sibling, call from behind him and to his the left. He wasn't surprised that the boy and the oldest and only girl, Temari, were hanging further back. Gaara, the youngest and village jinchūriki, tended to stick close by his side and the boy's stoic personality did nothing to sooth his blood siblings terror.
"We should arrive before night fall," he replied picking up his speed a little. The branches beneath his feet not even making a sound as he leaped among them. He could feel Gaara matching his strides.
"Ugh, I hope these Konoha people have some good inns," Temari's voice sounded from his right side. "I'd really like a bath after sleeping in these woods for a few days. I feel disgusting."
"Konohagakure is known for the beautiful inns and hot springs," he told his student.
"Have you ever been there Sensei?" Kankuro asked curiously, "I thought you didn't take many missions over this way."
Kakashi stopped, forcing the others to come to a standstill. His eyes gained a far off look as he made show of examining the surrounding area. "…No. No, I haven't."
"Then how do you know about their hospitality?" Temari inquired, hand on her hip.
He felt his muscles tense as he brought a hand up to rub it through his hair with slight uncertainty, almost knocking the hood of the cloak he was wearing off. "I must have read it in a book."
The two older Sand Siblings winced when Gaara shot them a glare, pulling there own hoods down in an attempt to block themselves from his gaze. Sometimes they both forgot how protective the red-head was of his 'Nii-san,' but the the younger boy didn't give them any of his customary death threats, he would save those for later when they weren't close enough for their sensei to hear.
"Nii-san," Gaara said bringing the man's attention to him.
Kakashi nodded before they took off amongst the trees once again.
Several hours later found the team of four in front of a pair large doors that would lead them through the gate and into Konohagakure. Kakashi pulled his hood further down to cover until only a shadow of his eyes could be seen before he approached the two Leaf shinobi manning what he presumed to be a type of look out and registration desk for visiting travelers (enemy or ally) and returning comrades.
They were both young, possibly a few years younger then himself, and both looked extremely bored, if the way the one with the bandage around his nose's whining was anything to go by.
"Why do we always get stuck with guard duty," he was saying when the other elbowed him in the stomach when he noticed the presence of the new arrivals. "Ow, Izumo!"
The man with bangs covering one eye ignored his partner's pain in favor of appraising them. "Papers and purpose?" He asked briskly.
"Chūnin Exams," Kakashi stated just as briskly as he handed over their identification papers. Izumo studied the papers carefully, almost suspiciously, as his wild-haired comrade glanced over his shoulder.
"Sunagakure?" He verified cautiously, the two villages weren't exactly known for their peace, as he glanced up at Kakashi.
"Yes."
"Well, everything seems to be in order." The Izumo said as he handed off the papers to the other man to mark with a verification stamp. "Welcome to Konohagakure. We hope you enjoy your stay."
The Sand Team's sensei wondered how much they were paid to have to say that to every incoming guest due to the dull and practiced tone it was delivered. It was such a stale welcoming, yet he supposed it kept unbalanced political relationships from toppling over. He nodded in thanks taking the papers back as they were held out to him by the bandaged man. "Thank you. I am sure my students will find the exams here to be very enlightening."
With a final nod of gratitude towards the two gate keepers, he gestured for his students to follow him into the village. They all followed obediently, Gaara taking his place by the older man's side. As they walked further into the village more people seemed to materialize out of nowhere.
"Suna is never this crowded." Kankuro complained as he subtly twisted his body again to avoid somebody smashing into Karasu as the person bustled by.
It was true. Sunagakure never tended to have this much traffic. The buildings were further apart and the village didn't have as many desirable resources as the Land of Fire did, so it didn't tend to gain many peddlers or traders. In comparison, the Village Hidden in the Sand couldn't hold a candle to the wealth that was Konohagakure. In fact, the biggest thing they had over them was their larger population, but that was more spread out due to water rations. It caused for less unification, which the Land of Fire was famous for.
"Can't we take the rooftops?" Temari asked as she glanced longingly upwards.
"Maa, unfortunately, with us being visitors, it may not be wise for us to use the buildings as transport," Kakashi said. "It is possible that we would be stopped more often than not to check out papers and it would make the citizens uneasy."
The four had reached a nearly empty side street the branched off from the main road. They watched as the people from the main road bumped and side-stepped each other like a messed up dance. "It would would be best if I continued to the inn on my own." Kakashi sighed as he glanced over his three students.
Gaara's posture tensed as he folded his arms, shooting a sharp look at the man. "Nii-san."
"It would be faster if you all waited around here until I come back," Kakashi said cutting off Gaara's protest. "Once I get back we'll all look for a decent place to eat."
Kankuro perked up at the mention of food. "Great I'm starving!"
His oldest student nodded her consent, but Gaara was still staring at him stiffly, displeased. "Don't worry," Kakashi said as he headed back into the throng of people and waved back towards his students. "I'll be fine."
And before the Sanbi jinchūriki had a chance to protest again about him going alone, Kakashi was swept away by the sea of bodies.
It didn't take long for Kakashi to find an nice looking inn for them to spend their stay at as he stopped in front of the large dark green doors of a decently sized plain, white building. There was a brightly painted sign hanging above proclaiming the establishment as 'Mochi Mochi Inn" with three little mochi stacked on top of each other, looking as if they were about to topple, with wide eyes and smiling faces.
"Looks as good a place as any," Kakashi muttered to himself. He pushed the wide left door open and slipped in. As he scanned the interior design he started to second guess his decision to stay at this particular place. There was decorations of different colored mochi everywhere from paintings on the walls to glass figures scattered through out the room. He considered turning around and finding another place.
"May I help you?" A scratchy male voice interrupted his thoughts of retreat.
Attention drawn back to the reception desk he noticed a slightly hunched elderly man. The man's hair, what was left of it, was a snowy white and liver spots dotted his skin like distorted freckles. All in all, this man had lived a long, mochi obsessed life.
"I'd like to reserve two rooms please." Kakashi replied as he walked towards the older man. There was no point in trying to make an escape now - too much work.
"How long?" The man asked pulling out a small book (it had mochi on the cover) and a pen. He licked the tip of the pen as his other hand flip the book open, pressing the point of the pen to the paper, before looking up at Kakashi expectantly.
"At least a month," Kakashi said as he pulled his hood off.
A sharp intake of breath had Kakashi looking at Mr. Mochi (as he had begun to refer to him in his head) in confusion. "Is something wrong?" He inquired tilting his head a little to the side, a finger scratching his masked-cheek, his hitai-ate reflecting in the light. He didn't miss the older man's failed inconspicuous peak at it.
"No, no," Mr. Mochi said hastily as he focused back on his ledger. "You just reminded me of someone I know."
The silver-haired man gave a noncommittal hum, curious about the man's twitchy behavior, yet putting it off for now. He doubted it would end up effecting him anyway and there was much more pressing matters to worry about such as securing lodging in this sweet infested inn and keeping Gaara from scaring to many bystanders. He tried not to think too much about the oncoming invasion.
Mr. Mochi cleared his throat, sounding like he was trying to dislodge a dying and desperate frog, as his pen started to scratch across the paper. "Two rooms for one month," he reiterated. "You here for the exams too?"
"Yes, my team will be participating."
"So there is a possible chance you'll need to extend your stay?" The elderly man asked tapping the back of his pen lightly against the ledger.
At the Sunagakure ninja's nod of acknowledgement the man jotted down some more numbers and notes. He gave Kakashi the amount it would cost for a month and told him that they would discuss any more fees if they needed to extend their stay. "I just need a name to put the rooms under."
"Kakashi."
"Just Kakashi?" Mr. Mochi inquired muscles stiffening. He seemed uncomfortable, as if the name rang bells that were better left not rung.
"Just Kakashi," the shinobi said unwilling to give out any information the other was trying to dig for. He wasn't in the habit of telling strangers he was an orphan with unknown parentage that was left to die in the middle of nondescript sand dunes.
"Right," the liver-spotted man acquiesced moving on, clearly not used to the art of intel gathering, after quickly jotting the name down. ""Scarecrow" that's an interesting name."
Kakashi gave a brief nod, but otherwise remained silent, hoping the man would catch the hint. He did.
"You're rooms will be 201 & 203. The rooms are attached, so you will all be able to move freely between the two if need be." Mr. Mochi said sliding two keys across the counter towards the silver-haired man after Kakashi paid.
Kakashi picked them up, immediately placing them in his hip pouch for safe keeping. He would need to give one to Temari for her and Kankuro's room, she was much more trust worthy with small objects than her puppet-contorlling brother.
"My name is Inaba Hotaka," Mr. Mochi introduced himself (Kakashi felt a pang of remorse at that). "If you have any questions or concerns feel free to seek me out."
"Thank you, Inaba-san."
"Call me Hotaka," the other said with a lazy wave.
"Of course, Hotaka-san," Kakashi said as he started to back up towards the exit. "I have to find my team now."
Hotaka gave a distracted nod as Kakashi slipped back out the doors.
When he made it back to his student the first thing he noticed was they were surrounded by six other children, three around his team's ages (and looked to be Konoha genin) and the other half around a few years younger. The second thing he noticed was that Gaara was agitated.
"Yo," he greeted after he puffed into existence next to his youngest student. Gaara's expression relaxed minutely at his arrival while the Konohagakure residents eyed him distrustingly.
"Who the heck are you?" The blond one yelled, pointing rudely at the older man. Kakashi felt a small pang of something (Remembrance? Longing?) when he looked at him.
"Kakashi-sensei, did you find a place for us to stay?" Temari asked him, deciding to completely ignore the other blond.
"Hey, I'm talking to you dattebayo!"
"Naruto," the long, pink-haired girl hissed lowly, her fists clenched so tight that her veins stuck out. Her green eyes kept glancing back at Kakashi warily as if he were going to attack them at any second. She eased when another boy with dark spiky hair and a wide, blue collared shirt came to stand beside her. This appeared to give her some confidence, a need to impress, as she set her jaw and demanded, "Where are your papers?"
Kakashi gave the girl a flat stare, making the pinkette shrink back. Her eyes flickered back to the black-haired boy before explaining. "As ninja of Konohagakure we reserve the right to check any foreign shinobis papers and question about their business in our village."
"My students are here for the Chūnin Exams," Kakashi said, vaguely impressed that the girl was willing to stand up to them taking out their approved passes and holding them out for all of them to see. His positive impression of the girl went down of few notches when she didn't even take them to inspect they were real, only nodding in confirmation.
"Chūnin Exams?" Nartuo questioned loudy, "what the heck are Chūnin Exams!?"
The pink-haired girl punched Naruto on the head making the blond fall into a crouching position, clutching his bruised (and possibly fractured, if the sound was anything to go by) cranium. "Stop shouting in my ear, shannaro!"
"Owwww, Sakura-chan," the boy, Naruto, whined petulantly.
"Tch. You leaf genin sure are uninformed. Are you all really ready to stop playing ninja?" Temari ridiculed with a superior smirk, crossing her arms. Kakashi sent her a warning look.
A young boy wearing a long scarf came to stand by the fallen preteens side. "Nii-chan, the Chūnin Exams are tests that genin need to pass in order to become Chūnin., the next level after genin."
Kakashi could practically see the sparkles enter the blond boy's eyes. However, before the orange ball of energy could say anything, Kankuro interrupted. "Can we find someplace to eat now sensei?" He gave the Konoha group a scowl, "I think we done playing with these kids."
The silver-haired man watched as Naruto's face reddened in fury, Sakura's fist clench, and the other boy's eyebrow twitch.
"Nii-chan isn't a kid! " Shouted the boy with the long scarf. The two other younger children, the one with the runny nose and the girl with hair down in to towered pigtails, hide a little behind the boy when the Sand Team turned the gazes on them. "He's a great shinobi of Konoha!"
Kakashi didn't miss the way the orange clad boy seemed to puff up at the praise.
"I doubt someone as air-headed as him will make it far," Temari snarked back.
Just as things were about to escalate Kakashi cut in, "It was nice meeting you all, but my team and I really most be going now. We don't want to be late for dinner." He said with an eye-smile, starting to lead his team away from the small group.
"Wait," the boy in the blue shirt called out, making the Sand Team turn there attention to him. He nodded his head towards their silent team member. "What's your name?"
"…. Gaara of the Sand," the red-head replied. He gave the boy a calculating look, "I am interested in your name as well."
"Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke," was the crisp reply.
"And my name is Uzumaki Naruto! " Naruto announced, two fingers gripping his Hatai-ate showing it off proudly with a silly grin.
Gaara gave him a blank stare, "I didn't ask for your name."
Kakashi watched as Naruto face colored in anger (the shade of red reminding him of a memory he couldn't quite grasp), "I'm going to be a hokage one day, so you better remember it! 'Ttebayo!"
Gaara merely made a small scoff as he turned to Kakashi, who nodded slightly in parting at the group, before they began to walk away, Kankuro and Temari following quickly behind.
"Do you think Obito-sensei will allow us to take the exams?" Kakashi heard the girl, Sakura, question her teammates timidly as he lead his team away.
"You bet dattebayo!" Was the last thing he heard when they entered back into the crowd. Konoha was certainly showing itself to be an interesting place.