COTE x Naruto: New Beginnings

Chapter 11: There Is No War (Or Is There?)

Since his fight with Haruno, Kakashi realized that it wouldn't take the other classes long to step up their game. At least Class C wouldn't take long at all, he noted. They were already rather active. He didn't know what it was they were doing but somehow, they were messing with Class B.

Along with Arisu, the two of them launched a full-scale spy operation, trying to sniff out all they could about the other classes before they realized that Class A was not only a threat, but an active one at that.

Arisu had done some sniffing around via Kamuro on the upper year classes and they found out that not only were they not paranoid in thinking of this as a war, but it was customary for the other years to use underhanded means to keep on top, and that not doing so had caused many classes to fail.

Therefore, spying on the other classes didn't feel so outlandish. It was only for a little while, so it was okay, right?

Inside his tablet - which Kakashi had bought for his points to use as a note-taking device for any plans in case someone stole and hacked into his phone - he had listed every student from the other classes and some information on them. It all seemed like useless information, but anything on the enemy could be useful for future reference.

It would be espeically useful once he launched his most recent plan, one not even Arisu knew about and could easily get him expelled if he wasn't very careful about it.

"Kakashi-kun, you're here again?" Arisu stepped into the empty classroom, noticing him hunched over his tablet, staring at it pointedly.

"Hm..? Oh, yeah, I have a feeling we don't have much time left to move so obviously. Class C is starting to catch on, and there's strange traction happening..." He trailed on, but Arisu seemed to be interested in saying something else, so he let his words die off.

"Why are you helping me?" She wondered, walking over to his desk and taking a seat next to him.

Caught off guard by the question, he blinked at her almost owlishly. "Are you complaining or...?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Certainly not, however, you don't strike me as the type to help someone just because they want you to. You also aren't too interested in the things that come with graduating from Class A either, am I right?"

At that, Kakashi smiled, his eyes crinkling up. "You got me there. No, I don't particularly care about the Class A status, nor do I have any sentiments tying me to this class, making me feel inclined to help them."

Arisu seemed confused for once. "Then why do you bother helping so much? You could have simply done the bare minimum and lived out the rest of your school life hassle free. Are you after something?"

Kakashi appeared thoughtful, his fingers mindlessly tapping against the desk.

"Well, there is something I am curious about but as of yet, I don't know how I'd learn about it anyway. The person I thought for sure knew doesn't have a way to know. But that isn't why, I think. Honestly, I myself don't know why I'm getting so invested in this class. I... I can't answer you at this point in time," he spoke truthfully, perhaps the first time he'd shared his real thoughts with someone.

Arisu nodded, not speaking for a while.

"I wonder, was I the person you spoke of?" She broke the silence. Kakashi nodded.

"Yeah. At the beginning of the school year, I thought you might know why my father... did what he did. There was no place he was more fond of than this school, and he only started showing his unhappiness after something here happened."

Arisu's eyes showed her understanding. "I can't say I know what happened, but I might know someone who does. However, I don't know how to contact them. I'd have to speak to my father first, and I'm not exactly supposed to do that. I think that eventually, I will be able to help you though."