Interest
The first and second period was a blur for Kakashi. He remembered trying to stay focused at the task at hand, but ultimately failed in doing so when he dozed off in class. Surprisingly, he didn't get hit by a book. Instead, he woke up in a disorientated mess when the bell rang for recess.
He blinked a couple of times to sharpen the blur that clouded his sight. Almost immediately, he took notice of Rin and Obito standing by the door, obviously reluctant in leaving him in class. But Tsunade managed to usher them away, whispering things that Kakashi couldn't quite get. Both Rin and Obito nodded understandably before they sulkily made their way to the canteen.
"Are you keeping me here for detention?" Kakashi asked, perturbed when she closed the door behind her.
"I said that we were going to talk after second period. In case you haven't noticed, it's past second period." She took a stapled set of papers from her desk before she came and dragged Rin's seat to his desk. "Here," she passed him a set of handwritten notes.
"What..?" By the look of things, she had written down the essential notes he needed to know in the lesson he slept through. He frowned at her and then back at the paper. "I-I… um… thank you?" For some unknown reason, she was going easy on him. He'd expected for her to yank him by the ear to wake him up. Not this.
Honestly, he didn't know which one was scarier – her being a dictator or her being… nice.
"There will be a small test about the cardiac system. I expect you to revise these notes, you hear?" she finally said. "You're a smart man, Kakashi. I've seen your records – getting straight As, with the occasional 100% on tests – and I-I can't see you throw your future away. Like you said, I was informed about your….situation, but I'm not going to treat you any different. I'm your teacher and it is my job to ensure that you achieve the best grades you can get."
She was unexpectedly close, with her elbows resting on his table and her face inches from his, that he could smell her feminine perfume linger from around her. He didn't take her for sweet-scented type, considering her fiery personality, but he was clearly wrong about her. He shook his head to snap himself from his tranced state, and he leaned back on his chair to gain distance.
"But if you continue with this half-assed attitude, Kakashi-san, I will not tolerate it like your teachers do. You're going to be on time from now on, you hear? And you will give your all on these tests I assign the class." She continued, voice laced with an underlying threat. "Do that and we'll get on amicably. I'll be more than happy to help you with your academics, but I will not be a fool to your behaviour."
Kakashi cleared his throat. "We'll see," he said simply, already seeing her hazel eyes harden at his lack of compliance. "Some events in my life spirals out of my control. Don't expect me to be consistent with my performance. School is the last thing on my mind. Even if it wasn't, I still could care less about it. After all, I don't even know what I want to be."
"And you'll continue not knowing with that attitude. You need to take interest in something."
"You make it sound like a chore…." He deadpanned.
"It can be, but that's if you don't have passion for it." She smoothed out her skirt before she crossed one leg over the other, bidding time to say something inspirational. Because God knows that she was but a charismatic individual. "You must have one subject that you're incredibly passionate about."
Kakashi hummed for a moment before he shook his head. "Nope. None comes to mind."
She groaned outwardly, burying her face in her hands. He's a lost cause.
"But you have my attention," he finally said.
Huh? It was her turn to blink like a clueless dear in the road. She looked up and saw that he wasn't trying to rile her up; he was sat there, genuine and serious. "W-What do you mean by that, Kakashi-san?"
"I'm willing to try to engage in your classes more often, because you genuinely care about what I do – or not do – with my life. I know you're going to run out of steam in the future, but most teachers wouldn't go this far for me." He spoke matter-of-factly. "Who knows, I may even end up genuinely liking human biology."
Tsunade sat aback, trying to sink in the fact that she managed to reach out to him. The progress was small, but was still notable. More importantly, he was listening to her, and was not pulling his usual sarcastic streaks on her. Honestly, she expected for him to be much worse. But from the looks of things, he also wanted this kind of guidance.
"Now, now, I'm not promising anything." Kakashi was quick to say, as if he had detected her inner celebration. "I'm not going to become the poster child for Perfect Student, overnight. No. I'm just saying that I'm willing."
"And that's the right direction to take. I'll just have to ensure that you'll stay on that path." She smirked.
"You mean, you'll pester me into staying on that path…."
"I wouldn't be so harsh. I would call it more on the lines of 'teacher guidance'."
Kakashi unexpectedly chuckled which, in turn, made her giggle in response. "Sleek," he finally replied with a soft smile still plastered on his face. "You know –" The scraping of the metal door made him crane his head up. "Rin," he greeted, albeit confused.
"H-Hi… umm…. Sen-Senju-sama, I really need your help on something."
She was quick to stand up and attend to her needs. "What would that be, Rin-chan?"
"I was hoping if you'd help me understand the ECG and how that relates back to the pressures in the heart."
Kakashi raised his eyebrow up as he watched Tsunade go out of her way to teach Rin about how depolarisation and polarisation can cause pressure differences in the heart, and realised that Rin already knew the information. He's known her since they were in kindergarten, so he knows damn well when she's lying – she always twiddles her thumbs and chews on her bottom lip.
"And so, the QRS complex you see in the ECG is caused by the ventricular depolarisation…" Tsunade finally elaborated. "Is there something else you'd like to ask?"
"No, no…." Rin sweetly replied with a small shake of her head. "Thank you, Senju-sama."
"No problem."
"And um, I was also wondering if Kakashi is out from his detention." She added bashfully, trying her hardest to not make eye contact with the woman. (Honestly, Rin always felt a pang of insecurity and inferiority in her subconsciousness when she's in Tsunade's presence).
"Oh," Tsunade turned to Kakashi who was still lounging on the chair. "H-He's not in detention, don't you worry. But I guess it is time for him to go for his break," she said as she looked at her watch.
Kakashi rose up from his desk and threw his blazer over his shoulder. "Thank you, Senju-sama," he quickly said before he past her.
"Anytime."
"Did you really need to do that?" Kakashi asked as they walked side by side in the corridor.
"Do what?" she asked innocently, purposely shuffling close to him so that their arms would brush against each other every now and then.
"You know what. I know for a fact that you weren't confused about the ECG and all that crap. Because if you were, you would have stayed behind and talked to her. You wouldn't have gone out for recess for 15 minutes then realise that you needed help."
"I-I forgot, th-that's all." She murmured, still keeping close to his side. "Anyways, what were you guys talking about? It seemed serious for a while then you guys started laughing."
"She was being insistent on me focusing on my future, that's all."
"Oh…"
"Were you spying?" He raised a curious brow, suddenly stopping mid-step. "Were you?" he pressed.
"N-No! I was just unsure whether or not to knock. Your conversation seemed so important, so I decided not to impose. But when you guys started laughing, I thought that it may not have been important, after all." Her response was calm enough for Kakashi to overlook that fact that she was fiddling around with her skirt.
"Just to clarify, we weren't laughing all that much."
"W-What do you think of her – a-as a teacher, I mean."
"I don't know. I've never really paid attention." He said with a shrug, taking a left to head up the flight of stairs.
Rin followed closely and eventually linked her arm with his. They walked together, past female peers who shared glances with one another upon seeing her being so close with Kakashi. It was known by now that Kakashi was a popular boy, often getting love confessions on a daily basis. So, it wasn't a surprise that many girls grew to hate Rin, since she's been childhood friends with Kakashi.
She could feel their jealously clawing into her skin, knowing that they were eyeing the way she could put her hand on him whenever she felt like it. Even though they weren't dating, she felt that their special bond was enough to draw potential suitors away. And, honestly, she wouldn't have it any other way.
Kakashi never showed irritation when she would take his arm, anyways. So, she figured, why stop now?
"But she's alright," he suddenly said.
"W-What?"
"Senju-sama." He looked back down at her. "I'm talking about our new teacher. I said that she's alright."
"Oh."
"I like her."