It begins.
1/3 of todays release
1. A Favor Spent
Walking onto the dirt pathway in front of a bookstore, Kakashi closed his only uncovered eye against a particularly strong, cool wind. Cracking open a book with a crossed out circle on one of the covers, he absently started walking toward the Hokage's tower.
It was time to test another group of hopefuls, and he needed to pick up their profiles. If he was being honest, he'd say he was wasting his time. It felt like he was always given the most dysfunctional groups. He understood that working together was neglected in favor of competence, but it was getting ridiculous. He hasn't passed a single team, yet... was he the problem?
No, it was the children. It's not that hard of a test.
He at least found a gem to pass the time with. He walked into the tower uncommonly distracted, so it took him a moment to realize the floor was empty. Looking up, he saw that the desk where he was supposed to pick up the profiles was sans its chuunin.
"Good morning, Kakashi. You just missed my grandson and one of your prospects," an almost decrepit man called out to him warmly. Kakashi jum-tensed at the sudden noise.
Turning to greet the elder who was trying to hide his smile with a pipe, Kakashi felt like he just walked into a trap.
"Good morning, Hokage-sama." He checked his surroundings and, except for the chakra signatures for Lord Third's Anbu guard, they were alone. "I'm... guessing you wanted to... deliver my paperwork... yourself?" He was hoping this wasn't what he thought it was, but the slowly growing frustration forming in his gut told him it was just that.
The Hokage was not someone who hands out these assignments personally. He was sure that the position was far too busy for that, especially considering it kept the man before him from even spending time with his family; something an associate of his took personally. Jounin mentors have near complete autonomy when it came to how they trained their genin cells, including whether they took that cell as their protégé.
His presence made Kakashi aware of his failure rate.
He tried to keep his face neutral as he waited for the boot to drop. Lord Third must have noticed the shift, anyway, as he let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry to impose on you," he started as he pulled out a large green folder, "but I'll ask the favor all the same."
The old leader looked genuinely sorry while he handed him the profiles. Even still, he barely contained his snarky tone as he lifted his only visible brow. "Would that favor be to accept this team without testing them?"
This imposition on his rights as a mentor had never happened before, so he'd never had to practice reigning in his frustration. He had failed countless other teams, even with students from the major clans with no oversight before. What was so special about these graduates in particular for his superior to risk tension with his jounin?
"Of course not," he said evenly and calmly, as though dealing with an especially stubborn dog as he took a drag from his pipe, "No. What I'm asking for is time."
Time? Considering the chuckle afterward, it must have some type of double meaning. Some pun to do with his own age and regrets, maybe. Sighing, he finally took a moment to look at his team.
The last Uchiha and the village's untamed jinchuriki.
Trying not to groan at the future headaches a group like this could cause, he asked for clarification on what that favor of time entailed.
The Hokage gestured toward a pair of conveniently placed chairs facing each other. It must have been the work of the Anbu considering this room was supposed to be empty to not impede foot traffic when collecting missions or paperwork. Seating was for the higher floors where meetings took place. He shook the mundane observation away when the old shinobi spoke again.
"I've a good idea of what your trial is," he started with a knowing smile. Kakashi could only nod. It was a lesser known test thought up by the elder himself. One of the many lessons taught to young shinobi. "And while I agree on the lesson you want to set your foundation on, I believe this team has immense promise. I'd like for you to give them time, a week at most, to interact before giving the test. A trial run to smooth any wrinkles, if you will." He finished with a kind smile, more becoming of a teacher than a military leader. It made Kakashi wonder if time or his position had humbled the elder man.
'How would a single week tip the scales for a relationship that didn't form from nearly a decade of forced proximity?'
He, of course, didn't ask that. He had some lines he knew he shouldn't cross with the lenient veteran. But the observant man must have guessed where his mind was at if the laugh was anything to go by. Kakashi rubbed at his neck and apologized for his insubordination, only to be waved off.
"No, no. You have reason to disagree on this," he chuckled as replaced his pipe into his mouth. Still smiling, he put his hand on his knees to lever himself up. "I think doing the home visits a little early will help you understand my perspective for meddling. Shall we?"
The elder started out of the building without a second glance at Kakashi. If he did, he would be able to see his furious frustration clear on his covered face. Home checks were for genin that passed their mentor's trial. If they run into any of these students, what is he to say to them? He wasn't officially their teacher and had no right to be there. Even with the Hokage's order, this clearly violated the unbiased evaluation he was supposed to give for their trial. Whether he failed or passed them after going to their homes would make him look biased. If anyone from his past failures found out and called foul on their assessment… It could sully his reputation as a jounin mentor, if not as a shinobi.
Memories of derisive whispers and suspicion filled glances made him bite his lip.
He took a deep breath and pushed those memories into the corner of his mind where they belonged. This was not that serious, and allowing that spiral would just cause more problems. A flash of falling rocks had him squeezing his eyes shut as he followed behind his superior.
"Yes, sir," he didn't have a choice in the matter, anyway. If it ever came up, he'd just blame the Hokage and ignore everything else.
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They made their way to the apartments just behind the academy property. Kakashi believed calling them barracks would be a far better description considering how bare bones the rooms there are. The fact most of the teachers would rather spend more for comfort was probably what allowed the village to use the facilities as accommodation for orphaned students.
'Now that I think about it... what happens with orphaned civilians?' He wondered. Surely the village has something in place other than placing them in the shinobi academy.
He sighed. It wasn't important right now. They could always leave for their preferred profession when they graduate. He frowned as he shook his head.
Walking in, he felt a bit of annoyed nostalgia as he made his way through the building. Nothing much had changed. The same wooden and cracked plaster hallways. The same sturdy rafters. He'd thought having to install the new electrical seal work would make it so they would have to renovate.
If they aren't invasive to install, then why don't more of the village use them instead of those bulky wires? While convenient to get around the village with, they were a pain to maintain. If all the escort missions to bring a technician to fix something were to go by.
The boy's room was at the farthest end of the ground floor. Kakashi took notice of how this area lacked the signs of seal work and had some haphazard wiring strung along the rafters. He was no seal expert, but he knew it was better for the longevity of the work to lay a larger foundation rather than connecting a bunch of smaller ones.
'Something tells me once he leaves, the entire building will undergo a full renovation,' he sighed as a feeling of angry tension filled his body.
He notes the corner room the jinchuriki had been given boasted a coveted two windows. The mold growing around them was just a bonus. He could see mold in a few other corners of the room and frowned. That was never a problem here before. Was it just disrepair... or intentional negligence? Kakashi let out a frustrated huff as he took in the rest of the small room.
The jinchuriki had left what he assumed were pajamas on the floor next to an unfolded futon. He raised a brow when he noticed that there were not one but two head protectors laying on it. "Why does the boy have two hitai-ate already?" he questioned the elder man instead of touching the headwear. Not that he thought the boy would notice if he had.
"Well, there was... an-uh incident with the forbidden scroll," the older shinobi leaned onto the counter of a small kitchenette by the entrance. "He got tricked by a traitor to steal it and helped to catch him. His graduation was essentially a field promotion." He chuckled a little as he continued. "Iruka, the shinobi that first intercepted him, decided he had contributed enough to prove he's competent enough to become a genin."
"That's his headband with the boy's. He would hear nothing of getting it back from Naruto."
Kakashi genuinely tried to keep the expression he gave the Hokage neutral, but he was failing and very aware of that. It was just awfully convenient that the highly guarded building was infiltrated by a student considered dead last of his year; one he technically didn't even graduate with. Kakashi wouldn't be surprised if the Anbu at the building were given special orders that night.
The military leader looked back unbothered as he puffed on his pipe. He understood why he was given the extra chances, but is that really the way he would have wanted the child to be handled?
He shook his head as he made his way to the small kitchenette, making sure not to disturb the piling bags of trash too much. There was a sink filled with dirty dishes and a suspicious fluff, and a hot plate surrounded by several cupboards. It also had a small fridge that looked like it must be the first ever seal work model. If not for the gentle whirring sound and chakra fluctuations it made, he would have assumed that it was a literal ice box like he had grown up with.
Opening it, he found it pitifully empty with a carton of milk close to its expiry date, considering the smell it might have already spoiled, and a few eggs.
A twinge of something concerningly close to guilt squeezed his heart. 'No... I had no control over this child or his living arrangements. I could barely keep myself together then... he would understand... there was nothing I could have done better,' he reminded himself. It sounded like he was begging a pardon from someone, even to himself. He sighed as he knew that even if he couldn't have helped, he should have done something, anything, more.
He opened the cupboards, hoping to find something that would ease his growing feeling of guilt. Only to be greeted by an impressive range of instant Ramen. 'A child on his own indeed,' he chuckled internally, even as the pit in his stomach grew deeper.
Instant food had come about around the end of the last great war. He was sure it was invented by some retired ninja who was trying to replace those disgusting food pills with something more palatable. Unfortunately, while they certainly tasted better, it was lacking in nutritional value. It at least got popular in the civilian sector. Whoever actually came up with it wouldn't have to lift a finger again.
"The problem is that if this is all he eats, then his growth will be stunted," he muttered. Turning back to Hiruzen-sama, he couldn't help but remark, "This is not a very good reflection of respect or care, considering his lineage." His teacher's son deserved better.
The fourth Hokage's son deserved better.
The third Hokage's face morphed from its serene facade into something tired and defeated. "I know... If I could do more I would, but this way... with him considered the head of the Uzumaki. It gives him more protection than my name and title can. Maybe if I were a few decades younger..." He sighed as he rubbed his wrinkled face with a free hand.
"To push anymore than I already have would get the other Clan Heads to become defensive and the council to look at it as precedent to 'keep the clans in line'." The elderly man looked every bit beyond his prime as he leaned more heavily on the counter, looking out at nothing in a way that spoke of a heavy burden. "This is the best I can do for him."
Kakashi didn't know how to feel at the sight. On one hand, it was relieving to see that Hiruzen-sama felt so strongly about his teacher, the Hokage's successor turned predecessor. But seeing their leader look so obviously drowning and yielding filled him with an apprehension for the future of the village. If dealing with his own people was this hard for him now... what would happen if an outside force tried to pressure them?
He shook his head and squished that thought. The man was just showing a bit of vulnerability about a shared connection they had. Just another way he was not seeing the problems his behavior could cause in the long run. It was nothing to worry about. If he was truly at the end of his rope, he would have picked another successor by now.
Catching sight of the boy's bed with the headbands on it, all he could do was sigh. He really didn't like it, but he could see where the Hokage was coming from. Several of the lesser clans wanted to gain influence over the boy to empower their importance by being the 'jinchuriki's keeper'. A certain major clan wanted him dead outright so they could seal the beast in a... more beneficial vessel.
Listening to them disregard the boy's life is one of the many reasons he always tried to be on a mission whenever an unavoidable clans' meeting came around.
A tense shudder went through as he realized that if he took on the boy as a student, he would have to rejoin those meetings.
Becoming his teacher gave him a certain responsibility for his wellbeing as well as his training. He wouldn't be doing his job to its fullest if allowed a known threat to go unchallenged. Especially when he had a certain amount of power to deter it.
A jinchuriki was a significant village asset and kept relations with the other major hidden villages civil for fear of mutual destruction. That wasn't something their leader should push onto just anyone. He wanted to glare at the elderly man still putting himself back together. But even as he mentally railed at his decisions, he could see the sense. Of the jounin available for mentorship this year... he was the only one who was a clan leader, even if it was only a clan of one, and thus had a seat in the Clan Council meetings.
All Kakashi could do was sigh. His teacher would want the best for his son, so if he became his teacher, he would do the best he could.
'I was just thinking I should've done more...,' Kakashi mentally assured himself.
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After a little more snooping, the two shinobi made their way out of the room. Lord Third said they will check on Uchiha's arrangements next. Kakashi was expecting to go to another room, or floor, of the academy barracks, but was only mildly surprised when they made their way out of the building. The Uchiha were a founding family, after all. They would have plenty of money left for the boy to live in an actual apartment.
'Guess he has a better understanding of bills and numbers than I did at his age.'
He allowed himself to be distracted as he followed behind his superior. He closed his eye as he enjoyed the cool fall breeze with vestiges of summer heat still clinging to it. Looking into the towering trees around the village, he sees that a few leaves were holding onto their green coloring amongst the sea of yellows and oranges.
'We're well into autumn...,' he looked where he knew the Konoha graveyard rested, 'I wonder if I should get them a snack with their flowers... as an apology for being late this year?' He had been on a mission that took longer than he was expecting, so he had missed the anniversary of their death. He knew that his teacher wouldn't mind, but his wife had always been the fiery sort. 'I'll bring her favorite snack then.' He decided to get that done first thing after he was done with these home checks.
His mind had drifted and was wondering if it would be rude to pull his book out of his bag when he noticed where the road they had turned into would lead.
He looked to the Hokage in question but was given no response. His mood continued to sour as they got closer and closer to what he thought should be a defunct district.
"It's... not ideal, I know. However, the boy refused to leave," the elderly leader spoke thinly.
"He was only six, maybe seven, when it happened." He needed nothing further to make his grievances clear.
Lord Third gave a rueful smile. "A very knowledgeable seven-year-old." He sighed as his shoulders slumped a little. "He invoked an old law that essentially made him the new head of the Uchiha, at least in name. To force him out and into a more... neutral environment would be encroaching into clan business... and you know why we can't have that kind of precedent."
"Uzumaki."
"Exactly... all I can do is strongly suggest he leaves for his own comfort." He sighed heavily around his pipe.
Kakashi was confused. He could understand taking on the clan leadership to keep the name alive and the benefits it gives. But why didn't he want to leave the district? The district would still be his even if he lived elsewhere. It wasn't necessary to keep the title. When Kakashi asked the man beside him, he stiffened.
"Individuals... in my advisory took the tragedy… as a sign to reabsorb the compound into the village proper. I'm unsure how the child learned about it, especially considering his condition at the time, but he showed up at a meeting about the merger and made his claim in front of me and the entire council."
The elder rubbed at his temples as though a ghost of a past headache haunted him. "The other clan heads would never ignore him for fear of their own futures and autonomy. And I, myself, felt that the motion was due to greed rather than a want to prevent another tragedy. The advisors' beliefs have become more... incongruent with the village's as of late. Legitimizing his claim was as much to get them to reevaluate those beliefs as it was to stop furthering any unwanted precedents."
Kakashi glared at the ground as he processed what he heard, 'Of course, that lot had something to do with it.' Memories he had long suppressed forced themselves to the forefront.
A man yelling at his father. The judging eyes of the onlookers. Snide remarks at their backs. Coming home to a silent house. His father-He shook his head and focused on the present.
Not that it was any less grim. Walking into the district was like coming upon a ransacked village. The bare minimum was done to clean the area up. Glass shards were still left in window frames. Doors were left where they likely fell that night. Gouges in the stone walkways and walls where fights obviously broke out left unfilled. Vestiges of a familiar reddish-brown color that had chased him from his childhood home for nearly two decades showing up wherever he looked. 'Staying here can't be good for the child. They should have forced him away from here. Clan relations be damned!'
Kakashi seethed the entire way to the house the boy stayed in. No conversation was attempted in the oppressive atmosphere of tragedy and horror.
Stepping inside, Kakashi tried to relieve his tense muscles as he looked around. Deciding to go up the stairs for a moment alone, he found three doors; two firmly closed, and one left open. Leaving the closed ones alone he peeked into the open one that was obviously Uchiha's. It was bare. Only his bed, dressers with ninja tools on them, and a small radio. While he left, he caught the sight of what looked like a green plushie shoved under a pillow.
Not wanting to invade the closed areas, them being that way told enough already; he made his way around the manor. It was as unnervingly empty and tidy as the boy's room. Surprisingly bare of the reddish-brown flakes.
He eventually made his way into the kitchen where the Hokage had situated himself. He had a newer version of the sealworks refrigerator; more sleek and rounder than the angular box in the barracks. He had a proper gas stove instead of a hotplate, and the sink and counters were clean and clear. Looking into the fridge and cupboards showed him that Uchiha likely found little pleasure in food. Everything was simple and nutritious.
'He must like tomatoes at least,' Kakashi thought as he found an absurd amount of them.
"If that troublemaker had even half the self governing ability as this boy, maybe I wouldn't feel so guilty to face Sensei when I visit him later," Kakashi muttered.
He sighed as he left the kitchen and made his way to the room right across from it. He stopped himself from opening the door when he noticed the near carpet of dust, that he had assumed was paint, clinging to it.
"Do you know why the boy wouldn't want to touch this place in particular?" Kakashi called to the elder. It was a concerning behavior, considering everything else. Even the rooms he saw were closed, had been cleaned.
He said simply, "That was where his parents fell." No explanation was given or needed.
Being here was obviously not allowing those old wounds to heal. If he wasn't cutting them fresh, then he was allowing them to fester. Why? What kept him here? What would be worth putting himself through this torture?
"Don't let those stoic facades fool you. The Uchiha are an emotional lot. They feel too much for their own good. It's what makes them the best allies and even worse enemies."
A sentiment common enough that he couldn't remember where he first heard it. His father, maybe? Thinking of him made him remember the day his home lost its sanctuary status. The many sleepless nights before he just ran away from it.
He sighed as he went to sit with the Hokage. Feeling drained in a way he hasn't in years. "Why was this boy sent my way... exactly, please?"
Hiruzen-sama straightened up and gave Kakashi a stern, although sympathetic, gaze. "You... have the most experience with the style the Uchiha uses-used." He sighed heavily as he rested his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his knuckles. "With your reputation I believe you can... only if they pass naturally... recreate the more advanced parts of the style while strengthening his foundations. Give him back a piece of what he's lost. A foundation to reconstruct the rest on his own. With your similar background, I'm sure you know how important that is."
Kakashi closed his eyes and tried to relax his jaw. He knew the Hokage had no direct hand in what happened, but having him bring it up, and in this manner, was not something he had braced himself to deal with.
To bring that up just to sway his decision on this team was... He sighed. Just another failing that would lengthen the kind professor's time in hell for sure.
Even as he seethed, he tried to see the sense. Placing his hand on his face, fingers brushing his angled headband. He had a tie to the boy... even if indirectly. A certain amount of grace should be extended.
-0o🚫🚫o0-
Kakashi felt tired in a way he had only associated with trying to match Gai's zeal for training. As they left the dilapidated district, all he wanted to do was go home and sleep the fatigue away.
He was about to break away from his superior when the man took a turn that led away from the Hokage Tower rather than to it. He was momentarily confused until he remembered they hadn't checked the home of the third member:... Who was it again?
Pulling out the folder with a puff of smoke, he followed behind the Hokage. Shifting through the first two profiles, he laid an eye on the third member for the first time. Sakura Haruno. An average student from one of the civilian clans. Iruka added a note about her having superior chakra control and was a practical blank slate that learned quickly. That must be how she got on this team.
He raised a brow as he gave the teacher's name a second glance. Iruka was in charge of the heirs this year, wasn't he? And while it wasn't completely uncommon to mix classes to make teams... that note implied that he was her direct teacher. "What was a civilian doing in a class meant for the shinobi clans?" He muttered as he scratched the nape of his neck.
A closer reading of her profile told him that her father had also graduated from the academy, but he was marked as a genin with only one completed mission. He must have only stayed at the academy for the barracks and stipend. Seemed to have jumped on another career at his first chance. So a dead end for her odd presence.
"Hokage-sam-," He started while still looking over the profile for answers.
"Oh! Good morning, Lord Third!"
Looking up at the unknown voice, Kakashi sees a long-haired blonde woman that had her hair pulled out of face with a dark pink headband. He noted the girl got her eye color, and practically everything else, from her mother. They were the spitting image of each other.
A moment later, her odd hair color became understandable as a man walked out from the inside of the fenced home. His hair was an ashen rose pink cut short with a single long bang. "Good morning, Hokage-sama. Hatake-san." He gave a casual bow and when he straightened again Kakashi saw he had grayish blue eyes under his petal-like bang.
"Good morning, you two. No need for any formalities, we were just checking on the environments of his prospective genin team," Hiruzen-sama returned their greetings genially. "If this is a bad time, we can always come at another time."
"Nonsense!" the woman said emphatically. "Come inside and have some tea. We would love to talk about our little girl."
The woman opened the gate wider for them to enter. She kept up a chatter of mundane things as she ushered them inside. Kakashi only half listened as he took in the environment. The house was small, just big enough for a family of three. He noted it had wooden shingles like the rest of this district, but theirs were painted to mimic the look of stone that was used for the wealthier districts.
He wondered if the effort was really any more cost effective than just buying the earth tiles outright. His home had them since he was a child, and replacing them made barely a dent in his finances.
He was brought out of his musings when they entered the home and he was suddenly struck by a minor twinge of envy. Though small, the home was cozy and filled with pictures and paintings depicting the couple in various cities and locals. Some he could recognize, others looked too remote to ever warrant a mission of his caliber. All of them showed the couple's glowing relationship.
Furnishings were simple but made with luxurious fabrics and soft cushions. An almost cloying scent of woody incense made his head hurt slightly. What did people see in those things?
Kakashi was wondering if his mother were alive, if his home would have been something similar to this one, without the affront to his nose, obviously. Before he could sink too far in his what-ifs, a relapse he blamed on this unexpectedly draining day, the Haruno matriarch returned with the proffered tea.
"Thank you, Mebuki-san. I hope we aren't keeping you from anything, Kizashi-kun." He spoke warmly to the couple. Kakashi took it as him giving their names so he wouldn't have to go through any awkward introductions. He sent him a grateful glance.
Kizashi seemed to start at being spoken to directly. "Oh... uh... no. We had closed the shop early today. Our new shipment had come in and wanted to get that organized as soon as possible."
Taking another sweeping glance around the room while they spoke, he noticed a portrait of the three together. It was the first picture he found that involved the child. She looked much younger and lacked any of the confidence he saw in her profile picture. A bizarre contrast to her parents' radiant smiles. "I see you are well-traveled. Might I ask what sent you so far and wide?"
Kizashi offered a smile. "We run a humble textile business. We need to always look out for methods to make dyes and keep up with design trends that catch the eye. It just so happened to take us here and there," he seemed to inflate with pride despite his attempts to maintain a humble facade. "In fact, that sofa you're sitting on is made with one of our past experiments. It came out quite well, if I could be so bold."
Well, if this was specially made, it certainly put a damper on getting one for himself. "I'm sure that... uh... your daughter enjoys seeing the world outside of the village as well," he replied distractedly. What was her name again? He sneakily looked at her profile while waiting for his reply.
Kizashi tensed and smiled awkwardly as he scratched his cheek. "Oh... we've never taken her out of the village before... "
"Oh," Hiruzen-sama leaned forward and looked extremely concerned. "Why is that?" He gave the man a meaningful look, like a teacher trying to get a student to admit to being bullied.
Kizashi looked almost green at his sudden concern and started waving his hands like he was trying to put out a fire. "Oh! No, nothing like that! There's no need to worry! It was nothing serious or something worth the village's notice."
Kakashi raised a brow at that. The child was in the heir class and now the Hokage seemed worried about this family's drama. Was he missing something here?
He rubbed at his nape while avoiding eye contact, "It's just... just th-"
"Sakura has no interest in anything to do with our business!" The wife, Mebuki, cut in. "We hoped that now that she's graduated she would be more open to learning enough to help out," she spoke with an air of exasperation; this seemed to be a constant point of tension. "She's always said that the academy left her too busy to help before. It took forever just to convince her to close up and help with the inventory today. I swear we must have spoiled that girl."
She huffed as she left the room on the pretense to get them some snacks to go with the tea.
Kakashi lifted his brows at the outburst, even if only one was visible, and looked over to the Hokage in question. He wasn't there for long, but from what he could remember, the academy, while physically demanding for some, wasn't much of a time sink. There would be no reason for the academy to make it impossible to accomplish any household duties.
'Was the girl trying to blow off her parents with such a lazy lie?' That thought rankled his already shot nerves. He squashed any feelings of anger and frustration as he mentally groused about the privilege of normalcy being taken for granted.
Now, how was he to handle this situation? While the father had been a ninja, he'd only been on a single d-rank and the mother was obviously a civilian. They wouldn't have a true grasp of the danger they were sending their child into... Kakashi decided to get it over with.
Clearing his throat to clear some of the awkward atmosphere once Mebuki returned. "Well, it's not set in stone that she'll be under my purview yet. There's a test that checks aptitude and motivation first so as not to needlessly endanger the children. There is rarely anything safe about this job. Being unprepared or distracted could lead to any of these children's deaths."
He sat a bit tensely as he saw the mother start to worry her lips and grasped her husband's hand as she thought of something. Kizashi was oddly calm, but Kakashi chalked that up as stoicism.
"Surely...," the mother started, "genin do nothing dangerous enough to cause this level of concern?" She looked ready to start crying.
Kakashi felt an intense desire to rub at his neck, but suppressed it. "Usually, no... but things can escalate out of anyone's control whenever we have a mission outside the village... especially if it ever takes us out of the Land of Fire. I would just like to find out that your daughter had a grasp of that before getting too far in her training."
Mebuki let out a groan, almost keening. "If I had known that she could be in danger as a genin, I would never have given permission to go any further just so she could chase some childish crush!"
"Now, now. A promise is a promise," he soothed while patting her hand in his. "She could still have taken her schooling seriously to impress the boy. Have a little faith."
Kakashi squinted lightly but blinked to hide it, tilting his head. "Don't worry too much. I'll be with her team more often than not on missions while she works through any shortcomings. That is, of course, if she passes the test."
Even though he was trying to hold off judgment until after actually meeting the girl, he couldn't help but have his image of her sour. The girl didn't seem to have... the right priorities for this line of work. Wouldn't it be better for her to just take up her family's merchant vocation? It would at least be a longer life.
A few more pleasantries and then Kakashi and Lord Third leave the residence. Kakashi sighed as he sagged a little and went to make his way home. He could get the offerings for them later.
He stopped as he heard the Hikage speak to the father.
"It was good to see you again, Haruno-kun. I know it's hard to allow your child to walk an unknown path, but you shouldn't let a failed past curtail her future aspirations." The elder patted the man on the shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile. "Who's to say... she could be able to bring about truly awe-inspiring results with what they left behind."
Kizashi smiled blandly, like he was indulging an aging relative. A flash of something like guilt crossed his face before answering, "... of course, Sarutobi-sama. I'll try to keep that in mind."
Kakashi sighed. Instead of going home like he wanted, he followed the Hokage. This girl didn't seem to be as simple as he wanted her to be; though he supposed it was something about her family, rather than the girl herself, that he was missing.
"Should I know what that was about?" He asked. If it wasn't immediately relevant, he'd just leave it for after the testing. No point in researching something that could have nothing to do with him.
Hiruzen-sama took a drag from his pipe as he thought it over. "It's not exactly a secret, but... I suggest asking your student about it directly. If not her, then it's in the village records."
Kakashi raised a brow. 'Not the parents?'
Despite the sudden suspicion, he couldn't help but think that there was no way a parent could truly want to ruin their child's chosen aspiration. Maybe they were just downplaying the child so she would get added protection?
"Now that you've an idea of what you'll be working with. I ask again that you'll give them time." He gave him a gentle smile and said a parting remark about unfinished work before leaving him to decide.
-0o🚫🚫o0-
Kakashi was dragging himself to his room when the sliding screen to his living room caught his eye. A vision of his father's bent form flashed through his mind. 'I had to replace that entire floor before I could even stomach the idea of coming back here.'
A dusty door promptly followed that thought. He groaned and rubbed his eyes.
Flopping onto his bed, he let out a little sigh of relief. Turning into his pillow, an old picture came into sight. He focused on the man smiling broadly; remembering how bright yellow his teacher's hair was and feeling it was a shame that the black-and-white photo couldn't capture it.
The man rolled onto his back and sighed as he stared, unseeing, into the ceiling. The boys were linked to him, even if strained in Uchiha's case. He had some responsibility to them. Enough to at least follow the Hokage's request.
The major problem was the girl. The boys had… their own problems, but Uchiha and Uzumaki at least had some proven skill with being the Rookie of the Year and gaining a field promotion, respectively. All she had was an endorsement of potential; one he wasn't sure was made because of actual merit or because she was a civilian and needed something to tie her to the rest of the team. The scores provided in her profile showed she leaned heavily to the intellectual side and, if her parents could be believed, had no motivations outside of chasing a boy.
Someone like that would barrel toward an early grave, maybe even taking the rest of the team with them. He raked his hand through his hair in frustration. Until an idea hit him.
"A week with a training regimen fit for an eternal rival would be the best test of her mettle," he chuckled darkly.
If she gave up on her own, the academy would just replace her with the next best genin for her spot. If she didn't, then his worries were unfounded.
It would work out for him either way.
Hope I got the feel of Kakashi's character right. I hope it doesn't feel like I'm trying to bash him or anything.
Hope you liked it. Plz comment your thoughts.
