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“You didn’t have to hit him that hard,” Crossing his arms over his chest, Kakashi watched as Rin knelt down beside Obito and checked on his wounds. “We need him in fighting shape for the chunin exams. If I don’t pass because Obito wasn’t on his A game…”
“Maybe he just needs to train harder,” Gai shot back, smiling when Kakashi glared at him. “His speed is lackluster at best. Not even a challenge for me to get past.”
“I’m not going to argue that he couldn’t use more training…”
“Would you two cut it out!” Rin glared back at the pair, huffing when Kakashi turned his eyes away from her. “Kakashi, you’re on our team. You’re supposed to be helping Obito against Opponents.”
“Gai isn’t really an ‘opponent’,” Kakashi dismissed “I mean, not unless we actually end up having to face him in the chunin exams.” For some reason he felt sick at the idea. The last person he wanted to hurt was Gai, but he had to do everything that he could to win. Losing wasn’t an option he was willing to entertain, not even for Gai.
“You should have had Obito’s back in that fight!” She snapped. “What happened to the guy who lost his temper when he thought Obito had died on our mission to the land of waves? The man who released all hell upon Zabuza and lost an eye to protect his teammate!?”
Rin’s words hit a sour spot, and Kakashi couldn’t help but reach up and touched the damaged eye in question. Obito had joked about him having a matching eye to Naruto Sensei, except that he didn’t have a Sharingan to replace his lost eye.
He was at a clear disadvantage against any future opponents, and he had barley had time to learn to adjust for that disadvantage before finding out that Naruto-Sensei had enrolled them into the chunin exams.
“What’s going on here?” Looking back towards the door, Kakashi cringed when he saw a man clad in a green jumpsuit that resembled Gai’s newest outfit. Clearly this was the monster he had to blame for his friends poor choice in clothing. “Gai, did you start another fight?”
“I didn’t really start it,” Gai defended himself, slinking behind Kakashi for protection as he spoke. “I just…finished it.”
“You challenged him to a spar and proceeded to destroy him!” Rin yelled from Obito’s side. “You absolutely started it!”
Judging by the disappointed look on the older man’s face, Kakashi was guessing this was Gai’s Sensei. There was no other reason for him to be giving Gai such a look.
“Why does it matter?” He dismissed, stuffing his hands into his pockets and leveling Gai’s Sensei with a bored look. “Obito choice to take part in the spar. He got cocky and he got his butt handed to him because of it. If anything, this will hopefully teach him to be more careful in the future.”
Not that he really thought Uchiha Obito knew the meaning of ‘careful’, but if he could get Gai out of trouble with his Sensei than it would at least be worth it to pretend that Obito could actually learn from his mistakes.
He’s not sure what to make of the look that he’s met with. There’s no anger behind the man’s eyes, and a distinct lack of hatred. It’s actually a little unnerving.
“You’re Naruto’s team, aren’t you?” Before he can answer, Gai’s Sensei moves. At a speed far too fast for Kakashi to keep up with, he appears right behind him and plants a hand in his hair, laughing when Kakashi growls. “He’s told me all about you. Though, I think he forgot to mention that his favorite ball of anger was such a loyal friend.”
Loyal? That was certainly the first time he had ever heard the word used in regards to him.
“W-wait,” Narrowing his eyes, he huffed. “I’m not a ball of anger!”
“Bullshit!” Somehow Obito called out from his spot on the ground, groaning when Rin slapped him in the arm. Apparently Gai hadn’t hit him hard enough.
“You four should be getting ready for the chunin exams, not fighting amongst yourselves,” One hard look from his Sensei, and Gai was bowing his head. It was a rare sight to see. Gai silenced by anyone. He was usually the first to speak out, and the last to back down. “Gai, get back to the team. They’re waiting for you.”
“Y-yes, Lee-Sensei,” sharing a quick look, Kakashi nodded his head when Gai mouthed a silent ‘goodbye’ to him. “I’ll see you later, Kakashi.”
And with that, his friend was gone.
“As for you three,” Lee-Sensei turned his attention back down to Kakashi, even as he spoke to his teammates as well. “Let’s not go getting into fights we can’t handle, hmm?”
“I think you’re meant to be giving Obito that talk,” Kakashi huffed, turning his attention away from the older man. It wasn’t as if he was the hot head of the team. Obito was the one always getting into fights with other people. Even before they knew they would be taking part in the chunin exams, his teammate had almost picked a fight with the shinobi from Suna who had arrived to take part themselves. “But I’ll do my best to keep Obito out of trouble.”
It wouldn’t do him or the team any good if Obito got himself Beaton up anymore before they even started the exams. If the three of them wanted to advance past the first round, they had to work together.
“Just, stay out of trouble,” Lee-sensei smiled down at him. “I would hate to see Gai make it to the finals without you.”
And with that, he was gone. Not a trace of him anywhere in the room.
“Well, we shouldn’t let everyone get ahead of us,” Kakashi grumbled, turning his attention back over to Rin and Obito. “You can stand, right?”
“Of course I can,” As if magically healed from his ass whooping, Obito sprang to his feet with renewed energy, pumping a fist into the air. “Let’s go show them what we’re mad of!”
Standing just outside of the room, Lee smiled to himself as he listened to Naruto’s team talking amongst themselves. Naruto had been right in his descriptions of them. The timid but spunky kunoichi who didn’t seem to put up with her teammates shit. The endlessly energetic Uchiha desperate to prove himself and make a name so bad that he’s willing to take on any challenge, even if it means losing. And of course, Kakashi.
He can’t help but smile as he thinks back to the way that Kakashi defended his student. How he had chosen to stand up for Gai when he had no obligation to.
So many people in the village looked at the kid and only ever saw the Kyuubi sealed inside of him. On the other hand, the only thing Naruto could ever talk about in regards to Kakashi was his similarities to Hatake Sakumo.
The Sensei that Naruto had lost to the Kyuubi’s attack on Konoha years ago, and who he couldn’t stop seeing every time he looked at the young Shinobi who he had been entrusted to guard and teach.
“It’s good that Gai has a friend like him,” he whispered to himself, chuckling when he heard Kakashi and Obito getting into another argument over the results of the spar. “this world needs more loyalty in it.”