Chapter five - Academy-students
When Kakashi opened the door to the lecture-hall of the Academy, he was greeted with probably one of the most ridiculous sights he'd ever witnessed.
One single chuunin-level teacher, who was on the brink of having an emotional breakdown, was trying to regain the attention of about fifty over-zealous pre-genin.
Twelve-year-old students were standing on top of the tables, throwing erasers and spit balls at each other, shouting at the top of their lungs to make sure their friends on the other side of the classroom could hear them too.
Kakashi sighed softly and tugged consciously at his mask, securing it was still safely covering his nose. The green jounin-vest he was wearing felt slightly heavy in comparison with the light armour he usually wore, but it wasn't uncomfortable.
The silver-haired captain decided it was time to make his presence known after checking his hitai-ate was properly covering his left eye (a nervous habit, one he'd never admit), and he politely cleared his throat.
After realizing the guest teacher had arrived at last, the Academy-teacher turned around and all but shouted, "YOU'RE LATE!"
Seemingly, this loud exclamation was enough to gain the attention of some of the students, and they finally noticed the second figure standing in front of the chalkboard. The sound eased to only a loud buzz thorough the classroom. Who was that strange white-haired man? Was that supposed to be the guest teacher?
The chuunin's face was rapidly changing colour – from ghastly pale to beet-red, "YOU'RE LATE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BORED THESE KIDS ARE? DO YOU? DO YOU?"
Kakashi dismissed it with a nod, and he turned to the class. The children were regarding him with suspicion. Was this man supposed to an elite jounin?
The Anbu-captain-in-jounin-vest laughed sheepishly, "Ah, I'm sorry I'm this late. One of my subordinates was very stressed and I offered him a cup of tea to stop him from going on a rampage and harassing innocent civilians with his flashlight…"
Fifty blank faces stared at him in disbelief.
Kakashi couldn't help but think it was funny, and he chuckled again. Then, he bowed curtly to the teacher as if greeting him, "If you don't mind, I would like to start my lecture. Please sit down, you don't look very well, chuunin-san."
The poor Acedemy-teacher sank down upon his chair, resting his head on his hands.
Yesterday, the Third Hokage had personally told the chuunin about the lecture Hatake-san was going to give, and the old leader had told him to be prepared for irresponsible behaviour that could be expected of said jounin. The teacher never imagined that 'irresponsible behaviour' would mean 'extreme tardiness'.
Oh, well. At least the guest teacher was here now, and the lecture could begin.
Kakashi leaned against the large desk and started toying with a white crayon, "Alright, does anyone have any idea what I am supposed to teach you guys?"
The hands of some wannabe-ninjas went up, but one boy disrupted the serene air by shouting, "Are you old or what? I bet you had problems going down the stairs with your sore back, Old man!" The boy's friends started encouraging him (and throwing chewing gum at each other), and soon everything was back to the chaos had been was before Kakashi'd walked in.
The chuunin stood up, ready to shout at his students once again, but Kakashi pushed him back into his chair, "Let me handle this – I'm in charge now, understand?"
Without any other word, the silver-haired man chucked the crayon he had been toying with at the boy who'd started all of this. The crayon crashed into the wall, missing the boy's head just barely. A thin line of white chalk on his cheek was all the evidence needed of an almost-assault on his life, and he was silenced immediately.
Again the classroom was hushed. Every student was regarding the jounin with fear and something akin to awe, but Kakashi wasn't entirely sure of the last one.
Kakashi smiled, and he resumed in a chipper voice, "Great, now I've got your attention we can start. Do I need to repeat the question or-?"
"Y-you were going to tell us about the 'Furinkazan-strategy', mister." A girl with pigtails said with a slight tremor in her voice.
… Ah, had the trick with the crayon been a little too much?
Good.
"Exactly!" Kakashi grinned as he wrote 'Furinkazan' in sloppy characters on the board, "Wind, Forest, Fire and Mountain."
"Move as swift as the Wind, be as silent as the Forest, attack as fierce as Fire, and defend as strong as the Mountain." He quoted as if he'd repeated the words countless of times before.
"This is one of the basics of the ninja-life. When you are on a mission, you'll have to be fast, be silent, strike hard, and defend strongly in order to complete the mission. Remember these words, and you know how to work in the field. Yet-" Kakashi stopped talking to let the importance of this statement sink in, "-knowing this alone will not be enough. You will have to live this in order to survive out there."
Tenzou sat down on a large branch. He flicked his flashlight on and off in irritation. All of his money was spend, and seeing he had the week off, there were no missions in store for him either. No matter how much Tenzou loved being at home, he absolutely hated doing nothing.
Okay, he could go to the library to read up on botany, or he could go for a walk, but he just didn't feel like doing any of that now. Of course he could go training, but there was no one to spar with, and being all alone was no fun either. Perhaps he could just go home and lay down – he felt a headache coming up, probably because he had been quite stressed a few hours ago.
Or he could just go to sleep right here and now, on the comfortable branch in the sun.
Well, at least that was an idea he liked.
Tenzou exhaled and relaxed. He closed his eyes and focussed on the sounds. Chirping birds, the murmur of the busy streets a few blocks away, rustling leaves. Just perfect for a little nap.
Slowly the wood-user drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Sadly enough he was to be disturbed way too soon for his liking.
Raido practically slapped him awake when he didn't open his eyes soon enough. Tenzou resisted the urge to punch his teammate and settled for a very intelligent, "Huh?" instead.
The taller man didn't look very well, to be honest. Twigs and leaves and dirt covered his normally – when off a mission – clean hair, and his eyes were dark.
"Tenzou, we've got a problem."
When Genma joined his two comrades on the branch with an equal beaten-up look, Tenzou knew it was serious.
"What is going on, guys?"
"Something is on the loose. We've got to stop it before it can get to the captain."
"The Academy?"
"Yes. It's heading towards the Academy."
The hour of lecturing was nearing its end, and Hatake-san had shown the Academy-students a map of several old Konoha-strongholds and important roads. He'd told them about the tactical position and the importance of the environment for both attack and defence.
Even the chuunin-sensei was impressed. Hatake Kakashi looked like an unreliable man, but he had been able to capture the students' attention and was learning them things through cleverly asked questions and effective examples.
Hatake-san might look bored as hell, but it was obvious the silver-haired man in front of the chalkboard lived and breathed the very rules of battle he was explaining.
It was that moment the chuunin-teacher realised he was dealing with an Anbu-agent. (Hokage-sama had been as kind to inform him of the matter, in case there would be an emergency and the guest teacher would be called away.)
"Alright, that was it. The hour is over, can I go now?" Kakashi asked the teacher.
It took the man a few seconds to realise he was being spoken to. He nodded quickly, trying not to show that he actually knew about the jounin's other job,
"Of course, you're free to go. You guys too, class."
The twelve-year-olds cheered and ran out of the room as fast as they could. Kakashi followed them, albeit at a less energetic pace.
When he was outside, he immediately felt something was wrong. Something was definitely off, but he couldn't place his finger on it…
Gai chose that moment to bounce at him with a loud cry, launching himself from a nearby tree. Kakashi, who had not foreseen this sneak attack, toppled over because of the sudden weight his Rival provided, and would've hit the ground if it wasn't for Tenzou's arms that caught him. Genma and Raido landed next to the young wood-user.
Raido was rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, but we couldn't stop him once he found out you were here…"
Genma was positive Kakashi was glaring at them.
"My Rival!" Gai said, "I effectively used the Furinkazan you were talking so passionately about! I was even able to evade your team of Amazing Trackers – they were fast, but not fast enough for Konoha's Mighty Green Beast!" He boasted. Gai released Kakashi – whom was then helped up by Tenzou - and turned to the Academy-students who were staring in shock at the weird-clad man, "See? This is what Patience and the Power of Youth can accomplish! Heed the technique of the Furinkazan, and you shall be Victorious!"
Tenzou shaded his eyes with his hand, "He's making my headache worse. What an idiot."
Gai then aimed his happy smile at him, "You, my Rival's Hip Subordinate, were much of a Competitor! Striving to stop me from arriving here at these grounds with such a Power and Fierce Concentration is something I, Maito Gai, cannot help but Praise!" With that, the bushy-browed man glomped the wood-user.
Kakashi tried to pry Gai off his unlucky teammate - who was making his scary-face without the flashlight - but the green-clad ninja didn't seem to notice. "Gai, that's enough. You've already won this round – there's no need to drag my team into our rivalry."
Immediately Gai released the younger man after hearing these words, and he turned to Kakashi with tears streaming down his face, "My Dear Rival, don't be jealous – I shall never replace you! For we are Eternal Rivals!"
The captain sighed, "Whatever, Gai." And he pulled out Icha Icha Paradise as he turned to leave.
"Kakashi, wait for me!" The spandex-wearing jounin called after him. The silver-haired man waited for the other to catch up, and together the odd duo walked away.
The Academy-students must be scarred for life.
Tenzou certainly was.