Whoot! Update from me! Hurrah!
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Tsunade didn't respond, but raised her eyebrows at his one syllable comment in a manner that suggested That's it?
Kakashi, for the sake of filling up the small void of noise said, "What else can I say to a statement like that? I mean, I'm not going to toss the idea completely away, but it is far-fetched."
The other individual surprised them by saying, "It could all just be a dream."
Kakashi noted the look-alike's voice, for some reason he didn't really expect the man to talk. He would like to say that it sounded nothing like his voice, but then again, a person's perception of their own voice was different than it really was, so who was he to say that it wasn't very much like his own?
"Actually," Tsunade said, "I was at first thinking it was a liqueur induced hallucination until Gai came along. Then again, Gai is the type of person some might expect to see in a hallucination."
Kakashi silently agreed as Tsunade continued, "However, I have questioned him extensively on matters that only you would know or can do. He seems to be the real thing. That or simply a clone."
He blinked, "You mean, like a bunshin?"
"I mean like a DNA replica of yourself. This could all be a clever ruse set up by Orochimaru," Tsunade elaborated, "We all know of his interests in the sciences. Maybe he discovered a way to successfully clone a person and advance the aging process somehow to make him be just as old as yourself."
"I'm not a clone," the other practically growled out.
Kakashi wished that this person, who was obviously not him, would stop talking. Kakashi always thought of himself as pretty open-minded, but a large part of him was wanting the other to shut-up. The less the other spoke, blinked, breathed, glared at himself, or stood in his vision, the easier it was to focus on willing him to stop existing. Too many problems would arise with his doppelganger in the vicinity for any amount of time. This conversation, for instance, that they were having right now, was something he didn't really want to have and therefore, was a problem.
"It wouldn't be completely far-fetched," Tsunade stated, "After all, you told me not so long ago that you had a theory on other dimensions."
"Well, it was a theory," said Kakashi, "It wasn't something that I completely took seriously."
Tsunade seemed to be growing annoyed at the situation, "I think now would be a good time to take it seriously. Look, as much as I'd like to ignore all this, I really can't, and I'd like to get this out of the way as soon as possible. I'm completely convinced that this is authentic and I am not going to wait for you to soak it in."
This could be a problem. Tsunade was only this impatient when she wanted someone to do something. Sometimes her methods of attack involved tossing a person into the fray with little warning so that they would have a little chance of escape.
"Now, I have a mission for you," Tsunade said to himself.
Yep, here it is.
"Your mission is to do some research on this guy," Tsunade explained while the doppelganger gained a slightly offended look, "I want you to try to find out how different, or similar, he is to you. Then see if you can think of a way to send him back, and see if there is a chance of any others popping up. I really don't want anyone claiming to be me running around town."
Kakashi doubted the town would be able to survive with another Tsunade; one was enough trouble. Two would probably cause the country's economy to collapse.
"I'm on it," Kakashi said dutifully and headed towards the door.
"Hold it!" Tsunade shouted and effectively made him pause and turn. He had really hoped that he could have left right then. The sannin huffed with a great deal of annoyance, "Your taking him with you." The second Kakashi clearly didn't appreciate her tone and sent a heavy glare in the woman's direction.
"There's not enough room in my apartment," Kakashi immediately said, knowing where this was going.
"Don't make excuses, he's your responsibility," she said easily.
The other continued to persist in existence by stating, "I'll be fine on my own."
"There's no way around this," said Tsunade, "It'll be easier for all of us, if you take him right now. And if you don't, I have no qualms over having the both of you detained and interrogated."
Okay, now she was on the receiving end of two death glares that had the potential to send an army of ninjas fleeing and change their soiled underpants. Unfortunately for the both of them, she didn't back down and continued to keep a stubborn frown on her face that expressed "Refuse and feel the pain of my fist burrowed deep in your eye-sockets and giving your brain a noogie".
"Fine," Kakashi gave in and turned to his mutually unhappy other, "Come on then."
They left the room quickly and politely slammed the door shut. Despite their swift steps, they were close enough to pick up on the slight sound of a "POP!" that could only be related to that of a cork being released from a bottle.
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Kakashi had mostly ignored his shadow that trailed after him as they made their way to his apartment.
Of course, ignoring the other didn't mean that he was stupid enough to let his guard down. He just didn't bother to engage in any conversation or make eye contact with his "other self", if that's who this person truly was. As for other things, he kept an ear out for any suspicious noises the other might make, and made sure he was prepared for any sudden moves. It was a manner of ignoring that he typically used with people he really didn't like or trust.
It was a little odd though. He supposed that many people might be excited or frightened by the idea of meeting someone like themselves. He wasn't like many people though. When he looked at his alternate self, all he could feel was annoyance and perhaps a little bit of hatred.
That is to say, of course, that this person was genuine. In actuality, he didn't think that an alternate-Kakashi was that far-off. It was likely possible since he did believe in other dimensions. In fact, the more seconds that ticked by, the more Kakashi was sure that this was something very real. This person definitely wasn't exactly like him, but the similarities were undeniably there. Things that even a professional impersonator would have trouble copying; the manner of walking in an upright gait, slightly suspicious eyes with a hint of boredom, the preference to keeping his weight on his right side, arms to the sides in a very controlled manner, and a silence that usually occurred when the mind was busy. These things were extremely nostalgic to Kakashi and it wasn't difficult to figure out exactly where the differences in their present states stemmed from.
Kakashi had good reason to not like this guy.
They had continued their quiet walk for a few more minutes that wasn't really that interesting other than the fact that some people were doing double takes when they caught sight of the two. It was a little too late to consider leaping on the roofs since they were nearly there, but it made him want to slap his forehead at his own stupidity.
Kakashi rolled his eyes, Why didn't I think of traveling by rooftop before-hand? I should have seen this coming, but thanks to Mr. Clone, I got distracted by keeping an eye on him. This guy really is nothing but trouble, now the town is going to think I have a twin or something.
Actually, that idea wasn't such a bad one. Wouldn't it be interesting to strike terror into the hearts of others by saying "Hey, if you think Kakashi's bad, well, you haven't met his evil twin brother." Just think about the horrified expressions on his enemies' faces after hearing that. Kakashi enjoyed the mental image and let out a quiet chuckle that earned a condescending look from The Other.
They finally arrived at their destination that consisted of a four-story building without any notable qualities. Kakashi walked through the front door and made his way up the staircase to the third floor.
Why didn't they just go through the window if their ninjas? Well, because Kakashi used to do that until the building across from his received a new tenant. This woman was convinced that the only reason Kakashi would use his windows in such a manner was to have an excuse to look at the her lacy undergarments. He didn't want to have to plead his case again, so stairs it was.
Kakashi reached his door and lazily patted his pockets for his keys. Surprisingly, he set a new record in locating his keys, but opened his door with the same haste of a man who knows that his wife is on the other side with a handful of his porno magazines in one hand and a rolling pin in the other.
They walked through the doorway and into the modest living quarters without any trouble, which must have been a bad thing since his other self commented, "I'm surprised that you don't have any traps set up."
Kakashi snorted, "What kind of idiot ninja would go through the front door?"
"You'd be surprised by how many idiots there are in the world," The Other walked in further and took in the sight of the combined kitchen and living room, and then the limited number of doors in the room, "Your apartment is tiny."
Kakashi crouched near his front door to check his mail and replied, "Well, anyone stupid enough to break into my apartment would realize that I have nothing of value to steal and nothing worthy of blackmail. Anyway, you heard me when I said that there wasn't enough room for anyone else to stay with me."
Bill, bill, junk-mail--Oh look, paycheck. Hm. Junk-mail, bill, ju--wait a minute, I never applied for this, why are they billing me? I'll have to fix that. Junk-mail, junk-mail, coupons, catalog, newspaper, junk-mail, where do these people get my address?
The Other noticed his Icha-Icha collection and picked up one of the books from the shelf and browsed over it's cover, "I would say that is very worthy of blackmail. Does anyone else know about your, uh, romance novels?"
The good thing about being a ninja of Kakashi's caliber, is that it comes with the strength to crumple up a two-hundred something page catalog like tissue paper that can be used as great ammo and aimed at desired heads. Unfortunately, The Other easily dodged the missile with a tilt of his head.
"Watch it, brat" growled Kakashi, "That's the collector's edition gold series and if you leave the oil from your fingers on the cover, I'll snap them in half. And for your information, everyone knows that I read them."
"Sounds like it would make a better hostage than blackmail," said The Other with the shape of a coy grin underneath his mask.
"Nope," the Copy-nin said sadistically, "it sounds like someone wants to sleep on the couch tonight."
"Isn't it customary to let the guest have a bed? It's only the polite and proper thing to do," The Other said in a subtly mocking voice.
"A bed?" Kakashi laughed, "There's only one bed here, and it's mine, so deal with it."
The Other must not have cared much for Kakashi's hospitality and said, "You must have a pitifully small income if this is all you can afford. What do you normally do for extra money? Polish shoes?"
Kakashi just smiled broadly, not that it would have mattered really, "That's only my second job, nothing compared to the importance of the first one."
"And what would that be, being a sad excuse for a ninja?" The Other put down the prized tome then moved to sit down on the couch and surprised Kakashi by actually landing on the cushions. He would have expected the pest to bounce back up due to the thick obnoxious air that was surrounding him.
With a great deal of drama, Kakashi said, "No, my first and foremost job--wait, no--duty, is to be, before anything else, a model and ideal citizen for the depraved people and children of the town to look up to."
The Other stared at him quietly before saying, "Your screwed up."
Mentally, Kakashi agreed with him. He had actually stolen that line from Gai, but his other self didn't have to know that (and actually, neither did Gai). It was all pretty amusing really. Just by that three worded sentence, Kakashi could tell that he had confused The Other to interesting proportions. He could tell that this other was turning cogs in his head and trying to decide whether or not to believe Kakashi, but since he didn't know Kakashi well enough yet, he couldn't accurately make a correct decision.
"How can you say that you plan to be a model citizen if you have a large collection of porn and won't let a guest take the bed?" The Other suddenly asked.
Curses. He actually has a brain. It would have been fun to string him along for a while.
"You notice that couch your sitting on? That's your bed. Happy now? Well, I am. Bye!" Kakashi gave an energetic wave and zipped out the door, leaving an understandably befuddled silence in the room.
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You might call this update a tribute in celebration of Chapter 449 in the Naruto series. Awrauhite!