2 Meeting in a Ramen Shop

"I Have No Respect For You"

"Well, I should have time for a bite of lunch before I go and get my assignment," mused Kotori as she walked through the village the next day, getting familiar with the parts she'd missed before. The scent of fresh-made noodles and broth tickled her nose and, massaging a rumbling stomach, the girl went off in search of the source of the appealing smell. It came from a small ramen shop, and with a happy grin Kotori went inside and took a seat at the counter. After checking to see what choices she had, she ordered a bowl of tempura soba and began the wait, humming a cheerful tune under her breath. So far so good. As long as I can keep these people at arms' length, I should be able to survive without a problem.

After about ten minutes, the bowl of noodles and fried, battered vegetables was placed in front of her along with a fresh cup of tea. Breathing a quick word of thanks for the food, Kotori picked up a pair of chopsticks from the container on the counter and began to eat. I wonder what kind of group they'll put me with. Hopefully nobody too loud or irritating. She'd eaten the last of the vegetables and was now polishing off the last of the noodles when she noticed someone sitting a few seats away. He wasn't here before, and I didn't sense him arriving. Discreetly glancing at the man, she realized with a muffled squeak of chagrin that it was the jounin she'd seen on the day of her grandfather's funeral. Great. Hopefully I can get away without doing anything embarrassing.

Noticing the girl watching him, the man gave the tiniest of nods in acknowledgement before placing his order and opening up a small novel while waiting for the food to be prepared. Kotori added this to her mental file of observations on the man, thinking with faint admiration, He's a literary type. Not bad either, if I were any kind of expert at judging ages and looks. Now if only I could figure out what he's reading… She returned her attention to her food and prayed that some chance would come along. Luck was on her side, because almost as if forgetting something, the man looked up and said something to the waitress that was too low for Kotori to catch. The waitress replied in kind, and watched the jounin with adoring eyes as he wandered off on whatever errand had come to his mind, leaving the book at the counter to reserve his seat. Clearing her throat, Kotori addressed the woman. "Excuse me, ma'am, but who is he?"

"Oh!" Her happy trance broken, the waitress turned to answer the girl. "That's Hatake Kakashi, one of the best elites in Konoha. Why did you want to know?"

"I'm just curious, that's all. Thank you." The waitress nodded and went to attend to another new customer, and Kotori took that moment to sneak a peek at the pink-covered book the one called Kakashi had left on the counter. It only took a few lines of reading for the girl to figure out what it was, and she flushed beet red. "Pornography!" Kotori gasped, dropping the book like a poisonous snake. "An elite jounin reading dirty books… in public nonetheless!"

It was too late for Kotori to cover her actions as the jounin returned to his seat. "Excuse me," he said mildly while waiting for the girl to move, which she did in short order, giving him a disdainful look as she sat back down again and finished up her meal. Shrugging the look off, Kakashi picked up the book again and resumed his reading. Moments later he became aware of someone saying his name, and realized it was the girl. "Yes?"

"Hatake-san…" she growled, face still a dangerous shade of red "…I have no respect for you anymore. You are a pervert." She then made a brief inquiry as to the bill, made her payment to the waitress, and then strode out of the shop. Every person present in the establishment swore from that day afterward that they'd felt the temperature drop a few degrees as Yamataki Kotori made her exit that day – everyone, that is, except for Kakashi, who had brushed the matter aside and picked up where he'd left off in his novel. Savoring the peace and quiet, the jounin finished his lunch and glanced up at the clock, then realized with a start that he had places to go and things to do. He likewise settled his account and exited the shop, this time to muted laughter and sympathetic looks from the others in the immediate area.

It's a good thing she's not my student – we'd both have some learning to do. Then again, I do pity whoever does wind up with her. Miss Yamataki looks like she'd be a handful.

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"Ah, Miyuki! Or, rather, as it says on your ID – Kotori?" Iruka took a look at the newly completed profile that sat in front of him, then glanced up to see if he'd gotten it right. A nod confirmed this, and he continued. "Why did you change your name?"

"That's the name my teachers gave me before I came here," Kotori answered. "It's the only one I answer to."

"Very well. That saves us all some confusion." The instructor paused for a moment to silently evaluate the genin girl that stood patiently before him, awaiting orders. "You're probably wondering why I didn't assign you to a cell like I did the rest of the new graduates."

"The thought did cross my mind," came the emotionless reply.

A cool customer. Right then… "You seem like the kind that can handle the truth. First I'll ask you a question, though – why do you think you're going unassigned?"

"As Mizuki-san put it, sir, I'm a wild card. He was correct also in saying that passing me off on two inexperienced students would be a disaster."

Iruka blinked. "You heard the whole conversation?"

So you were talking about me… A mysterious smile. You just answered my question, and I didn't even have to ask. "I do have ears, Iruka-san."

This brought another blink, then a loud laugh. "So you do, Kotori! Well, I guess I'll just get to the point. We're not leaving you unassigned, but we are giving you over to one of our jounin who is otherwise unoccupied at the moment so that he can further evaluate your capabilities, refine your strengths, and reinforce the weaknesses. Then, when the next crop of graduates comes around, we'll fill out the two remaining slots and you'll have a functioning cell. Does that sound good?"

"It sounds like a plan." In her attitude of patient waiting, Kotori had noticed the instructor giving careful scrutiny to the skin that her open-shouldered tunic exposed, where a series of marks like claw-wounds were plainly visible in painful red against the alabaster of the skin on her neck and left shoulder. "What's the matter, Iruka-san?"

"What happened to your shoulder there? And your neck? Shouldn't you have that looked at?"

"It doesn't bother me." Again the mysterious smile. "I've had them since I was born."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get them?"

Kotori raised an eyebrow. "If you were the demon-cat Nibi no Nekomata, would you like the idea of being sealed inside the body of a human girl?" Her smile widened as she watched the color slowly drain from Iruka's face. "I got a little bit scratched up, that's all. Don't worry about me. After all, doesn't this village have its own… fox problem… to worry about?"

Realizing where the girl was headed with this, Iruka cleared his throat. "Not for now, we don't. Now if you'll excuse me I'll call your new instructor in and you two can get acquainted. I have a few other matters to attend to." Another silent nod in answer to this. "Wait here, and he'll be right with you." That said, Iruka rose from his seat and walked out of the room, leaving Kotori to her own thoughts.

This will be interesting, to say the least. Hopefully this jounin will know his stuff, or it will be a waste of time for all involved. A possibility occurred to Kotori, and she shivered in disgust. What if they assigned me to that pervert…? No, no, no. That would just be wrong. The sound of the door opening behind her made her twitch in surprise, but she did not turn around. "Yamataki Kotori?" inquired the visitor. It's not him. Thank gods… but who is it then? "You can look at me, you know."

Doing as she was told, Kotori turned around to see who was speaking to her. It was her turn to blink as she registered the identity of the jounin standing by the doorway. "Uncle Takeshi?"

"You'll do best to drop the familiarity right here and now, Kotori," the young man began in a voice that gave the girl chills. "It took a great deal of maneuvering to even get permission to work with you, because they were afraid I'd fall to favoritism and go soft with you." A smirk. "As far as I'm concerned you're your mother's daughter, some spawn of the Mist Country sent to cause hell in Konoha, and the name is all we have in common. They have nothing to worry about when it comes to favoritism."

Kotori found herself mirroring Takeshi's smirk. "Trust me, Takeshi-san, the idea would never occur to me."