More Than A Name (Naruto Fanfiction)

Worse Than A Grudge

Chapter 2: Worse Than a Grudge

Anko watched, hidden amongst the trees, as the genin waited on the training ground. Naruto had fallen asleep with Sakura not too far behind him. Sasuke had taken to doing occasional stretches and some weapons practice. Still, he just sat in the shade of a nearby tree after a while.

The silence between them broke when their stomachs growled in sync.

"I can't believe they listened to him and didn't eat breakfast," Anko mumbled to herself.

Anko reached into her trench coat and pulled out a pocket watch. It was almost 9:00 a.m., and she wondered what was taking him so long. She sensed his faint chakra signature near the training ground when she arrived. She assumed he was just setting some things up for the test, but he'd been there for over two hours.

Growing impatient, she decided to see what he was up to. Anko jumped through the trees toward the direction she felt his chakra signature. When she arrived, Kakashi stood before a large stone with names carved throughout. Anko recognized it as the Memorial Stone. She never really had a reason to come here since she never had any close comrades die in the field. She saw him looking intensely at the stone. Anko hesitated, feeling like she was interrupting something personal, and began to jump back into the trees toward the training ground.

"Yo Anko"

Kakashi didn't raise his voice, but Anko heard him well enough because they were in an open clearing with little noise. Taking the greeting as permission to walk forward, she went closer before replying.

"Hey, I just wanted to see what was taking you so long; I didn't mean to interrupt whatever you're doing."

"No, it's fine. I was just about done anyway."

Anko, still feeling awkward, tries to exit the conversation

"Well, I'll see you back with the brats."

Before she could walk away, Kakashi asked her a surprising question.

"Why did you agree to do this?"

Anko looked back at him with confusion

"What do you mean?"

"To train the genin, I assume you'll be with us full time. So, what made you accept teaching them? I don't exactly see you as the teaching type; you don't exactly scream patient with children," Kakashi said bluntly.

Anko felt insulted by that statement

"Well, what do you know about me anyway."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Anko realized they were more aggressive than she had intended.

Kakashi raised both of his hands in a disarming fashion

"Well, not much, I guess; I just thought with how you present yourself, you wouldn't take the role of Professor Anko."

"Do you have a problem working with me, Hatake?"

Kakashi shook his head.

"No, no, not at all. I'm quite glad, actually. I'm sorry if it came off as if I was insulting you. I'm just curious about your reasons. "

"I haven't taught outside of Anbu, and I think seasoned black ops operatives are a little more independent than twelve-year-olds. "

Anko gave a small laugh. The tension left her body, and she realized he wasn't taking any shots at her character.

"Well, at first, I thought it was ridiculous, but the more I thought about it, the more fun it seemed. It's not like I was doing anything anyway; the only thing that prevents me from going out on higher-ranking missions and proctoring the exams. And this is the best chance for me to get a promotion in the near future."