Kakashi's Disappearing Acts (Kakashi Hatake)

Chapter 21- The Truth

Before this moment- You trained hard on your Jutsus, still not able to find a perfect offensive technique. So for that, you trained on Taijutsu. You hadn't talked to Kakashi for a while, and stayed distant from Sasuke, as well as Naruto since you would leave early in the morning, and Sakura, who was just a pain. "Naruto, Hey, Naruto! You listening?" You grabbed Naruto's shoulder. "You need to concentrate. The exams could through anything at you." You poked his head. "There's not much in there, so we gotta cram as much as we can in this short period of time. So, sit and listen."

Naruto huffed and stared at the paper. "Why would they put this? Besides, I'm already the very best!" He put his fist to the air. "So, I don't care, bye!" He hopped up and ran away. You jumped from your seat, reached out...and sat back down. Naruto was impossible. You couldn't change his mind. You closed the textbook and sighed, reaching into the cupboard. Who were you kidding? The ramen was gone!

Your eyes glanced at the portrait of you, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi. You smiled, approaching the frame...Did you really love Sasuke? Or was it just a brotherly love? What you felt was no different than your love for Naruto. But Kakashi...was it that you wanted to suppress those emotions? Did they all become clear now? You loved...You stepped back at the realization.

He was your sensei! Why the hell...Get a grip. There's no chance. Not like anyone would like you in the first place. You put the frame face down and walked out of the door aimlessly. 

Okay, where to go now. You weren't hungry. You finished training for the day. You didn't want to see anyone in particular. You stepped onto the street and immediately regretted it. Kakashi.

"Uh, hey, s-sensei!" You muttered, looking away. Why was it so much harder to speak now that you realized it? OH, get a hold of yourself, Eri!

"Is everything alright?" He smiled, leaning forward. You pushed your hands to your face. "Uhm, yeah, of course, just a cold...I'll get over it soon..." Kakashi stepped back. "A cold? That's no good. With the exams coming up..." You shook your head. "It's barely anything..I'll be fine soon. Just...don't worry I'm gonna go study.." You stepped back inside. 

Fail. That was so terrible. You buried your head into your pillow. You truly felt sick now. All you could do was wait...

***

"I have faith in all of you. You'll do fantastic! Just do your best. This should be easy, if you studied well enough," Kakashi said, waving goodbye as you walked into the first part of the exam.

The room was filled with all sorts of different people from different villages. Most your age. You had dozed off for a second when a fight started between Naruto and some other ninja."Naruto, what do I have to do, watch over you every second? Geez." You pushed him away. "I'm gonna go talk to my friend from the Waves. I'll be back, alright? You two, keep him out of trouble." You looked at Sasuke and Sakura.

* * *

"Guys, we need to check-in," you pointed at the door. "We have limited time, let's go." You dragged Naruto out of the room, bumping into someone. You looked up. 

"LEE!" You yelled, jumping into an embrace. "Boy, I'm glad to see you!" You exclaimed joyously. "You're here! At the exams! With us!" Lee nodded. "I'm also very glad to see you, Miteri." He spoke in his usual way. "Are these your teammates?" He said, looking at a very surprised Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. 

"Oh, yeah. Um, Rock Lee, this is Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura." Lee's eyes widened. "Sasuke? Sasuke Uchiha? The last of the Uchiha clan? I've always wanted to fight you," he exclaimed. Sasuke smirked. "Oh, yeah? I'll beat you in a second." "Sasuke, wait, Lee's actually really amaz-" You started, just to get cut off by Sasuke.

"If I win, will you be my girlfriend, Miteri?" Lee asked. You smiled. "You wish," you joked playfully."Come on, don't fight here..." But you knew there would be no stopping them. 

*** 

(Skip to after the fight, if you haven't watched Naruto, Im sorry lol go watch it rn----jk, Lee beats Sasuke basically until Gai sensei shows up)

"Sasuke! He totally beat your a-" Naruto started until you smacked him in the face. "Hush, Naruto, no time for that." You rolled your eyes. Sakura nodded. "Yeah, Sasuke did so well! That guy was just so inhuman. And, uh, Eri, why did he ask you to be your boyfriend...?"

You became flustered. "Well, he's always been like that. Since I met him a few years ago he's always confessing his love for me...I never really reject him, I just avoid the conversation..." You laughed. 

Sasuke shrugged. "What straight guy DOESN'T want to date Miteri.." Sakura gasped and flung onto Sasuke. "SASUKE! That doesn't include you, right?" She yelled in his ear. Naruto scoffed and kept walking, while Kakashi ignored the statement. You didn't know what to feel. You just threw the thought into the back of your mind.

"We're here!" You exclaimed, taking a pen into your hand and scribbling down your name. "I'll put you down too. Behind this door lays our future!" You threw your hands out. "Okay, well that was a little cliche. But seriously, this is really cool. Don't die on me, alright. This is gonna be hard but we gotta work together." 

The door swung open and you stepped through.

(Wrote July 7, 2020)