Those Little Moments (Hatake Kakashi)

22

The next day was my first time teaching at the academy. I had managed to hide my hangover pretty well, though Iruka kept reminding me to drink a lot of water. The kids were actually fairly pleasant to teach, and, in a way, I related a lot to the kids at the bottom of the class I was meant to help out.

The day passed quickly, though one of the girls asked me to help her with some extra training after school.

"It's not fair! My brother is so good at this so easily, and I can't even do anything! Even my sister's better than me, and everyone in my family looks down on me!" Tori yelled as she missed the bullseye with her kunai once more.

Sitting down, I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's ok, Tori. You're getting so much better already, and you have a lot of time."

"You don't get it!"

"You'd be surprised. Look, your family cares about you, right?" The little girl nodded. "So they want to keep you safe. Being a Shinobi is a dangerous job, and when you really care about someone, you don't want them to get hurt. It's not that they don't believe in you, it's that right now they just don't want to see you hurt." I brushed away one of her stray tears. "I'm sure your family knows you'll be strong one day, you just need to keep trying and get strong enough they don't have to worry about you anymore."

I ruffled the girl's short brown hair. "Now, how about we call it for today, and we'll get back at it tomorrow? It's getting dark, and we don't want your parents getting worried."

Tori nodded, running back in to get her stuff.

"You know, Emiko, you could use your own advice." Iruka's voice sounded from behind me. I jumped, whirling around to glare at him. "You can deny it, but that's just your insecurity talking."

I clenched my teeth. "Excuse me? What are you talking about?"

Iruka sighed. "You forget you told me everything last night. You got angry at Kakashi because the Hokage pointed out your insecurity about him. You used to be rivals, and now you don't think you can compare, and the fact that he seemed to feel the same way made you lash out."

I scoffed. "I may have overreacted at the beginning, but the reason I'm upset now is because he couldn't even tell me we were friends!"

Iruka rolled his eyes. "So you've said. But remember, you also told me how even before that you didn't know if he thought you were his friend, the guy you respected the most. Which brings us back to your insecurity. You lash out when your insecurities are challenged, that's why this whole thing affected you so much."

"I do not!" I stalked towards him, clenching my fists. "I'm upset because my oldest friend betrayed me and doesn't care about me." I itched to punch him right on that scar across his nose, give him a matching black eye.

Iruka sighed, placing his hands on my shoulders. "You're just proving my point right now. Yes, that's why you're sad. But the reason you're mad is because you're insecure." I tried to shove his arms off me, but he held them steady, not letting me go. "I get it, Emiko. You lost everything once, for fourteen years, and you're terrified of losing it again because you're not good enough, because you're not strong enough the way you used to be." I felt my eyes tear up, but I forced them down and glared harder at Iruka, still trying to get away. "Emiko, no one thinks you're not good enough except you. Even Kakashi. Just like you told Tori, he just cares about you and doesn't want you getting hurt. Did you even think about when he told the Hokage those things? It was probably when you first got here, when you could barely walk through the village without holding on to him. Do you really think he still thinks you're weak?"

I sniffled, grabbing Iruka's wrists and throwing them off me. "But what about when he couldn't even tell me I'm his friend, huh? How can that be explained?"

Iruka breathed out loudly, frustratedly. "You had literally just slapped him out of nowhere and chained him down!"

"I was mad, and I had every right to be mad, and now I have every right to be sad he doesn't care, got it? Now, stop pissing me off." I stormed off towards the doors of the Academy, where Tori was just walking out again. Putting a fake smile on my face, I said, "I'll walk Tori home. See you tomorrow, Iruka."

As we walked, Tori had a troubled look on her face. 

"Are you ok, Tori?" I asked in a soothing voice.

"I'm just... should I really not be mad at my family? They always seem to think my sister and brother are so strong, but you say they just don't want me to get hurt." Tori mumbled.

"I'm sure they're terrified. If my nephew, Naruto, was hurt, I would be devastated. I do my best to hide that and only tell him how proud I am of him, because I know he'll be really strong one day, but right now, he seems to get himself into trouble all the time." I told her, holding her hand as we walked. "I'm sure it's the same with your family."

Tori nodded, frowning. When we got to her house, her mom hugged her relievedly. "Tori! We were worried you got hurt!"

"Sorry about that." I said, smiling at them. "She asked me to help her do some extra training after school. I'm the new assistant teacher."

"Tori, you silly girl! Tell us when you're gonna be home late! We were worried!" Her mom said, still hugging her.

Tori apologized, then smiled at me, waving goodbye as I turned to head home.

Maybe Iruka was right. Maybe Kakashi really was worried. What if I was wrong?