Chapter 2 – Preparations and Propositions
The sun was shining brightly upon Hidden Leaf Village, and all was calm and serene. The Fourth Hokage looked down from his office balcony and smiled contentedly.
It had been many years since any great conflict had occured in the Land of Fire, and the Fourth Hokage flattered himself in thinking how great a job he had done upholding the peace and improved relations with the other hidden villages.
He listened happily as some children shouted with joy as they played, his fondness for children having never left him even in his old age.
"You wished to see me, Lord Hokage?"
"Ah yes, Kakashi," Fourth Hokage replied without turning round, "it's been a while. How have you been?"
"Well enough."
Kakashi stood beside the Fourth Hokage, leaning his back against the banister and folding his arms.
"And how does it feel to be a jounin?"
Kakashi shrugged. "Same as it did being a chunin, really."
Hokage smiled. "Well, we were already giving you s-rank missions before you became a jounin, so I suppose there wouldn't be much of a difference - except the added responsibility of teaching genin.
Then again," he added with a sly glance at Kakashi, "you've been doing pretty well avoiding that responsibility."
Kakashi looked lazily at the Hokage. "I wasn't avoiding responsibility. They weren't good enough; they wouldn't have survived being ninjas. They're better off becoming shopkeepers and hairdressers."
The fourth chuckled.
"I can't help it if I'm assigned little brats," Kakashi continued, "until I get a group I'm one hundred percent certain of, I will continue to fail the kids sent to me."
"Well...We'll see."
Kakashi looked at the fourth curiously.
"It was on that I wanted to discuss," the fourth said, "the new genin - if they graduates of course."
"Oh yeah," Kakashi replied dismissively, staring up at the sky, "wouldn't this conversation be of more use once they HAVE graduated?"
"If they were normal students, yes," the fourth replied, "but ONE of them isn't normal, and I wanted your advice about her."
"My advice?" Kakashi looked mildly surprised, "surely there are others who are more suited to give you advice about a student than I - her sensei from the academy, for example."
"This one, you know personally," the fourth said, "probably better than anyone else in the village."
"Who?"
"Dana Kamiya."
"Dana?"
"Yes. You left her in the care of Suki Botrelle. Remember?"
'How could I forget,' Kakashi thought. The sight of poor abused little girl struggling for survival had haunted him the last two years. Two years later, he still checked up on her. Whenever she was out during the day, or late at night when she was asleep, Kakashi would visit Suki and ask for her. He never saw her himself: too much trouble had been made over her staying at the village as it was, he hadn't wanted more trouble brought to her by being associated with the infamous Copy Ninja.
"She's taking the graduation test?" he asked, "but I heard her grades weren't good enough, they were planning on holding her back."
"They've made a sudden improvement over the last couple of weeks - she's suddenly become the best in her class," the fourth answered, "I hear she has befriended Uchiha Itachi, so that might have something to do with it. He's been teaching her some basic techniques. Anyway, she's been scheduled back in to do the test."
"So, what do you need my advice on?"
"Whether she should be allowed to pass."
Kakashi was startled. "What?"
The fourth Hokage's face darkened. "There are some who have speculated about whether she should be allowed to become a ninja, because of... her past..."
Kakashi frowned.
"That was no fault of hers," he growled
"I know that," the fourth said quickly, "but others believe training her in the ways of the shinobi could be potentially dangerous."
Kakashi was silent for a moment, and the fourth could tell he was trying to control his anger.
"This is exactly why," Kakashi said, his voice menacingly low, "I wished for no one else but you to know the information that I discovered."
"I understand your views on the situation, Kakashi," the fourth said sharply, "but it could not have been helped. The way matters stood, I had to make it known to the council who she was."
Kakashi remained grudgingly silent, and the fourth sighed.
"Arguing about the past isn't going to solve anything," he said reasonably, "besides I didn't say I was going to forbid her from becoming a ninja. But as you were the one who found her, and you obviously feel personally responsible for the child, I would like to know your opinion."
"If she graduates," Kakashi said seriously, "let her be a ninja - if for no other reason than that her capabilities would be a great asset to the village - treat her right, and let her be a ninja, if that is what she wants."
"Oh, I think she does," said the Hokage, looking out over the village again, "even though the Uchiha boy has been helping her, it's only been in basic ninja techniques; everything else she's obviously worked hard at herself, and why would she do that if she didn't become a ninja."
Another silence reigned for a few minutes: the fourth Hokage looking over the village, Kakashi staring at the ground: both deep in thought.
"Even though only a few of us know who she really is," the fourth said, breaking the silence, "everyone can tell she's different. She's been getting bullied almost every day by the other children."
Kakashi didn't reply.
"Even though being friends with Itachi has reduced the number of situations," the fourth continued, "he can't be there for her all the time, and on those occasions, she gets beaten up pretty badly - particularly by that boy Mori."
"The ANBU squad leader's son?"
"Yeah."
Kakashi looked up at the fourth Hokage, the frown still upon his face, "why am I being told this?"
"Because if they graduate," the fourth answered, "I propose YOU be assigned their sensei."
"What?"
"Those two, and another - Taka, I believe her name is."
"But surely," Kakashi said quickly, "surely it would be better for Dana, if someone else would be her sensei - I mean - if it were me, and she passed, the council members might think I'm showing favouritism."
"Fortunately Kakashi, in teaching your reputation for failing every student is infamous," the fourth replied with a hint of a smile, "and I'm sure we won't have to worry about you showing favouritism. Besides, if in the unlikely event you do pass the squad, I feel certain Dana would be better treated by you than by anyone else. Dana will be part of your squad, and that is final."
Kakashi opened his mouth to argue, but shut it quickly, immediately recognising the futility of it. So instead he bowed and said:
"As you wish, Lord Hokage."
"Keep going, Dana; you're nearly there!"
The sweat trickled down Dana's head and body as she strove to keep herself up. She had walked more than halfway up the oak tree, using only her chakra. Another few steps and she would make it to the top, but she had been at it since dawn without a break, and was now so exhausted it took all her strength not to collapse.
"C'mon, you can do it!" Itachi shouted from the ground, "you're so close, don't give up now!"
Dana closed her eyes.
'I'm not going to give up!' she thought, 'I won't - I have to pass tomorrow - I have to become a ninja, so Kakashi will see me and respect me, and maybe even... I have to pass - I won't give up - I bloody won't!!"
She opened her eyes and lifted her foot, focusing the remaining of her chakra precisely. Her feet felt like they were being forced to lift two tons of weight and her entire body ached, but she ignored it. Sheer will power was all that made her move; she ignored the pain and focused her eyes on the sky - now a deep orange colour - while forcing her feet to move.
Finally, after what seemed like an age, she heard Itachi cry: "You did it!! You're at the top!!"
Dana looked down. Sure enough, she was standing on the top most branch of the tree. After two weeks of hard, constant training, she had managed to control her chakra to the point where she no longer had to think about it.
Relief mingled with exhaustion so extreme, that she didn't feel her chakra give way; but suddenly found herself falling back to the ground. At the moment of impact however, she found that she was hovering, and looking up, she saw Itachi had caught her, and was now smiling down at her.
"Great work!" he said in a surprisingly emotional voice, "you're bound to pass this test tomorrow. Hardly anyone else will know how to control they're chakra as well as you do."
"Couldn't have done it without you, though," she mumbled sleepily, as he began carrying her back, "really...appreciate...this..."
Itachi looked down. She had fallen fast asleep in his arms, and his smile widened. He noticed he only ever truly smiled like a normal boy when he was with Dana... She and his little brother Sasuke... They were the only ones that made him feel...human...